Charles Darwin changed how we see the world with his theory of evolution. While many know him as an old man with a beard, his youth was full of adventure and strange experiments. For instance, he almost became a priest instead of a scientist. Furthermore, he spent years studying earthworms in his garden to see if they could listen to music. Prepare to sail on the Beagle with the naturalist who ate the animals he discovered.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin belonged to a “Glutton Club” at university. During his time at Cambridge, he joined a group dedicated to eating “birds and beasts unknown to the human palate.” They ate hawk and bittern but eventually disbanded after trying a stringy, terrible brown owl.
He put a live beetle in his mouth to save it. Once, he saw three rare beetles but only had two hands. He popped one into his mouth to catch the third. However, it sprayed a hot, bitter acid down his throat, and he lost all three.
He dropped out of medical school because he feared blood. His father sent him to Edinburgh to become a doctor like him. Yet, Charles ran out of the operating room during a surgery on a child and never went back.
Charles Darwin originally studied to become a clergyman. After quitting medicine, he went to Cambridge to study theology. He planned to become a quiet country parson, which would leave him plenty of time to collect beetles.
He was not the official naturalist on the HMS Beagle. The captain actually wanted a companion to keep him from getting depressed during the long voyage. Consequently, Darwin joined the ship as a “gentleman companion” who paid his own way.
He ate the animals he discovered. While in South America, he ate armadillos, which he said tasted like duck. He also enjoyed a 20-pound rodent that he claimed was the best meat he ever tasted.
He waited twenty years to publish his famous theory. He finished his basic ideas by 1838 but did not publish On the Origin of Species until 1859. He feared the public backlash and wanted to build more evidence to support his controversial claims.
Charles Darwin made a pro-con list to decide if he should marry. He wrote down reasons like “constant companion” versus “less money for books.” ultimately, he decided that a wife was “better than a dog” and proposed to his cousin.
He married his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood. They had ten children together, but Charles worried constantly about their health. He feared that their close genetic relationship might have caused the illnesses that plagued some of his children.
He suffered from a mystery illness for forty years. He experienced chronic vomiting, stomach pain, and exhaustion for most of his adult life. Today, doctors think he might have had Chagas disease from a bug bite or severe lactose intolerance.
He spent eight years studying barnacles. Before he published his theory on evolution, he wanted to prove he was a real biologist. Therefore, he classified every known species of barnacle in the world to build his scientific reputation.
He played the bassoon to his earthworms. He wanted to test if worms could hear, so he had his son play loud music to them. They did not react to the sound, but they did sense the vibrations from the piano.
He did not coin the phrase “survival of the fittest.” The philosopher Herbert Spencer invented this famous phrase after reading Darwin’s book. Darwin eventually included it in later editions, but he originally used the term “natural selection.”
He lost his religious faith after his daughter died. While his science challenged religious dogma, the death of his ten-year-old daughter Annie truly broke his faith. He could not believe a benevolent God would allow such an innocent child to suffer.
Finally, the church eventually buried Charles Darwin in Westminster Abbey. Despite his controversial ideas, the public demanded he receive a state funeral. He lies next to Isaac Newton, honoring his place as one of the greatest scientists in British history.
