Charles Darwin (1809 -1882)

When Charles was only eight years old, he was already trying to write down the names of all the planets he could see. He also collected shells, birds’ eggs, insects, and minerals. As schoolboys, Charles and his older brother used to make chemical experiments in the garden near their house.

When his classmates learned that Charles could make oxygen, hydrogen, and other gases, they gave him the nickname “Gas”.

His father was a doctor and wanted Charles to become a doctor too. He sent Charles to Edinburgh University to study medicine. However, Darwin did not stay long because he did not want to be a doctor.

When his father learned this, he decided Charles should become a clergyman, so he was sent to Cambridge University at the age of nineteen. But Darwin did not want to be a clergyman either, as he could not accept all the Church’s dogmas.

While at Cambridge, Darwin continued to collect insects, which gave him great pleasure. In his autobiography, he described one funny episode: “One day, when I was tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles and seized one in each hand. Then I saw a third new kind, which I did not want to lose. So I put the one in my right hand into my mouth. Alas! It ejected a very strong fluid which burned my tongue, so I had to spit the beetle out, and it was lost. The third beetle was lost too.”

After three years at Cambridge, Darwin sailed as a naturalist on the British ship Beagle, which made a voyage around the world. He was on board for five years, studying many different kinds of plants and animals in all parts of the world.

This voyage was a turning point in his life. After observing and studying living creatures, he realized he could not believe in the old idea that the world had been created in just seven days. He understood that all living things had developed over long periods from simpler forms of life.

Darwin was 27 years old when he returned home. He lived in an old house at Down, Kent, where he observed pigeons, dogs, fruits, bees, and flowers. He worked slowly because of poor health, but gradually developed his theory.

In 1859, Darwin published his main work, The Origin of Species, which challenged the belief that all species were created by God in their present form. Twelve years later, he published The Descent of Man, applying his theory of evolution to humans.

Darwin’s work marked the beginning of a new period in biology, now called the Darwinian era.

Charles Darwin died in 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.