ANTHOLOGY CHARLES DARWIN

Charles Darwin, the naturalist who most contributed to the history of biology, was
born in Shrewsbury on February 9, 1809. Robert Darwin's fifth son, a wealthy rural
physician, and Susannah Potter, grew up in a sophisticated family English.
After completing his studies at the Shrewsbury School, he entered the University of
Edinburgh to study medicine. In 1827 he left the career and began studies of
theology in the Faculty of Christian Studies, at the University of Cambridge, in order
to become a rural clergyman, as his father wished. There he began an intimate
friendship with John Stevens Henslow, curate and botanist, who took him on long
expeditions to collect plants and recommended him to Captain Fitz Roy as a crew
member of the English vessel Beagle.
Already in the late eighteenth century, as in search of a spokesman, the theory of
evolution slowly hovered around the atmosphere of the naturalists. But what gave
Darwin the credit of discovering natural selection was the publication, on November
24, 1859, of The Origin of Species. This edition ran out on the day of its appearance
and, with the subsequent ones, there were six publications in total that were
published in Darwin's life.
The origin of the species was the result of an exhaustive and profound work of
observation and research that Darwin began at a young age when he studied natural
history and resumed his collection of minerals and insects which he had begun at
school. Nevertheless, what really consecrated the years of study and reflection was
its work like naturalist in the expedition around the world, aboard the Beagle. As he
says in the autobiography: "The trip in the Beagle has been the most important event
in my life and that determined my entire career."
The origin of species was the first convincing and clear account of the theory of
evolution and natural selection. The work of Darwin was narrated in a direct and
colloquial language, accessible to any reader. In it he was able to explain in simple
form that the species changed as a result of a new need; That the struggle for
survival eliminated the unfavorable variations and survived the most suitable; That
the number of individuals of each species remained more or less constant; And
explained, by means of minute descriptions, how the different species varied
according to the environment in all respects.
One of the main influences in his theory of natural selection has been the British
cleric and economist, Thomas Malthus, with his Essay on the Principle of Population
(1798). The naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1915) is also attached to the
work of Darwin, who in his last expedition to the islands of Malaysia formulated his
hypothesis about natural selection. In 1858, although they did not know each other,
Wallace communicated his ideas to Darwin, who already possessed a similar theory.
A few months before the publication of The Origin of Species, both scientists had
published a joint publication of extracts from the manuscripts.
Darwin narrated in his Journal of Travel some experiences that took him to the
beginning of a religious crisis; Wrote: "... In fact I can scarcely comprehend how there
is no one who could wish that Christian doctrine be true." He did not find compatible
slavery, sustenance of the economy of the bourgeoisie, to which he belonged, with
Christian doctrine. Several years later he wrote with a certain ironic tone:
"Considering the ferocity with which I have been treated by the Orthodox, it seems
comical that I once thought of being a cleric."
After five years of expedition (18311836) he wrote, on the basis of the notes taken
on board, the Travel Journal.
In 1842, after a voyage through North Wales in order to observe the glaciers,
Darwin's bad health was accentuated. He had always been a hypochondriac, but the
evils were beginning to become real. He resigned as Secretary of the Geological
Society and sought, along with his cousin, Emma Wedgwood - with whom he had
married in January 1839 - a secluded place in the environs of London. He found a
house in Down House, on the outskirts of Seven Oaks, which was his last home. He
then kept a life apart from social commitments and devoted a few hours a day to
expanding aspects of his theory. He died on April 19, 1882 of what later became
known as Mal de Chagas.
Although some doctors, contrary to the relatives, maintained that, in fact, the cause
of his death was the constant anguish.
He is the author of: Coral Reefs (1842), My Diverse Publications (1844), Travel
Journal (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), Fertilization of Orchids (1862), The
Origin of Man Expression of emotions in man and animals (1872), Life of Erasmus
Darwin (1879) and, finally, Power of Movem