Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Charles Darwin transformed the way we understand the natural world with ideas that, in his day, were nothing short of revolutionary. He and his fellow pioneers in the field of biology gave us insight into the fantastic diversity of life on Earth and its origins, including our own as a species. 

He went to study medicine at Edinburgh University but left after witnessing an operation on a child without any anaesthesia, went to Cambridge to study theology but then set sail on the HMS Beagle for a five-year voyage.  It was here he started collecting and notating masses of data on animals, plants and fossils that became in time, his theory of evolution. The theory proposes that the ‘fittest’ individual organisms – those with the characteristics best suited to their environment – are more likely to survive and reproduce. They pass on these desirable characteristics to their offspring. 

After famously conducting many experiments with pigeons in captivity, Darwin Published in 1859, “On the Origin of Species” which provoked outrage from some members of the Church of England as it implicitly contradicted the belief in divine creation.  Charles Darwin wanted the book to be accessed by as many people as possible and wrote it accordingly – the Natural History Museum Library has 478 editions of On the Origin of Species in 38 languages and in Braille.