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