Charles Darwin

1809 - 1882

How one mans observations and

ideas helped to change the world
 Charles Darwin the boy

Charles Darwin was born on 12th February 1809

in Shrewsbury, England.

He went to boarding school in Shrewsbury and

in 1825 went to Edinburgh University to study
medicine.

Whilst in Edinburgh Darwin investigated marine

invertebrates and started to develop a growing
interest in natural history.

In 1827, at the age of 18, Darwin realised he did

not like the study of medicine and could not bear
the sight of blood or suffering. He left Edinburgh
for Cambridge University with the idea of becoming
a clergyman.
Charles Darwin the young man

Whilst at Cambridge Darwin met a

number of people who were influential
in shaping his career.

His cousin William Darwin Fox, who

was a keen collector of beetles.

John Henslow, who studied and

lectured on plants.

Professor Adam Sedgewick, who

taught him about geology during an
expedition to Wales in 1831.

In August 1831, Henslow wrote to

Darwin inviting him to become a
naturalist for Captain Fitzroy on the
survey ship the Beagle.
 The voyage of the Beagle
1831 - 1836

After two false starts, the Beagle set sail on her voyage on 27th
December 1831, with Charles Darwin aboard. The voyage lasted 5
years.
The ship sailed to South America to carry out surveying work, and
everywhere it went Darwin took detailed notes of what he saw and
collected many specimens.

Galapagos
 The Galapagos Islands

Charles Darwin arrived in the Galapagos, a group of volcanic islands

off the coast of Ecuador, South America on 15th September 1835.

The observations Darwin made during his visit were to be influential

in the formation of his scientific theories.
 The Galapagos Islands

The Beagle visited four of the Galapagos Islands in a period of five

weeks, beginning September 15th 1835. The islands visited were
San Cristbal, Floreana, Isabela and Santiago.

During his time on the islands, Darwin collected specimens of many

of the different plants and animals he observed, and detailed
drawings were also made.

As well his observations on the species on the islands, Darwin also

wrote descriptions of the geography and geology of each island in
his diary.
 The Galapagos Islands
One species which Darwin wrote many observations about was the
Galapagos giant tortoise.

It was confidently asserted, that the tortoises coming from different islands in the
archipelago were slightly different in form; and that in certain islands they attained a
larger average size than in others

Darwin also mentioned a number of times in his writings that the tortoises
were a good source of meat for explorers and the islands inhabitants. He
noted that the number of tortoises on some islands had been greatly
reduced, and in fact giant tortoises are now extinct on Floreana.

...the main article of animal food

is derived from the tortoise. Their
numbers in this island have of
course been greatly reduced
 Variety is the spice of life
Darwin was amazed at the wide variety of plants and animals he
found during his voyage to the Galapagos Islands.

The images below show some of the vertebrates that Darwin saw.

Galapagos marine iguana Galapagos hawk perched on

Galapagos giant tortoise
Vermillion flycatcher
 Darwin - the collector
Darwin collected numerous specimens of plants and animals and
kept detailed records of where and when he had found them. Many of
the species he collected and classified were new to science at the
time.

Lots of Darwins specimens are still preserved in collections in

universities and museums.

Large ground-finch - Charles Darwins specimen

 Darwin observed that each island had its own unique mixture of
plants and animals. These were often adapted to survive in the
different conditions found on each island.

San Cristobal mockingbird only Medium tree-finch Daisy tree Scalesia divisa
found on San Cristbal only found on Floreana only found on San Cristbal
 Darwins finches

Darwin made detailed studies of one group of birds, the finches,

because of their strong similarities and subtle differences.

He noticed that the different finch species varied in size, beak size
and shape, and behaviour. He thought that these differences could
be best explained if the finches had gradually become adapted to suit
the conditions on the island they inhabited.

He presumed therefore that all 13 species of finch found on the

islands must be closely related.

He also deduced that the individuals with the best set of adaptations
for each islands habitat would be most likely to survive and breed.
Darwins finches
 On the Origin of Species

Darwin completed his voyage on the Beagle in 1836.

For over 20 years Darwin continued to do experiments and collect

data based on his ideas about the importance of adaptation and
survival.

In June 1858 he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace,

another naturalist and explorer who was collecting specimens in
Indonesia. Wallace shared similar ideas to Darwin about how living
things could adapt and evolve.

In November 1859, Darwin published his famous book On the Origin

of Species by Means of Natural Selection in which he described his
evidence for evolution - much of which was first collected during the
voyage of the Beagle.