Charles Darwin

We have all heard of Charles Darwin in one way or another. Whether it be from his genetic research, Galapagos escapades, theory of evolution, or the theory of natural selection, Darwin is widely known and his contributions to the natural and biological sciences have made profound impacts on the way we view the world. As much as we value and accept his work today, his contributions weren’t always welcomed.

Charles was born in 1809 in England to a very wealthy family of doctors. He was the fifth of six children, and he was expected, like his brothers, to follow his father’s career of choice. Unfortunately for Charles, all he wanted to do was dive head first into the natural sciences. He was introduced to the wonders of nature very early on in his life and he quickly picked up many collections of various plants. When he was sixteen, he spent the summer of 1825 as an understudy to his father, and Charles helped him with the care of the poor of his hometown. Then in the fall, Charles and his brother were sent to the University of Edinburgh Medical School to become doctors. 

While in University, Charles learned that he had little interest in his medical studies, and he promptly ignored them in favor of his obsession with the natural sciences. His father, disappointed with Charles’s lack of application in the medical field, begrudgingly sent Charles to Christ’s College in Cambridge to study this time to become an Anglican parson. Again Charles neglected his studies and he picked up a passion for beetle collecting, which led him to discover the world of entomology. Despite his neglect for his studies, Charles was still able to earn his ordinary degree. So far in his life, Charles Darwin has been struggling against the well wishes of his father in order to pursue his passion, but now he will have to struggle with tradition and opposing viewpoints of the scientific community.

Professor John Stevens Henslow

After his graduation, Charles was approached by one of his professors, John Stevens Henslow, about a two-year planned voyage to chart the coast of South America that was leaving in four weeks. His father opposed the trip, but his brother in-law helped fund and convince Charles to go. After three months of delays, the voyage began and lasted for approx. five years. During that time, Charles would diligently send back notes, journals, and specimens of most if not all of everything he found. As Charles saw more and more of the natural world, the more he questioned  and found contradictions to the current scientific theories. This then culminated in the inception of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, where the origin of a new species could be explained by genetic variation across generations in a genealogical tree. That, over time, one species changes into another. This opposed many current views of the time, where species had independent lineages where one species could evolve into a higher form or that there was divine influence in creation. In response to his publication of “On the Origin of Species”, many critics attacked Charles’ beliefs and friends, as they felt that their ideas of divine intervention and many felt insulted that Charles proposed the possibility that humans came from monkeys. Many of Charles’ friends supported his publication, but were not convinced of his theory.

As time went on, Charles’ ideas gained more acceptances and with each publication came less and less opposition. Through continuous scrutiny and criticism, Darwin became an extremely popular and respected scientist. Who would commonly engage in public discourse and lecture halls when he could. Charles Darwin’s life choices were heavily influenced by his passion for the natural sciences, he made sure that he followed his passions, and he worked within his passions with a standard so high that eventually caused health concerns.