Introduction
Charles Robert Darwin was a naturalist born on 12th February 1809 at a place called Shrewsbury in England. However, he died on 19th April 1882 in London. In his lifetime, one of his greatest achievements is about the evolutionary theory of living organisms (Bowler). He was able to achieve this success through the voyage he embarked in 1831. He traveled for five years all over the world with the HMS Beagle. Through his traveling, he was able to study different specimen and thus his evolution theory was developed. This fact caused him to write the book titled as On the Origin of Species.
Early life
His accomplishments are based on his early life and upbringing. He was born into a wealthy family in a town called Shrewsbury. Darwin has five siblings with him being the second of the six children. His father was named as Dr. R.W. Darwin, and his mother was called Susanna Darwin. Dr. Darwin was a renowned doctor while his grandfather Erasmus Darwin was a successful botanist (Bowler). He lost his mother when he was only eight years old. Both of his grandfathers were abolitionist, and thus they influenced him throughout his life. At a young age, it could be observed that he loved to explore and study nature. Darwin used to help his father to treat the disadvantaged people and thus together with his brother Erasmus they entered the Edinburg University, which was considered to be one of the best medical schools in 1825. However, while in the university, he becomes bored and uninterested in his studies. Through his boredom and lack of interest in his studies, he was able to learn about taxidermy from John Edmonstone.
While in his second year of studies he joined the Plinian society that was considered to be a natural history group (Berra). In this club, he helped Robert Edmond Grants when it came to his investigations of the anatomy of the life cycle of the marine invertebrates. Through working with him, he was able to come up with his own discovery that the black spores found in oysters were the eggs for the leech. However, due to his neglect of studies it caused his father to enroll him in the Christ’s College located in Cambridge in 1827. It can be stated that Darwin’s dad wanted him to follow in his footsteps, but when he showed no interest, his father decided that he should become an Anglican parson. Therefore, he stayed in Cambridge until 1831 where he was able to study natural theology.
Voyage on the HMS Beagle
One of his mentors John Stevens Henslow recommended him for the HMS Beagle voyage in the naturalist position. He found a letter when he returned from his trip telling him about the five year trip. Captain Robert FitzRoy was commanding the ship. This trip became one of the building foundation and success in the life of Darwin. There were some delays that caused the voyage to stall until December 27th, 1831. During the expedition, Darwin collected some natural specimens (Darwin). These specimens includes fossils, plants, and birds. He was able to have a first-hand opportunity to study the sample in details through experimentations. He recorded his findings in letters that he sent back to Cambridge. Some of the specimens were also sent back to Cambridge for further analysis. He was delighted when they arrived in Brazil particularly in the tropical forest. However, he was not impressed by the system of slavery. It was at this point that the chief naturalist sent in the voyage McCormick alighted from the ship. He was not happy with Darwin because it looked like he had surpassed him when it came to naturalism. The trip continued to the South a place called Patagonia, and the ship stopped in Bahia Blanca. It was in this place that Darwin made a significant discovery of fossil bones of animals that were extinct (Berra).
His journey ended in 1836 when he returned to England. He made a lot of discovery in the voyage and wrote his findings and conclusions in the Journal of researches. This journal is claimed to be part of the narrative of Captain FitzRoy that was later edited as the Zoology of the voyage of the Beagle (Darwin). This trip is stated to have been one of his biggest inspiration for the development of the evolutionary theory. He discovered many things that contradicted what was popularly being claimed to be the origin of living organisms by the naturalist.
Theory of evolution
Upon his return to England Darwin was already being considered as a scientific celebrity. His findings in the trip made him come up with the evolution theory of living things. When it comes to other naturalists, they believe that all the species in the world came to be from the beginning of the world. This fact could also mean that they came to exists over the course of the natural history (Darwin). The naturalist also believed that the species remained the same throughout the time of history. Through global voyage, Darwin was able to find differences and similarities between all kinds of species. From this observation, Darwin came to the conclusion that the similarities between the species mean that they must evolve from one ancestor. Therefore, it can be stated that he believed that the survival of the spices was brought on by the process of Natural Selection.
According to his theory, it says that species were able to adapt to a particular surrounding thus they survived and reproduced (Francis). However, those who failed to evolve and adjust to a particular setting died. It was in 1858 that Darwin was able to introduce to the world his evolutionary theory of living things. This theory was published in one of the most notable works of Darwin called On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. He published another famous work called The Descent of Man. In this work, Darwin talked about human evolution. According to Darwin, the human race traces their roots and ancestry from the apes (Bowler). This kind thinking goes against the evolution of human beings in accordance to Christianity. Therefore, his work was met with a lot of objections from the Victorian society.
Marriage and death
Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgwood and had ten children. However, it is stated that three of his children died at an early age. Darwin was diagnosed with angina pectoris which caused his health to fail and also had heart failure (Berra). He died in 1882 after being taken care off by his wife, Emma. He was buried in Westminster Abbey a place where Isaak Newton was also buried. This fact showed how influential and important the work of Darwin was to the country and the world.
In conclusion, Darwin was a prominent figure in the world that brought about the evolution theory of living things. His successful work was brought on by the love he had for naturalism. This fact could be observed throughout his life. His father wanted him to be a medical doctor just like him; however, Darwin was never interested, and thus, he rarely attended his classes. This fact caused his father to take him to another college. It was in this college where Darwin met up with many people who influenced his life. His evolution theory began when he attended an HMS Beagle voyage that took place for five years. In this trip, Darwin was able to observe different species that led him to see the similarities between some types of animals (Francis). Upon his return, he had written letters and journals that helped him to come up with different theories about living organisms. He died in 1882 leaving behind a very successful legacy about the evolution of living things. This legacy prompted scientists to investigate further while others continued to support his ideology.
Works cited
Berra, Tim M. Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009. Print
Bowler, Peter J. Charles Darwin: The Man and His Influence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print
Darwin, Charles. Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the Command of Capt. Fitz Roy, R.N. 2d edition. London: John Murray, 1845. Print
Francis, Keith. Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. Print
