Origin: the story of Charles Darwin

Origin: The Story of Charles Darwin
The boy that no one thought would go anywhere. The child that never believed there was a real spot in the world for them. The son whose father wanted him to make something of himself but didn’t approve of what he wanted to do had become one of the most known scientists in the world. After going on a five year expedition Darwin uncovered patterns within animals and the land to create and show the theory of evolution. Collaborating with many scientists to analyze all the artifacts brought back from his trip, Darwin made lifelong friends and contributed many pieces to the new and evolving world of science.
Going up, Charles Darwin had four older siblings and one younger sibling. Being from a family of wealth it was expected that Darwin would make something of himself, like being a doctor or clergyman. Darwin’s father, Robert only wanted the best for his sons and sent him to many different school until Darwin finally found the right fit. In some cases it took Darwin many times to pass classes. He wasn’t a motivated student because nothing seemed to be able to capture his attention. Going up Darwin liked to collect many things like rocks, insects, which later would become a vital part to his research.
As Darwin got older finding his right major took some time. Charles changed his major a few times, his father having money allowed him to do this. His father tried anything, at one point he tried to send him to medical school and at first Darwin seemed to like it, until he started to witness surgeries. Charles soon found out that he didn’t have the stomach for being in the medical field and changed majors. Darwin changed schools and started to attend Cambridge College and studied to become a minister. While studying here his brother, Erasmus, told him about John Henslow. John Henslow a Professor of Botany at Cambridge College became a life time mentor for Darwin and would play a major impact on Darwin and his work. Henslow offered Botany and lectures, laboratory sessions, and field trips into the countryside around the university to study the wildlife. These were offered to any students at Cambridge. After hearing about this from his brother he started to attend the lectures and events. Darwin became a regular and created a great bond with Henslow. Henslow also invited all undergraduate students over to his home on Friday nights to discuss topics like mineralogy, chemistry or geology. Henslow even started to introduce Darwin to other scientists and invited him their frequent gatherings. Henslow and Darwin’s bond didn’t end there.
After graduating from Cambridge Darwin was getting ready to be a minister when he received a letter from Henslow. Henslow was invited to join the HMS Beagle ship on a two year expedition around the world. Henslow did not want to leave his wife for that long and suggested that Charles Darwin go in his place. Darwin being thrilled with the opportunity knew his father would not be pleased, and not supportive of it decided to ask him anyway. His father quickly rejected the idea and told him to decline the offer. Darwin sent a letter back stating that he would not be able to join the ship for the journey. Darwin was visiting his uncle and told him about his offer and his uncle thought he should go on the trip and told Darwin to accept the offer and that he would talk to his father to get his approval. Sure enough, Robert Darwin agreed to the idea and Darwin sent another letting stating that he was able to go. Darwin met with captain, Robert FitzRoy.
Along there journey Darwin found many artifacts to help prove evolution. He found traces of one thing on another continent that he then had to find a way to figure out how they got there and how that could be related. On the Galapagos Islands the amount of variety of Finches lead Darwin to be able to capture what evolution truly is. He discovered that animals and wildlife adapt to their surroundings and the most fit for the environment will live on and reproduce. Those who are not so fit for their environment die out, leaving those of higher quality for the land. Although Darwin thought his journey was only going to two years it ended up being a five year trip.
Being a genius at heart, Darwin didn’t think so highly of himself. He waited many years before publishing some of his work. He almost didn’t get create for the idea of evolution. As he was getting ready to publish his theory of evolution another scientist came to him and asked him to read his theory. His theory was almost identical to Darwin’s and made Darwin getting credit for his work harder. To make it fair they brought both pieces to the board, telling them that Darwin’s theory was thought of many years before and they also have proof of this from a letter Darwin wrote to a colleague many years ago. Darwin went on to discover and uncover many more things about the world.
When I first had chosen this story I didn’t think I was going to enjoy reading it as much as I did. Reading about Darwin’s life and discoveries was very captivating. Learning about evolution in the past, I had a basic understanding about Darwin and evolution but now I feel I truly understand evolution and how Darwin became who he was. Another interesting fact I did not mention above was that Darwin married his cousin. Facts like these kept me interested and kept me wanting to read more and more.

Work Cited
Leone, Bruno. Origin: The Story of Charles Darwin. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds Pub., 2009. Print.

Cited: Leone, Bruno. Origin: The Story of Charles Darwin. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds Pub., 2009. Print.