Charles Darwin
1809 – 1882 English naturalist, biologist
The naturalist who explained life through evolution by natural selection.
- Religion
- Began as an orthodox Anglican, then lost his faith over suffering in nature and his son's death, settling into agnosticism, a term coined by his ally Huxley.
- Affiliations
- Fellow of the Royal Society. No secret society.
Darwin showed in On the Origin of Species that species evolve through natural selection, giving biology its unifying theory. Drawing on his voyage aboard the Beagle, he gathered decades of evidence before publishing. His work transformed science and our understanding of humanity's place in nature.
Connections
- influenced Alexander von Humboldt — Darwin carried Humboldt's travel writings on the Beagle voyage.
- influenced Alexander von Humboldt — Humboldt's travel writing inspired Darwin's own voyage.
- family of Josiah Wedgwood — Maternal grandfather of Charles Darwin.
In the timeline
- 1859 Publication of On the Origin of Species author
- 1859 Darwin's Origin of Species published (1859) mentioned