Who was Charles Darwin, you say? Only one of the most famous scientists in history!
He was the first person to explain the fundamental scientific theory that evolution is caused
by natural selection, and that humans and animals share common ancestors.
It was a groundbreaking idea that caused huge controversy in Victorian England, and changed
the way we think about the natural world.
Darwin was born into a wealthy family in 1809. His dad expected him to become a doctor or
a priest, but at university Charles was much more keen on the world around him – he helped
name plants at the University Museum, debated natural history, learned how to stuff birds,
collected beetles and much besides.
At just 22, Darwin set off on a round-the-world voyage that took him to South America, Australasia
and Africa. It wasn’t your average gap year - Darwin didn’t come home for five years,
and the things he experienced on his voyage influenced him for the rest of his life.
He ventured into dense rainforests, climbed mountains in the Andes, and explored the Galapagos islands,
collecting and observing plants, animals, and fossils along the way. He joined
the carnival in Brazil, and even got caught up in a rebellion in Uruguay. It was quite
the adventure!
When he eventually arrived back in England, Darwin began working with other scientists
on the findings from his voyage. He published his diaries of the trip in 1839 and became
one of the leading lights of London scientific society.
Darwin’s health got worse around this time, and he’d suffer from illness for most of
the rest of his life.
But his personal life wasn’t all bad - in 1838, Charles married his cousin, Emma. The
couple started a family, and in 1842 she convinced him to move to Down House in Kent.
The gardens at Down House were the site of many experiments. Charles bred fancy pigeons,
studied the flight of bumblebees and grew all sorts of varieties of plants. He and Emma
were much less strict than other parents of the time – they encouraged their children
to play and explore the world around them.
Charles carried on publishing respected books and articles on everything from geology to
botany and barnacles – but behind closed doors, he was also working on theories that
would rock Victorian society.
From as early the 1830s, Darwin had been trying to answer difficult questions about the natural
world. But he knew his theory of natural selection flew in the face of accepted religious ideas
about creation – especially because it meant that humans evolved from other earlier animal species.
Eventually in 1859 he published his famous book: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
It caused a lot of controversy, but it gained lots of support, too. Darwin’s health was
getting worse, and so he stayed out of the public eye. But his friends and allies defended
his work. Many new editions came out, and the book was published throughout the world.
For the rest of his life, Darwin carried on working and writing at Down House. He published
more books and carried out more experiments with plants and animals. All of his work was
designed to test his grand theory of natural selection.
He died in 1882, and was buried in Westminster Abbey as a national hero. His theory has been
scrutinised and developed in the 140 years since, but his ideas and life’s work still
form the basis of how we understand the development of the natural world today.
Cheers, Charles!