February 12, 2009

FeatureHappy Birthday, Charles Darwin!

February 12 marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. You probably learned about Charles Darwin in biology class when discussing the theory of evolution. But do you know anything else about the man who revolutionized scientific thought 150 years ago? Here's your chance to get a closer look into the life of Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. Darwin was the youngest of four children. He had three older sisters and one older brother. The Darwin family lived a comfortable life; his father was a well-respected physician and his mother was an heir to the Wedgwood (pottery) fortune. Among Darwin’s relatives was his grandfather Erasmus, who was a leading medical authority during the Victorian Era. His grandfather also developed an early theory of evolution.

Charles Darwin at age 6, shown along with his sister. (Painting by Sharples/English Heritage Photo Library)

Darwin did not like attending school. He earned poor grades and had no interest in studying the subjects taught in his classes. Darwin preferred to learn things on his own in his own time. He loved to read, and he spent much of his time reading about a variety of subjects.

Although Darwin had little interest in formal education, he developed an interest in science and natural history at a young age. His mother Susannah was very interested in botany and taught Darwin the basics of plant propagation. When not in the family greenhouse, Darwin spent much of his time exploring the outdoors. He loved to go on rambling walks through the countryside surrounding his home. He also enjoyed collecting specimens, with a special interest in beetles. This interest would serve him well later as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle. Darwin also enjoyed the study of chemistry from a young age. He and his brother Erasmus performed chemical experiments in a shed located in the garden behind their house. One of their favorite things to do was to create smelly gases—this habit earned Darwin the nickname “Gas” among his classmates at school.

When Darwin was 16, his father, upset at his son’s poor record at school, decided to send him to the University of Edinburgh. There, Darwin would study medicine, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. Medicine was not a good match for Darwin. The sight of blood made him squeamish. Darwin was permanently put off the study of medicine after observing a few particularly-horrific surgeries that were performed without anesthesia. However, Darwin was inspired by many of the scientists he met at Edinburgh, which was a center of scientific thought at the time. Darwin worked in the lab with Dr. Robert Grant, a physician and lecturer with an interest in marine biology. Under the guidance of Grant, Darwin became a member of the Plinian Society, a group that brought together faculty, students, and community members to discuss scientific papers. Unfortunately, though Darwin was inspired intellectually, his lack of interest in medicine led him to leave Edinburgh after only two years.

After leaving Edinburgh, Darwin decided to enroll at Cambridge University in order to study theology. Darwin decided to pursue a career in the church because it would give him the most flexibility to continue with his interests in natural history. Most of Darwin’s studies at Cambridge focused on natural history topics, including work and research in botany and geology. Darwin graduated from Cambridge in 1831 after passing a three-day test that covered topics including mathematics, classics, philosophy, and physics.

On August 30, 1831, Darwin was offered a position on the HMS Beagle. Darwin received the invitation to be the voyage’s naturalist through his former advisor at Cambridge who had to turn down the position. After several false-starts, the ship set sail on December 27, 1831. Darwin’s first few weeks on the Beagle were a little rough—he suffered terribly from seasickness. Darwin would suffer from a variety of illnesses throughout the Beagle’s voyage. The purpose of the voyage was to continue a surveying project of the South American coast and other regions begun in 1826. Robert FitzRoy took over as the ship’s captain in 1828 after the ship’s original captain cracked under the pressure of the task and killed himself. It was FitzRoy’s idea to bring along a naturalist on the voyage to collect natural specimens—he thought having a gentleman-naturalist on-board would also serve well as a companion and conversationalist during the long journey.

Though much is made of Darwin’s time spent in the Galapagos Islands, the Galapagos was actually one of the last places the HMS Beagle visited before returning to England. After leaving Plymouth, England, the Beagle’s first destination was set to be Tenerife Island, one of the Canary Islands. However, a cholera outbreak on the island led FitzRoy to bypass the area. Instead, the Beagle’s first stopover was at the Cape Verde Islands, located off the coast of western Africa. Among the ports the HMS Beagle anchored at were Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Falkland Islands; Valparaiso, Chile; Galapagos Islands; Tahiti; New Zealand; Australia; Tasmania; Mauritius Island; Cape Town, South Africa; and the Azores Islands. While Captain FitzRoy was busy mapping the coastline, Darwin spent much of his time off of the Beagle, exploring inland areas and collecting natural specimens along the way. When at large ports, Darwin sent large shipments of specimens he had collected and stuffed back to his old advisor at Cambridge. Over the course of the voyage, Darwin shipped home 1529 species preserved in alcohol, 3907 labeled skins, bones, and other dried specimens.

Darwin spent much of his time at home in his study examining specimens and writing manuscripts. (Photo Credit: English Heritage Photo Library)

On October 2, 1836, the HMS Beagle finally returned to England, docking at Falmouth. While the original intention was for the voyage to last two years, the voyage of the HMS Beagle lasted four years, nine months, and five days. Upon his arrival in England, Darwin immediately hightailed it to his family home in Shewsbury. One of Darwin’s first tasks upon arriving back at home was finding himself a wife. While away from England, he learned that his former sweetheart had gotten married during his absence. In the end, after writing out a list of pros and cons, Darwin decided to propose to Emma Wedgwood, his first cousin, in 1838. A year later they were married. Though they originally settled in London, the hustle and bustle of the city was problematic for Darwin’s health. In 1842 they relocated to Down House in Kent, England.

Because Darwin did not have a formal laboratory space, he performed the majority of his experiments at home. Following his return from his trip overseas, Darwin spent the remainder of his life making sense of all the observations he had made. Darwin established his stature as a biologist after publishing a paper about the entire group of living and fossilized barnacles. This paper was inspired by specimen collections he made off the coast of Chile, and resulted from eight years of study. However, evolution was always in the back of Darwin’s mind. He first began writing notes about evolution in 1837. By 1842 he had sketched out his theory of evolution. Two years later, in 1844, he had written a 189-page manuscript. In 1846, Darwin published a book about his journey on the HMS Beagle, including notes from the journals he had kept during the long voyage. In 1855, Darwin began experimenting with breeding fancy pigeons, a popular hobby during that time period. Darwin kept extensive notes of his cross-breeds and back-breeds. These experiments taught Darwin about species variation, a concept important to his studies of evolutionary thought.

In 1858, twenty years after he first starting working in his theory of evolution, Darwin went public with his views on evolution. Papers on evolutionary thought by both Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace were read in front of the Linnean Society of London. Reactions to their papers varied from excitement to shock. The following year, Darwin published On the Origin of Species. The book sold out in just one day. Reaction to On the Origin of Species ranged from staunch support to utter outrage.

A few years later, while on vacation at the English coast with his daughter, Darwin became fascinated with orchids and the insects that pollinated them. Upon returning to his house in Kent, Darwin ended his experiments with pigeons and began studying orchids. In 1862 he published a book about orchids and methods of pollination by insects. In the ensuing years, Darwin wrote several more books on topics including plant variation, insectivorous plants, and plant and animal domestication. In 1871, Darwin published The Descent of Man. Like On the Origin of Species, the book was very successful. It was also well-received and was found to be much less controversial than On the Origin of Species. Six years later, in 1877, Darwin earned an honorary doctorate degree from Cambridge. During this time period Darwin wrote several more books, including an autobiography and a biography of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin. His life’s work complete, Darwin found himself with a lot of free time and little to do. Darwin died at his home on April 2, 1882. Though plans were made to bury Darwin in a local village churchyard cemetery, Darwin was given the honor of being buried instead in London’s Westminster Abbey.

Charles Darwin’s work on evolutionary theory revolutionized science. While the idea of evolution had already been bantered about in scientific circles before Charles Darwin’s time, what was missing was the mechanism behind evolution. Darwin changed things by introducing the idea of natural selection as the means behind evolution. Darwin’s work was a jumping-off point for other scientists during his lifetime and also paved the way for modern studies in evolutionary biology and genetics. Darwin's contributions to science were and remain far-reaching and forever changed the way scientists viewed the world around them.

More to Explore

• Natural History Museum (London): Darwin 200
• American Museum of Natural History: Darwin Exhibition
• Darwin’s Shrewsbury: His Place of Birth, Home, Inlfuence and Inspiration
• About Darwin – Dedicated to the Life & Times of Charles Darwin
• Literature, History, & Culture in the Age of Victoria: Charles Darwin
• Darwin Correspondence Project

Last updated February 12, 2009 | Comments (15) | Permalink | Feature