Charles Darwin: The Evolution of a Visionary
A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life
Charles Robert Darwin, a British Naturalist and Biologist was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. He was the second youngest born to a wealthy and privileged family.
Darwin was naturally interested in the nature, coming from a long line of scientists in his family. His father being a medical doctor and his grandfather being a botanist. Darwin’s mother passed away when Darwin was only 8.
Darwin had enrolled himself into the University of Edinburgh at the age of 16. 2 years later, he became a student at the Christ’s College in Cambridge. Although, Darwin’s father preferred Darwin to take on medicine, he had his eyes set on something else, Natural History.
After Darwin’s graduation, he went aboard the HMS Beagle thanks to his mentor, Henslow where he would travel the world for 5 years. Charles, with eager excitement began the voyage right after Christmas, 1831. Over the course of his trip, he had already collected a variety of birds, plants and fossils.
5 years later, in 1836, Darwin rushed to write up his findings in the Journal of Researches. The trip changed Darwin’s perspective on many things. He began to write on his famous theory on evolution, which was very different from what was perceived back then.
He criticised that species survive a process called natural selection where the species that adapt to their environments are only capable of thriving whereas those which do not adapt, simply die off. Further on, upon examining the fossils and plants, he had come to the conclusion that the species known today come from constant evolution from common ancestors. He called this theory, Darwinism.
Fun Fact: Did you know that the chicken is the result of evolution from a T-Rex
In 1858, 27 years after his trip, Darwin introduced his theory of evolution to the world. On November 24, 1859, he published a detailed explanation of his theory in his best-known work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
In the next century, DNA studies provided scientific evidence for Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, controversy surrounding its conflict with Creationism — the religious view that all of nature was born of God — is still found among some people today.
Darwin had spent most of his life, dedicating himself towards science and his theory, that he had not even noticed the time go by. At the age of 73, Darwin died with the comfort of his family, in London on April 19, 1882.
It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.
