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Charles Darwin Is born
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury England on February 18th, 1809. His mother died when he was only 8 years old and he also had 4 siblings. -
Charles Darwin Starts Medical School
In 1825, with his father's encouragement, Darwin begins medical school at Edinburgh University. It is here that he realizes he is disgusted by blood and is more interested in natural history and other science. Darwin is considered a "naturalist" and I feel him discovering his lack in passion for medicine and what others wanted him to be was the initial spark for him making a huge change in science. He ended up changing schools and graduating from Christ's College Cambridge. -
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Darwin Sets Sail
Darwin goes on a 5 year voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. It is here where he starts studying plants, animals, fossils and collects evidence on some theories that he is having. The theories we are familiar with from Darwin are evolution and natural selection. The trip was supposed to be to survey the coast of South America but all the evidence Darwin collected to study and share with others created a huge turning point. When he got back in 1836 he continued his research which we will talk about. -
Darwin is Married!
Darwin marries his first cousin. Her name is Emma. They have 10 children together but 3 of them die in childhood. Today there is science to prove that it is not a good idea to breed with your first cousin but it was not as frowned upon in the 1800's. His wife Emma and the children helped with Darwins work. -
Darwin Publishes "On the Origin of Species"
In this book Darwin discusses his theory of natural selection and evolution. This is called "Darwinism" Prior to this, most scientists and people had religious biases such as the idea that God put humans on his planet. Darwin showed evidence on how species alter themselves and inherit traits from their parents that help them better survive, reproduce and adapt to the environment. His studies showed evidence for evolution. Please see below video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnktXHBvE8s -
Darwin Publishes a Second Book on Evolutionary Theory
In 1871 Darwin publishes "The Descent of Man". In his first book he kind of danced around the theory that humans could have evolved and talked about other species. In this book he was a little more direct and talked about sexual preferences in a sense and how different races developed based on that causing different intellectual and physical attributes. Darwin was sometimes ridiculed and compared to a monkey. I believe this is where the association of Darwin and monkeys sprouts from. -
Darwin Dies
Darwin is dead. By this time he has published 15 works and his friends and family give him a ceremonial funeral. He suffered from a lot of health issues. The below video provides some wonderful information on Charles Darwin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsUz2O2jww