Charles Darwin - Matthew Agustin

            Charles Darwin was an English scientist who put together the theory of evolution by natural selection. His father was a successful doctor, as was his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, who had a great influence on Charles's later theories. Darwin was not a very motivated student. Charles Darwin loved nature, but he hated school. He had to learn Latin and Greek texts by heart. Charles’ Dad just thought he was lazy, so sent him to Edinburgh in Scotland to learn medicine and become a doctor. Unfortunately, Charles hated medicine too. In those days there were no painkillers and operations were performed on patients while they were wide awake; there was lots of blood and screaming and Darwin detested this. Instead, he spent most of his time on the beach looking at sponges. So Charles quit medicine and his Dad suggested a new career; he could become a priest. Charles went to Christ’s College, Cambridge to study to become a priest, but he didn’t really like that. He spent all his time with his cousin collecting thousands of beetles and putting them in boxes.

In December 1831, Darwin took a 5-year trip on the H.M.S Beagle towards South America. In 1842 and 1844, Darwin wrote short accounts of his views on evolution. However, the publication of other related works around the same time caused great controversy and criticism of the authors, so Darwin decided the time was not yet right for him to enter the argument. He decided to wait and do more research. Darwin studied the practices of pigeon breeders and conducted experiments on the differences in plants and animals over time. He worried about the problem of plants and animals migrating across land and water barriers, for he believed in the importance of isolation for the creation of new species.

In November 1859, Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. His basic idea was that as random genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival, a process known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations are passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different organism (not just a variation of the original, but an entirely different creature). An English philosopher named Herbert Spencer created the phrase "survival of the fittest" to describe this idea. Darwin’s work created a controversy involving religion. In the Bible, it is said that Adam and Eve were the first humans that existed and were created by God. Darwin’s theory stated that humans evolved from other organisms. His theory of evolution captured the attention of scholars in many places.

For much of his adult life, Darwin was burdened with various illnesses of unknown origin. Later in his life, he settled down with his family in a rural area outside of London. Private means allowed him to devote himself to science, in spite of continuous ill-health; it was not realized until after his death that he had suffered from Chagas's disease, which he had contracted from an insect bite while in South America. When Charles died in 1882 at 72 years old, the country decided he was such an important scientist that he should be buried in Westminster Abbey, which was a privilege only for the most important people. Hundreds of people wrote to newspapers saying how great Charles was after his death, and people came from all round the world to go to his funeral.