Darwin, Charles (1809–82)

Charles robert darwin (1809–82) was born on February 12, 1809, at Shrewsbury, England, the son of Robert Waring Darwin, a physician, and Susannah Wedgwood, daughter of pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood. His grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, a respected physician and active naturalist who had published a theory of evolution (Zoonomia) in the 1790s, which as a boy Darwin discussed at length with his grandfather.

Darwin studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and theology at Cambridge University, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree. Abandoning his plan to become an Anglican priest, he joined a scientific expedition on board the H.M.S. Beagle on a voyage circumnavigating the globe.

Between 1831–36 Darwin served as a naturalist on the Beagle. In 1839 he published Voyage of the Beagle (Journal ...