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Date of Birth
Charles Darwin was born on February 12th, 1809, in Shrewsbury, England. He was named after his uncle (Charles) who had died a few years back, and his father (Robert). He was a shy and timid young man who made up wild stories and demonstrated his physical abilities to the other lads. He was also a prankster who reveled in being the center of attention in the house. -
Educational Video of Charles Darwin
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Charles Darwin attends Anglican Shrewsbury School
In September 1818 Charles joined his older brother Erasmus Alvey Darwin at Shrewsbury School. Eras grew interested in chemistry, and Charles became his assistant, with the two setting up a laboratory in a garden shed at their home and expanding their interests to crystallography. At fifteen, his interest shifted to hunting and bird-shooting at local estates -
Charles Darwin First Scientific Speech
Charles Darwin, then 18 years old, presented his first report of a new scientific discovery to the Plinian Society in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1827. Darwin had learned a lot about the biology of microscopic sea invertebrates found off the coast of Scotland. His finding that sea-mat larvae can swim and that the small black specks within old oyster shells were skate leech eggs was the topic of his talk. It wasn't exactly a game-changer, but it was a start for Darwin. -
Charles Darwin was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London
Darwin evaluated Malthus's claim that human population growth outpaces food production, resulting in food competition. "Man tends to increase at a greater rate than his means of subsistence" As a result he is periodically forced to engage in a life-or-death struggle. He connected this to his research into animal breeding and natural rules of harmony, as well as his conclusions concerning species and their relationships to places. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society on January 24,1839 -
Charles Darwin Published "The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs"
Darwin's first monograph was Coral Reefs. It tackled a rather ambitious subject. It may only be surpassed by the Origin in terms of masterful deduction from observation, resulting to the building of a hypothesis that, if proven would surpass all prior attempts and virtually solve its subject. Darwin's monograph was widely regarded as a great scientific achievement by his contemporaries.The Copley Medal was given to Darwin by The Royal Society in 1864 for this book and his monographs on barnacles -
Charles Darwin First Goes Public on Views of Evolution
On July 1 1858, Secretary John Joseph Bennett read the papers to the Linnean Society of London. Neither of the authors were present. Wallace was in Borneo, and Darwin was still there, attending his son's funeral. The conference was conducted by the society's President, Thomas Bell, who had prepared the description of Darwin's Beagle voyage reptile collections. -
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species is Published
When On the Origin of Species went on sale to booksellers on November 22, 1859, it was unexpectedly popular, with the whole quantity of 1,250 copies being oversubscribed. Darwin laid out "one lengthy argument" comprising extensive observations, deductions, and analysis of potential objections in the book. “Light will be shone on the origin of man and his history,” he said, as his lone reference to human evolution. In the opening, he states his theory simply: -
Charles Darwin's "The Descent of Man" was Published
It was Darwin's second major work on evolutionary theory, following On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. Darwin outlines his idea of sexual selection and applies evolutionary theory to human evolution in The Descent of Man. The book covers a wide range of topics, including evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, human race differences, gender differences, men's dominance over women, and the importance of evolutionary theory to society. -
Charles Darwin received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge had come around to Darwinism, and on Saturday, November 17th, the family attended a ceremony at Senate House in which Darwin was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws in front of a crowd of students who strung a cord across the chamber with a monkey-marionette, which was removed by a Proctor and replaced by a "missing link," a beribboned ring which hung over the crowd. -
Charles Darwin Dies
On April 19, 1882, he died at Down House. Darwin suffered from Chagas's disease. During his scientific research in South America, he was bitten by a Benchuga bug. This would explain his dizziness and other symptoms. Darwin was also perceived as a national hero who had changed thinking, and scientists now accepted evolution as descent with modification.