Charles DarwinBy: Ashley Dreyer

His full name is Charles Robert Darwin Born on February 12th, 1809 Born in Shrewsbury, England Born into a wealthy and well-connected

family He was the 5th child of Robert Waring

Darwin and Susannah Wedgwood Darwin died on April 19th, 1882 He is buried in Westminster Abbey

Basic Facts

His maternal grandfather was China manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood

His paternal grandfather was Erasmus Darwin

Erasmus was a leading intellectual of 18th century England

Family

Josiah Erasmus

He was a quiet, solitary child

Charles’s mother died when her was only 8

Robert (Charles’s dad) started dedicating more of his time to his medical practice and left the house in control by his elder daughters Marianne and Caroline.

Childhood

Darwin initially planned to follow a medical career.

He planned to study at Edinburgh University but later switched to divinity at Cambridge.

In 1831, he joined a five year scientific expedition on the survey ship HMS Beagle.

Career Change

At the time Europeans believed that the world was created by God in seven days

Lyell's “Principles of Geology” suggested that the fossils found in rocks were actually evidence of animals that had lived many thousands or millions of years ago.

Others’ Beliefs

Darwin agreed with Lyell’s theory because he saw a rich variety of animal life and the geological features during his voyage.

In the Galapagos Islands, 500 miles west of South America Darwin noticed that each island supported its own form of finch which were closely related but differed in important ways.

Discoveries

When he returned to England in 1836 he tried to solve the riddle of his observations and piece together the puzzle of how species evolve

He was influenced by the ideas of Malthus

Return To England

Darwin proposed a theory of evolution occurring in nature

The animals or plants that best suit their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce

They passed their characteristics that helped them survive onto their offspring

Overtime the species gradually change

A New Theory

After working on his theory for 20 years Darwin learned that Alfred Russel Wallace had similar ideas

In 1858 they made a joint announcement of their discovery

Alfred Russel Wallace

In 1859 Darwin published “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”

Darwin’s Book

The logical extension or his theory was that homo sapiens was just another form of animal

He made it seem possible that even people might have evolved, quite possibly from apes

It destroyed the prevailing orthodoxy on how the world was created

Controversy

Darwin was attacked, particularly by the Church

His ideas, however, soon gained currency and became the new orthodoxy

A New Orthodoxy

Charles Darwin faced a hard childhood. His mother died when he was 8 and his father was rarely around. He planned to study medicine but instead switched to divinity at Cambridge. At the time the time everyone believed the world was made by God in seven days. He found evidence to help prove his theory of evolution. 20 years of working on his theory later he published a book on his evolution theory. He faced many attacks and controversy, but he held on to what he believed in. In the end his book and theory were very successful.

Summary