Charles Darwin
We enjoyed a fascinating and informative evening in which Darwin was brought to life for us by three of our members.
Darwin's period was put in context by one member considering her own family of five generations ago. His early life and family were outlined by a second member, whilst a third took us on the voyage of HMS Beagle with maps, pictures and quotations from Darwin's accounts of the journey. We concluded with current thoughts in genetics and population biology and a quiz.
Darwin's lifetime saw the introduction of the London bobby, the Factory Act, the abolition of slavery, the building of the Crystal Palace, the rise of the railways and the move for many from the country to town. Creationism was the prevailing belief.
Born in Shrewsbury, Darwin originally studied medicine in Edinburgh, then Divinity at Cambridge. He was a born naturalist however, and, age 22, he joined Captain Fitzroy on HMS Beagle.
The journey took 5 years(1851-6)and covered Brazil, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Peru, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Australia and islands mid ocean. Fitzroy took extensive chronometrical measurements and Darwin collected thousands of species. He was fascinated by issues of population and migration, the rising and sinking of land, fossils and the extinction of species.
Returning home, Darwin classified and analysed the specimens. He studied barnacles he had collected, bred pigeons and slowly developed his theories. Living in Down House in Kent, he was supported by his wife and cousin, Emma(Wedgwood). They had ten children, three of whom died.
Early papers, and a book about the journey were followed by "The Origin of Species" descibing the mechanism of natural selection and "The Descent of Man" proposing an ape-like distant ancestor, the first man originating from Africa.
The evening was illustrated with references to several books by and about Darwin. The book "This Thing of Darkness" by Harry Thompson and the Cambridge University Library website which has all Darwin's papers online were recommended to us.
