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Charles Darwin birth/early childhood
On February 12th, 1809, Charles Darwin was born as the fifth of six children to Robert Darwin and Susannah Darwin. When Charles was nine months old, he was baptized at St. Chad’s Anglican Church. Then shortly after, his mother takes him to a less orthodox, Unitarian chapel. Darwin’s family home, The Mount, is where Charles and his brother would tinker with chemistry which helped spark his interest in naturalizing. Unfortunately, Charles’s mother passed away in 1817 due to cancer leading... -
Early childhood continuation
... him to be raised by his sisters. Due to his mother’s passing, Charles would join his brother in attending an Anglican Shrewsbury boarding School. Unfortunately, Charles’s mother passed away in 1817 due to cancer leading him to be raised by his sisters. A year after his mother’s passing, Charles would join his brother in attending an Anglican Shrewsbury boarding School which would hinder the development of his mind, as he states in his diary. -
Charles time in University
Charles’s father being a doctor and financier, hoped his son would follow the path of becoming a doctor or priest. Still, as Charles attended Edinburgh University in Scotland at the age of sixteen to study medicine, he found his interest leaned more toward natural history. During his time at Edinburgh, Charles attended the operating theatre in the hospital, where he witnessed two operations which would be the last two operations he would sit in due to the severity of the operations as it... -
University continuation
... was before the time of anesthetics. Charles states in his diary that those memories would haunt him for years to come, but he also regrets missing the opportunity to learn how to dissect correctly. Shortly after, Charles finds a mentor, Robert Grant, an expert on marine life. Darwin was captivated by the intellect and knowledge Robert had to offer. During this time, he would push Darwin to see the similarities between all variations of animals. -
University continuation
Darwin would also learn taxidermy from John Edmonstone at Edinburgh’s natural history museum. He would pay to teach him. Darwin’s father noticed that Charles neglected his studies for medicine and decided to pull him from Edinburgh university to send him to Cambridge University so he could become a member of Christ’s College. -
University final continuation
Charles's second cousin William Darwin Fox would influence and teach him to collect insects, predominantly beetles, during his time at Cambridge. Although Darwin would then graduate from Christ's College with a bachelor of arts degree in 1831, He would join the HMS Beagle for a naturalist's position; The ship would take a five-year survey trip worldwide. -
Darwin's Voyage
On December 27th, 1831, the HMS Beagle was ready to set sail for its main voyage to survey the coast of South America. Charles's initial impressions of living on the ship were quite amusing as he found a fascination with every aspect of it. After sailing across the Atlantic, the first place they man landfall was St. Jago, one of the Cape Verde Islands. The second port followed them in Brazil, where Darwin was disgusted by the sight of the slave trade. -
voyage continuation
During their stop in Brazil, Darwin is astonished at the incredible variation from plants to ants and the rainforest's sheer scenery. Darwin collects countless fossils during their endless voyage, which he ships back home. While on a ride across the plains of Patagonia with argentine cowboys, Darwin begins to wonder why modern animals such as pygmies, sloths, and armadillos resemble animals from prehistoric times. On October 2nd, 1836, the HSM Beagle concluded its voyage at Falmouth, Cornwall. -
Darwin's theory
After darwin returned home and visited his family, he headed back to Cambridge with the new support and funding from his father. Charles had hundreds of samples, such as fossils and flowers, that he had to study further and began publishing his diaries from the voyage, which would push him to be one of the lead naturalists in London's scientific society. Finally, after years of research and his personal life taking over momentarily, he secretly worked on his theory. -
Theory continuation
While working on his book, Darwin received a 20-page letter from a young naturalist Alfred Wallace that surprised him. The pages Darwin read contained roughly the same theory he had been writing, which was the push Darwin needed to publish his finding. As his book sold, Darwin knew the backlash he would receive as it went against what the church believed. As a result, he could no longer decide on his religious stance even though he grew up in a very religious household. -
Contributions
Charles Darwins had a massive contribution that trickled down to so many other avenues that it is hard to pick out. The biggest is practically changing the way biology is perceived from species to species. There is not one design for an animal but an adaptation of dozens of trials and errors throughout the species' existence. It also helped solidify that life was not a recent event but one that has been in the process for millions of years. -
Contributions continuation
Finally, the theory also helped change how science is viewed due to it no longer being so harshly controlled by the church. So all and all, it is pretty incredible the contribution Charles Darwin had to our society and what it is today by helping us better understand our world's past, present, and future. -
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MLA Citations
“Evolution: Darwin: Darwin’s Diary.” PBS, www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/darwin/diary/1809.html#:%7E:text=Nine%2Dmonth%2Dold%20Charles%20Robert,the%20bedrock%20of%20British%20society. Accessed 23 May 2022. National Geographic Society. “Charles Darwin.” National Geographic Society, 23 Aug. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/charles-darwin. Wikipedia contributors. “Charles Darwin.” Wikipedia, 22 May 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin.
