Charlse Darwin

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Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England, on February 2, 1809. His father was Robert Waring Darwin, a physician and son of the famous Erasmus Darwin, also a physician, as well as a respected writer and naturalist. His mother was Susannah Wedgewood Darwin. She died when Charles was eight.
Charles was educated in the local school, taught by Dr. Samuel Butler. In 1825, he went to Edinburgh to start studying medicine, but he soon realized that he did not have the stomach for it. So he switched to Cambridge, ostensibly to become a clergyman. He was actually more interested in entomology, especially beetles, and in hunting. He graduated from Christ’s College in 1831.
It is said that even when he was a young man, he had a patient and open mind, spending many hours collecting specimens of one sort or another and pondering over new ideas. The idea of evolution was very much in the air in those times. It was increasingly clear to naturalists that species change and have been changing for many years. The question was, how did this happen?
One of his mentors, John Henslow, encouraged him to apply for the unpaid position of naturalist on a surveying expedition on the now-famous vessel, the Beagle, under the command of Capt. Robert Fitz-Roy. Charles left England for the first time in his life on December 27, 1831. He wouldn’t return until October 2, 1836!
Most of the ship’s time was spent surveying the coasts of South America and nearby islands, but it would also visit various Pacific islands, New Zealand, and Australia. It was the Galapagos Islands that most impressed him. There he found that finches had evolved a variety of beaks, each suited to a particular food source. Natural variation had somehow been selected to fit the ecological niches available on the tiny islands.
Upon returning, he wrote several books based on his surveys on geology and the plant and animal species he had observed and collected. He also published hi...