Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection

The Life of British Naturalist Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was a British naturalist who revolutionized the science of biology through his demonstration of evolution by natural selection. Darwin's seminal work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle of Life, was published on November 24, 1859.

Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was a scientist whose ideas on evolution anticipated later theories. In 1827, he started theology studies in Cambridge. His love for collecting plants, insects, and geological specimens was noted by his botany professor, who arranged for his talented student a place on the surveying expedition of the HMS Beagle to Patagonia. The captain needed a naturalist for the trip, and Darwin decided to leave his familiar surroundings.

The Five-Year Voyage of the HMS Beagle

On the voyage, Darwin shared a small cabin with the captain. The journey took five years, from 1831 to 1836. By 1846, Darwin had published several works based on the discoveries of the voyage, and he became the secretary of the Geological Society (1838–1841). From 1842, Darwin lived at Down House. In 1839, he married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood.

Developing the Theory of Natural Selection

In the 1840s, Darwin worked on his observations regarding the origin of species for his own use. He began to conclude—although he was deeply anxious about the direction his mind was taking—that species might share a common ancestor. When Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist living in the East Indies, sent Darwin a study in 1858 containing the main ideas of the theory of natural selection, Darwin arranged his notes, which were then presented to the Linnean Society.

Publication of On the Origin of Species

Darwin's great work, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, appeared the following year and was heavily attacked because it did not support the depiction of creation given in the Bible. Darwin's argument was that natural selection (the mechanism of evolution) worked automatically, leaving little or no room for divine guidance or design. He reasoned that all species produce far too many offspring for them all to survive; therefore, those with favorable variations are selected.

Scientific Legacy and Later Life

Darwin's voyage with the Royal Navy's H.M.S. Beagle is recorded in the Journal of Researches (1836), a blend of scientific reporting and travel writing, considered one of the best travel books ever written. Wallace also wrote a travel book, The Malay Archipelago. Darwin died in Down, Kent, on April 19, 1882. It is thought that Darwin suffered from Chagas's disease after being bitten by an insect.

Darwin's works have had a deep influence outside the field of natural sciences. Applied to politics, it led to discussions about "favored races" and the doctrine that nations struggle in order that the fittest shall survive.