Charles Darwin's book "On the Origin of Species" was published on
November 24, 1859. Darwin was born in 1809, and was sent to medical
school in Scotland, which he found boring. But he did learn the art
of taxidermy. After 2 years or so, his father sent him to Cambridge
university so he could get a degree and then become a priest.
Apparently Darwin wasn't very interested in studies until his cousin
introduced him to beetle collecting and to the botany professor John
Henslow. Darwin got interested in etymology, even publishing some
findings on beetles. It appears he was crazy after beetles; one story
is that he broke up with his girlfriend at the time because he was
spending too much time collecting beetles. Anyway, one thing led to
another, he finished his degree, and some time after he graduated,
Professor Henslow recommended Darwin to be the naturalist on the HMS
Beagle. Darwin's father thought this was a waste of time and money,
but ultimately agreed to let him go.
The HMS Beagle was a warship, named after the dog breed. Apparently,
in the British Navy, it was not uncommon to name ships after animals.
At least 9 ships have been named the HMS Beagle, the latest in 1967.
It was the first ship to sail under the (new) London Bridge. Anyway,
the Beagle became a survey ship, and went on three voyages. Darwin
was on the second. The Beagle sailed to South America, across the
Magellan Straits, up the west coast of south America, the Galapagos,
then to Australian, and then south of Africa and back up to England.
From the Galapagos, the Beagle picked up a giant tortoise called
Harriet. Harriet died in 2009 at an estimated age of 175, in
Australia It was thought for many years that Harriet was a male,
called Harry. This was only corrected in the 1960's, when she was
over 100 years old. It is theorized that Darwin took the tortoise on
board the ship, but there seems to be some controversy about this. One
possibility is that he gave the tortoise to the ships captain, who
took it with him when he eventually moved to Australia. That captain,
John Wickam, also named the city Darwin in Australia after Charles.
But this was 20 years before the Origin of Species was published.
November 24, 1859. Darwin was born in 1809, and was sent to medical
school in Scotland, which he found boring. But he did learn the art
of taxidermy. After 2 years or so, his father sent him to Cambridge
university so he could get a degree and then become a priest.
Apparently Darwin wasn't very interested in studies until his cousin
introduced him to beetle collecting and to the botany professor John
Henslow. Darwin got interested in etymology, even publishing some
findings on beetles. It appears he was crazy after beetles; one story
is that he broke up with his girlfriend at the time because he was
spending too much time collecting beetles. Anyway, one thing led to
another, he finished his degree, and some time after he graduated,
Professor Henslow recommended Darwin to be the naturalist on the HMS
Beagle. Darwin's father thought this was a waste of time and money,
but ultimately agreed to let him go.
The HMS Beagle was a warship, named after the dog breed. Apparently,
in the British Navy, it was not uncommon to name ships after animals.
At least 9 ships have been named the HMS Beagle, the latest in 1967.
It was the first ship to sail under the (new) London Bridge. Anyway,
the Beagle became a survey ship, and went on three voyages. Darwin
was on the second. The Beagle sailed to South America, across the
Magellan Straits, up the west coast of south America, the Galapagos,
then to Australian, and then south of Africa and back up to England.
From the Galapagos, the Beagle picked up a giant tortoise called
Harriet. Harriet died in 2009 at an estimated age of 175, in
Australia It was thought for many years that Harriet was a male,
called Harry. This was only corrected in the 1960's, when she was
over 100 years old. It is theorized that Darwin took the tortoise on
board the ship, but there seems to be some controversy about this. One
possibility is that he gave the tortoise to the ships captain, who
took it with him when he eventually moved to Australia. That captain,
John Wickam, also named the city Darwin in Australia after Charles.
But this was 20 years before the Origin of Species was published.
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