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Charles Darwin

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Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. His mother's name was Susannah Wedgewood. His mother was the daughter to a famous pottery expert named Josiah Wedgwood. His father was a very wealthy physician named Robert Waring Darwin. His Grandfather, Erasmus Darwin was a famous poet, physician, and philosopher. Young Charles was destined to make something of himself the day he was born.

In 1818, young Charles began school at Shrewsbury. His achievements were very minor and at the concern of his father he was removed. His father stated, "You care for nothing but shooting dogs and rat catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and your whole family." Robert Darwin enrolled his son in Edinburgh to study medicine. Young Darwin did not like the subject and could barely even watch operations. In 1827 Charles was sent to Christ's College in Cambridge to prepare for holy orders in the Church of England. This was the last resort for failures in rich families. Charles did not care much at all about his ministry studies and spent most of his time with young sportsmen. At Cambridge, Charles began to meet many scientists. Daily, the scientists would encourage Charles to study natural history. A botanist by the name of John Steven Henslow was a particular influence on Charles. Henslow assisted Charles in his struggle with low self-esteem.

When 1831 rolled around Charles received his B.A. He had become a lot more interested in botany and collecting beetles, yet he was still far from a finished Naturalist. Henslow told Charles about an unpaid position available for a Naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. The Beagles plans were to sail around the world on scientific expedition. Charles excepted the offer.

Throughout the voyage, Charles was brought into contact with many examples of nature. This gave him an opportunity to observe and study the wide range of natural phenomenons. These studies contributed to his theory on evolution. In 1837 Charles went to London to finish work on his Journal known as The Voyage of the Beagle. He arranged his collections of fossils and bugs and was impressed by the likenesses of the species showed. He studied all of the samples vigorously, down to every line, spot and, organ and noticed that each had developed in their own way from ancestors. Some of the ancestry

was linked to other

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