Biography

Charles Darwin was a British naturalist born February 12th, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England, who lived to the age of 73 before ultimately passing away from a heart attack on April 10th, 1882. Darwin’s life was filled with many tragic events and chronic illnesses, but they did not stop him from pioneering one of the most important concepts of biology. At 8 years old, Darwin’s mother passed away, leaving him to be raised by his abusive sisters. His father pressured him to pursue a medical career, so he studied medicine at Edinburgh University in 1825. Darwin was not interested, and did not do well in the medical courses; however, he did find interest in invertebrate zoology which he studied with his mentor Robert Edmond Grant. After realizing that he did not have a future in medicine, Charles’ father decided he would become a clergyman, and switch him to Christ’s College Cambridge in 1828 Darwin did not have any interest in becoming a clergyman either, but he was introduced to botany, and given the suggestion to travel aboard the HMS Beagle to Tierra del Fuego in South America.

Accompanied on the HMS Beagle by Captain Robert Fitzeroy, Darwin reached the Galapagos Islands in 1835. The research from these islands would eventually develop into Darwin’s greatest theory. Darwin found that many species on the galapagos had differences from the mainland species, and that their characteristics even differed from island to island. He examined the differences between mockingbirds across different islands, and talked to the locals about how they differentiate tortoises based on the properties of their shells. Darwin realized that each island’s species had specific characteristics that were suited to the island’s environment.

Different

After returning to England, he reflected on the journey and came up with a theory: What if God didn’t create each species of bird for each island, and instead the mainland species changed into new ones. In 1842, Darwin finished writing a book on his findings titled “On the Origin of Species”, but didn’t publish it for fear of backlash as it challenged the religious beliefs of many people close to him.

However, 17 years later, Alfred Russel Wallace - a younger naturalist who had reached the same discovery as Darwin through studying butterflies - wrote to Darwin informing him of his plans to publish his findings.

This forced Darwin to publish his book as he wanted to make sure he received rightful credit for the theory he made over a decade earlier. “On the Origin of Species” was eventually spread across the globe, and Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection had become a very passionate debate topic between scientists and creationists. Even Robert Fitzgerald, the captain of the HMS Beagle, was enraged by the theory that God did not create all life, and eventually took his own life after being overwhelmed with the contributions he unknowingly made to the research. Darwin himself felt extreme guilt for publishing the book, and developed many psychological conditions in addition to his worsening state of health.

Although Charles Darwin succumbed to his illnesses after publishing over 15 books, his theory lives on as a foundational concept in biology.