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Charles Darwin biography - Home
Born: 18 December 1946
Birthplace: Shrewsbury, England
Died: 19 April 1882 (heart attack)
Best Known As: Naturalist who came up with the theory of evolution and natural selection
Charles Darwin was the official naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle during its world voyage of 1831-36. His observations during the journey led to the development of his theory of evolution. In 1858 he published his ideas of natural selection, and a year later he defined his theories in his Origin of the Species. Darwin's theories started a controversy that continues to this day. Although he was a religious man himself and once considered a career in the church, his theory of evolution is considered by some to be contrary to biblical teachings and therefore destructive to religion. The 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species, in which Darwin demonstrated that all living things evolved from earlier forms of life by the process of natural selection, revolutionized human thought. Although initially controversial, Darwin's theory of evolution, which also was set forth by Alfred Wallace, became accepted as one of the foundations of modern biology. Darwin riginally believed in the orthodox theory of his time: that each species had been created individually and had remained unchanged since Earth's beginning. But his observations of fossils and living organisms during a five-year voyage around the world aboard H.M.S. Beagle (1831-36) led to his conclusion that new species arose as existing species gradually changed in response to environmental conditions. Among his best-known evidence was the adaptive radiation of finches he studied on the Galapagos Islands.
1809–82, English naturalist, b. Shrewsbury; grandson of Erasmus Darwin and of Josiah Wedgwood. He firmly established the theory of organic evolution known as Darwinism. He studied medicine at Edinburgh and for the ministry at Cambridge but lost interest in both professions during the training. His interest in natural history led to his friendship with the botanist J. S. Henslow; through him came the opportunity to make a five-year cruise (1831–36) as official naturalist aboard the Beagle. This started Darwin on a career of accumulating and assimilating data that resulted in the formulation of his concept of evolution. He spent the remainder of his life carefully and methodically working over the information from his copious notes and from every other available source. Independently, A. R. Wallace had worked out a theory similar to Darwin's.
Both men were exceptionally modest; they first published summaries of their ideas simultaneously in 1858. In 1859, Darwin set forth the structure of his theory and massive support for it in the superbly organized Origin of Species, supplemented and elaborated in his many later books, notably The Descent of Man (1871). He also formulated a theory of the origin of coral reefs.
Charles Darwin biography - Early life
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, on 12 February 1809 at the family home, The Mount House. He was the fifth of six children of Robert and Susannah Darwin (nee Wedgwood), and the grandson of Erasmus Darwin, and of Josiah Wedgwood, a family of the Unitarian church. See also Darwin–Wedgwood family. His mother died when he was only eight and the next year he became a boarder at the Shrewsbury School. After finishing school, Darwin went to Edinburgh University in 1825 to study medicine. At Edinburgh his disgust at the anatomy lectures of professor Alexander Munro III and his revulsion at the brutality of surgery at the time led him to neglect his medical studies, but in his second year he became active in student societies for naturalists. In the Plinian society he became an avid student of Robert Edmund Grant, learning from Grant's enthusiasm for the theories of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Charles' grandfather Erasmus about evolution by acquired characteristics. He joined Grant in pioneering investigations of the life cycle of marine animals on the shores of the Firth of Forth where Grant found evidence for homology, the radical theory that all animals had similar organs differing only in complexity. In March 1827 Darwin made a presentation to the Plinian society of his discovery that black spores often found in oyster shells were the eggs of a skate leech. Darwin also sat Robert Jameson's natural history course, learning about stratigraphic geology and getting to assist with the collections of the Museum of Edinburgh University, then one of the largest in Europe. At professor Robert Jameson's Wernerian Natural History Association Charles saw John James Audubon give a demonstration of his method of using wires to prop up birds to draw or paint them in natural positions. His father, unhappy that his younger son would not become a physician and fearing that Charles would become a "ne'er do well", enrolled him at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1827 on a BA course to qualify as a clergyman. This was a sensible career move at a time when a "living" as an Anglican parson provided a comfortable income and when most naturalists in England were clergymen who saw it as part of their duties to explore the wonders of God's creation. At Cambridge Charls preferred riding and shooting to studying, and along with his cousin William Darwin Fox became engrossed in the current craze for the (competitive) collecting of beetles. Fox introduced him for advice on this to the Revd. John Stevens Henslow, professor of botany, and Charles subsequently joined his natural history course. Henslow's outings were attended by 78 men including the Revd. William Whewell and Charles became the favourite pupil, known as the man who walks with Henslow. When exams loomed Charles focused on his studies, becoming particularly enthused by the set texts by Paley which included the argument of divine design in nature. He got private tuition from Henslow whose subjects were maths and theology, and in his finals in January 1831 he shone in theology and scraped through in classics, maths and physics, coming 10th out of a pass list of 178. Although he had gained his degree, residence requirements kept Darwin at Cambridge till June and following Henslow's example and advice he was in no rush to take holy orders. Inspired by Alexander von Humboldt's Personal Narrative he wanted to study natural history in the tropics and planned to visit Madeira with some class-mates upon graduation. Knowing the need for geological skills, Henslow introduced Charles to the great geologist the Revd. Adam Sedgwick and Darwin joined his course, then that summer worked with him at mapping strata in Wales. Darwin was surveying strata in Wales on his own when he received a message that his intended companion had died, dashing his plans to visit Madeira, but on his return home he received another letter. Henslow had recommended Darwin for the position of gentleman's companion to Robert FitzRoy, the captain of HMS Beagle which was departing in December on a two-year expedition to chart the coastline of South America and would give him opportunities as a naturalist. His father objected to the voyage, thinking it a waste of his son's time, but was eventually persuaded by Josiah Wedgwood to agree to Charles going and to pay for his son's expedition which eventually stretched to five years.
Charles Darwin biography - Inception of theory
Return to celebrity and science, inception of theory
See the inception of Darwin's theory for further information about this period
While Darwin was still on the voyage, Professor Henslow had carefully fostered his former pupil's reputation by giving selected naturalists access to the fossil specimens and even having Darwin's geological writings privately printed for distribution. By the time that the Beagle returned on 2 October 1836 Darwin was a sought-after celebrity in scientific circles. He visited his home in Shrewsbury and his father drew on investments to provide Charles with a suitable allowance. After consulting Henslow in Cambridge who would work on the plants, Darwin went round the London institutions to find the best available naturalists to describe his other collections for early publication. Acutely aware of the hazards of radicalism, Charles turned down the then controversial Robert Edmund Grant's offer to catalogue invertebrates.
An eager Charles Lyell met Darwin on 29 October 1836 and introduced him to Richard Owen, an up and coming anatomist who agreed to work on the fossil bones at his Royal College of Surgeons. Owen's surprising revelations of extinct giant rodents and sloths confirmed Darwin's place in the scientific establishment. With Lyell's enthusiastic backing Darwin read his first paper to the Geological Society of London on 4 January 1837, showing that Chile, and the South American land-mass, was slowly rising. On the same date Darwin presented his mammal and bird specimens to the Society. The Mammalia were ably taken on by George R. Waterhouse, and while the birds seemed almost an afterthought their assessment by the ornithologist John Gould startlingly revealed that what Darwin had taken to be wrens, blackbirds and slightly differing finches from the Galбpagos were all separate species of finches. From the collections of others, including FitzRoy's, he was able to relate the finches to separate islands.
When in London Charles stayed with his brother Erasmus, meeting Eras's friend the literary Whig Malthusian Miss Harriet Martineau who had strong views on egalitarianism. Eras's dinner parties included inspiring savants like Lyell, Babbage and Thomas Carlyle. Scientific circles were buzzing with ideas of Transmutation of species. Darwin remained more comfortable with the respectability of his friends the Whig Cambridge Dons, even though his ideas were pushing beyond their belief that natural history must justify religion and social order. On 17 February 1837 Lyell used his presidential address at the Geographical Society to present Owen's findings to date on Darwin's fossils, pointing out the inference that extinct species were related to current species in the same locality. At the same meeting Darwin was elected to the Council of the Society. He had already been invited by FitzRoy to contribute his Journal, based on his field notes, as the natural history section of the captain's account of the Beagle's voyage. He now also plunged into writing a book on South American Geology, at the same time speculating on transmutation in his Red Notebook which he had begun on the Beagle.
Another project he started was getting the expert reports on his collection published as a multi-volume Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, and a search for sponsorship was answered when Henslow used his contacts with the Chancellor of the Exchequer Thomas Spring Rice to arrange a Treasury grant of Ј1,000. Darwin finished writing his Journal around 20 June when King William IV died and the Victorian era began. In mid July he began a secret notebook on transmutation, his "B" notebook, with a title page headed Zoцnomia. He developed the hypothesis that, for example, where every island in the Galбpagos Archipelago had its own kind of tortoise, these had originated from a single tortoise species and had adapted to life on the different islands in different ways.
Under pressure with organising Zoology and correcting proofs of his Journal which had to have the introduction revised when FitzRoy complained that he was "astonished at the total omission of any notice of the officers" for their help, Darwin's health suffered. On 20 September he suffered "palpitations of the heart" and left for a month of recuperation in the country. At Maer, the Wedgwood's home, he entertained his relations. His invalid aunt was being cared for by the as yet unmarried Emma, and his uncle Jos pointed out an area of ground where cinders had disappeared under loam which Jos though might have been the work of earthworms. On 1 November Darwin gave a talk on worm casts to the Geological Society. He had avoided taking on official posts which would take valuable time, but by March 1838 Whewell had recruited him as Secretary of the Geological Society.
llness prompted Darwin to take a break from the pressure of work and he went "geologising" in Scotland, spending 28 June visiting Edinburgh on the day that Queen Victoria had her coronation in London. At Glen Roy in glorious weather he solved the riddle of the roads which he was able to identify as raised beaches.
Fully recuperated, he returned home to Shrewsbury and pondered his career and prospects, drawing up a list with columns headed Marry and Not Marry. Having come down in favour, he went to visit his cousin Emma on 29 July. Against his father's advice he did not get around to proposing, but did tell her of his ideas on transmutation. His thoughts and work continued in London over the autumn and he suffered repeated bouts of illness, then on 11 November he returned and proposed to Emma. Again he discussed his ideas, and she subsequently wrote beseeching him to read from the Gospel of St. John our Saviour's farewell discourse to his disciples, a section on following the Way which also includes "If a man abide not in me...they are burned. His warm reply eased her heart's concern, but this tension would remain.
Darwin considered Malthus's argument, that human populations breed beyond their means and compete to survive, in relation to his findings about species relating to localities, earlier enquiries into animal breeding, and ideas of Natural laws of harmony. Around late November 1838 he compared breeders selecting traits to a Malthusian Nature selecting from variants thrown up by chance so that every part of newly acquired structure is fully practised and perfected", thinking this "the most beautiful part of my theory of how species originated.
A period of house-hunting culminated with finding Macaw Cottage in Gower Street, London, and Darwin moved his museum in over Christmas. He was showing the stress, and Emma wrote urging him to get some rest and almost prophetically remarking. "So don't be ill any more my dear Charley till I can be with you to nurse you".
On 24 January 1839 he was honoured by being elected as Fellow of the Royal Society and presented his paper on the Roads of Glen Roy.
Charles Darwin biography - Theory
Family, work and development of theory
Darwin was now settled with a private income, an eminent geologist in the scientific йlite of clerical naturalists with a mass of work in hand, writing up his findings and theories (see Published Works below) and superintending the multi-volume Zoology describing his collections. He was convinced by his theory of evolution, but vividly aware that transmutation was associated with radical democratic agitators seeking to overthrow society and publication could mean ruin. He embarked on extensive experiments with plants and consultations with animal husbanders including pigeon fanciers and pig breeders, in an attempt to discover holes in the hypothesis. He took his time with careful research until he had enough evidence, knowing that a great deal of opposition would erupt when he presented his theory.
FitzRoy's account was eventually published in May 1839. Darwin's Journal and Remarks was a great success, and was receiving praise by even Alexander von Humboldt, one of Darwin's heroes and models of a scientific explorer. Later that year it was published on its own becoming the best-seller nowadays known as The Voyage of the Beagle, establishing Darwin as a popular author.
In December 1839 as Emma's first pregnancy progressed, Charles fell ill. For the rest of his life he suffered episodes of stomach pains, vomiting, severe boils and other symptoms which frequently limited his working time to a few minutes a day or forced him to stop working and recuperate. Darwin made attempts to explain his theory to close friends, but they were slow to show interest and seemed unable to grasp the idea of selection without a divine selector. In 1842, the year that the family moved to Down House to escape the pressures of London, Darwin formulated a short Pencil Sketch of his theory and by 1844 had written a 240 page Essay which provided an expanded version of his early ideas on natural selection. Later that year the anonymous publication of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation proposed a form of Transmutation similar to Lamarck's evolution, applying it to all realms of the human and natural world. While it attracted great denunciations, it also attracted large amounts of attention. Darwin completed his third Geological book in 1846 and, assisted by his friend the young botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, began a huge study of barnacles. In 1847 Hooker read the Essay and sent notes giving Darwin the calm critical feedback that he needed. To try to deal with his illness Darwin went to a spa in Malvern in 1849 for two months of water treatment, and to his surprise this was successful. He pressed on with his work on barnacles and found homologies showing dramatically how organs could have changed functions to meet new conditions, supporting his theory. Then his treasured daughter Annie fell ill, reawakening his fears that his illness might be hereditary. After a long series of crises, she died and Darwin lost all faith in a beneficent God. He supported the local Anglican church in its work but ceased attending, and Emma took the children to church but maintained her Unitarian faith. Thomas Huxley became a friend and ally.
Darwin completed his work on barnacles (Cirripedia) in 1854 and turned his attention to his theory of species. Announcement and publication of theory See publication of Darwin's theory for details. In the spring of 1856 Lyell read a paper on the Introduction of species by Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist working in Borneo, and urged Darwin to publish his theory to establish precedence. Darwin pressed ahead despite illness, getting specimens and information from others including Wallace and Asa Gray. As Darwin worked on his Natural Selection manuscript in December 1857, Wallace wrote to ask if it would delve into human origins. Sensitive to Lyell's fears on this, Darwin responded that "I think I shall avoid the whole subject, as so surrounded with prejudices, though I fully admit that it is the highest & most interesting problem for the naturalist". He encouraged Wallace's theorising, saying "without speculation there is no good & original observation", adding that "I go much further than you".
Then on 18 June 1858 he received a paper from Wallace describing the evolutionary mechanism, with a request to send it on to Lyell. Darwin did so, shocked that he had been "forestalled" and though Wallace had not asked for publication, offering to send it to any journal that Wallace chose. He put matters in the hands of Lyell and Hooker, who agreed on a joint presentation at the Linnean Society on 1 July of On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection. The initial announcement of the theory gained little immediate attention. It was mentioned briefly in a few small reviews but did not yet command much further thought, and was not yet fully distinguishable to most people from other varieties of evolutionary thought. For the next thirteen months, Darwin would labour to produce what was originally to be an abstract of his "big book on species". Receiving constant encouragement from his scientific friends, Darwin finally finished his abstract, and Lyell arranged to have it published by John Murray. The title was agreed as On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection and when the book went on sale to the trade on 22 November 1859 the stock of 1,250 copies was oversubscribed. At the time Evolutionism implied creation without divine intervention, and Darwin avoided using the words "evolution" or "evolve", though concluding that "endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved". The book only briefly alluded to the fact that man, too, would evolve as with the other organisms described in his book. Darwin wrote in deliberate understatement that "light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history". |
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