Charles Darwin, 1809 – 1882

Even though he was born 210 years ago, Charles Darwin is one of the most famous British scientists who ever lived. He was mostly famous for his scientific papers, books and his work on evolution. He discovered different patterns in animals and how they developed to fit their habitats more successfully.

Charles was born in Shrewsbury, England on the 12 th February 1809 at The Mount which was his home. He lived in a wealthy family with his four sisters and his brother – Marianne, Caroline, Catherine, Susan and Erasmus. He was very fond of his sisters and his earliest memory was when he was sat on his sister Catherine’s lap when she was peeling an orange for him when, unfortunately, a cow ran past the window making him jump. The knife went into his leg, leaving a scar.

Charles’ mother died when he was eight which meant that he had to go to boarding school. He was best friends with his brother Erasmus and they made science experiments which is where he got the nickname ’Gas’ from at his school for his smelly experiments.

His father was a doctor so he made him study medicine at Edinburgh. Charles did not last long though as he was afraid of blood and it made him feel sick. His father got over the fact that his son was not going to be a doctor, so he suggested that he went to Cambridge University to become a priest but Charles did not like that either! He wasn’t very committed to this because he had doubts about his religion. This was where he found his passion for geology (rocks) and botany. At Cambridge, he met Professor Henslow and Professor Sedgwick who inspired him and encouraged him to study nature scientifically. In his final exams, he ranked 10 out of 178 people.

While he was at Cambridge, Darwin joined a club (The ‘Glutton Club’) where they ate strange animals. His favourite animal was said to be a capybara and the worst one was a tawny owl that he said tasted stringy and foul.

In 1831, when he was 22 years old, Henslow offered him a 5-year voyage on HMS Beagle which was a naval survey ship responsible for mapping coastlines. Darwin wanted to collect evidence on the voyage and to carry out detailed research so that he had things to write about when he returned from his trip. He had to sleep in a hammock which made him feel seasick. On the voyage he visited Brazil, Chile, Australia, The Falkland Islands and the Galapagos Islands.

When Darwin was 28, he married his cousin (Emma Wedgwood) on January 28 th 1839. They had ten children together and in 1842 moved to Down in Kent to live in a large house. In 1859, he wrote a book called The Origin of Species and began to become famous for his findings.

As he got old, he began to become sick but no-one knew what it was. They assumed it was from his voyage. He died on 19 th April 1882, aged 72 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. People from all around the world attended his funeral. His face is now on the UK £10 note and he has a statue in London’s Natural History Museum.

Click on the image above to link to the Natural History Museum and find out more about Darwin.