Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, in Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England and died on April 19, 1882. He was one of the most important naturalists of all times.
Biography and Career :
His parents were Robert and Sussannah; Robert was a doctor in the high society and Sussannah was daughter of Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of the most popular pottery factory in England. Sussannah died when Charles was 8 years old. His other grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, doctor and philosopher, was famous for his theories.
Charles Darwin started going school in 1817, in Shrewsbury, when he was 8. One couldn't say he was a brilliant student, but he had other hobbies like collecting coins, stamps, minerals and other things. Then he attended Samuel Butler's private school for se
ven years. There he had to learn Greek and Latin operas. Later, as an adult, he said about that period of his life: "nothing could have harmed more the development of my intelligence, than Mr. Butler's school".
He continued with his passion for collecting and became interested in chemistry (often taking part in his brother's chemistry experiments), bugs and birds, which he started learning by name so that he was only 10 years old when he knew the fauna around his homeland. When he was 15 years old he received from his uncle a gun and became a passionate hunter. On the other hand, he considered his father one of the wisest men and he loved nature more than anyone else.
In October 1825, he attended the University of Edinburgh, in order to study medicine. He didn't manage to like it too much, as he became disgusted in the dissection classes. When his father realized he was neglecting his medicine studies, he enrolled Charles in a course at Christ College in
Cambridge, hoping that he would become a clergyman. But theology wasn't his passion either, so in 1826 he moved to Plinian Natural History Society and 4 years later he obtained his degree.
On December 27, 1831, he started his great journey on board of the Beagle, which lasted about 5 years. In this time he started developing and creating the evolution theory, he discovered a great number of new specimens and an abundant variety of living organisms and fossils, which he sent to Cambridge, along with his notes. This period of his life acknowledged him as a great naturalist.
Charles spent a lot of time on land, as he struggled with sea sickness and on this journey, he also caught a fever in
Argentina, in 1833. One year later he got ill and had to stay in bed for a month.
Chales Lyell, a great geologist, became his friend some time after Charles had read Lyell's first volume "Principles of Geology". In 1839 he married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood.
One of the aspects of his theory was "the survival of the fittest", but because he didn't have so much genetic knowledge of chromosome and some other, he couldn't explain it all.
He died on April 19, 1882 and was buried next to Isaac Newton.
Works and Autobiographies :
- 1835 "Extracts from letters to Professor Henslow"
- 1836 "A LETTER, Containing Remarks on the Moral State of TAHITI, NEW ZEALAND, &c."
- 1838-1843 "Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle"
- 1839 "Journal and Remarks"
- 1842 "The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs"
- 1844 "Geological Observations of Volcanic Islands"
- 1846 "Geological Observations on South America"
- 1849 - 1851 "A Monograph of the Sub-class Cirripedia, with Figures of all the Species. The Lepadidae; or, Pedunculated Cirripedes."
- 1851 "A Monograph on the Fossil Lepadidae; or, Pedunculated Cirripedes of Great Britain"
- 1854 "A Monograph of the Sub-class Cirripedia, with Figures of all the Species. The Balanidae; the Verrucidae, etc."
- 1854 "A Monograph on the Fossil Balanid' and Verrucid' of Great Britain"
- 1858 "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection"
- 1859 "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life"
- 1862 "On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects"
- 1868 "Variation of Plants and Animals Under Domestication"
- 1871 "The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex"
- 1872 "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals"
- 1875 "Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants"
- 1875 "Insectivorous Plants"
- 1876 "The Effects of Cross and Self-Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom"
- 1877 "The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species"
- 1880 "The Power of Movement in Plants"
- 1881 "The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms"
- 1887 "Autobiography of Charles Darwin"
- 1958 "Autobiography of Charles Darwin".
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