Charles Darwin was born in England on the 12th of February 1809, he died on the 19th of April 1882. He was the grandson of Josiah Wedgwood the famous furniture manufacturer. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh but found lectures dull. He learned taxidermy from John Edmonstone, a freed black slave.Amazing Facts About Charles Darwin
- Darwin became an enthusiastic Beetle collector – which was a craze at the time.
- His father sent him to Christ’s College, Cambridge with the intention of training him as an Anglican parson. He later gave up Christianity.
- Presented compelling evidence from his detailed research which included a five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle. On this voyage, Darwin visited ecologically diverse regions such as Brazil, Chile, Australia, the Falkland Islands and the Galapagos Islands. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist and popular writer. His observations would be used to develop his theory of evolution.
- His 1859 book ‘On the Origin of Species’, detailed much of his research on natural selection, it contained a
large amount of evidence to back up his ideas and became a landmark work in the field of evolutionary biology. - Darwin and Wallace’s theories on evolution were both presented on the same day in 1858 to the Linnean Society of London.
- The full title of Origin of Species is On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
- Darwin did not coin the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’. It was added to the fifth edition of Origin of Species. The phrase came from economist Herbert Spencer.
- Darwin has appeared on more UK stamps than anyone outside the Royal Family.
- Seven months after the publication of ‘Origin of Species’ the famous 1860 Oxford evolution debate occurred
between Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. The debate is considered to be a great moment in natural history – and a key moment in the acceptance of evolution. - Other famous work by Charles Darwin includes: ‘The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals’, ‘The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex’, ‘The Power of Movement in Plants’ and ‘The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms’.
- Famous Charles Darwin quotes include: “Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and
from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an individual of any species, in its infinitely complex relationship to other organic beings and to external nature, will tend to the preservation of that
individual, and will generally be inherited by its offspring.” - He liked to eat exotic animals, but not owls.
- Charles Darwin had connections to Buddhism
- Charles Darwin influenced the early history of Psychology
- Charles Darwin was an Abolitionist.
- Charles Darwin married his Cousin.
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Misconceptions about Evolution