My Inspirations

I only have one main inspiration as to why I became the naturalist I am today. This man is my good friend and mentor Professor John Stevens Henslow. Our friendship began in 1828 at Cambridge University. Not only did this good-natured academic and clergyman teach me much of his scientific technique, but he also arranged a place for his favorite pupil aboard HMS Beagle. Without him I wouldn't have found any of those species during my travels. You would still be wondering who/how did we evolve into these creatures we call humans and how did all of these different species of animals come to be so closely related. 

My Prediction (plants)

When I first saw this beautiful orchid from Madagascar, Angraecum sesquipedale, in 1862. Its foot-long green throat holds sweet nectar. I was so puzzled on what insect/animal can suck it. Then I  predicted that Madagascar must be home to an insect with an incredibly long feeding tube, or proboscis. No such insect had ever been found there on this island. I discovered the giant hawk moth, which hovers like a hummingbird as its long, whip-like proboscis probes for the distant nectar. On that day I knew I would be discovering things that nobody has ever herd of.

Music from the Victorian Era

My Findings

I filled in many tablets with careful observations about animals, plants and geology while also collecting 1000`s of specimens which I put in crates and brought home with me for further study.  I also got the privilege of witnessing Mount Osomo erupt while on the island of Chiloe. Really the earthquake  after the eruption did more damage decreasing the size of the island. In the Galapagos islands I find so many species of plants, birds and tortoises unique to the island but they seem closely related to the mainland species. I was fascinated and amused as to how big the Galapagos tortoises were. They were so big that I actually got on top of one and started riding one. After experiencing that and learning all those new things I didn't know before I would say that the "Beagle voyage was the most important event in my life".

 

The H.M.S. Beagle

The H.M.S. Beagle, which set sail from Plymouth Sound on December 27 ,1831 under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy, R.N.. While the expedition was originally planned to last two years, it lasted almost five years—the Beagle did not return until October 2, 1836. I spent most of this time exploring on land and  at sea. The Beagle surveyed the coast of South America leaving me free to explore continent and its islands including the Galapagos . I explored the Cape Verde Islands, next in February of 1832 we crossed the equator then, Salvador ,Brazil, Punta Alta & Tierra del Fuego Argentina, The Franklin Islands, Rio Negro Argentina, Chiloe Islands, The Galapagos Islands, Sydney Australia, Keeling Islands, Mauritius, Cape Town South Africa, Bahia and Pernambuco South America  and finally we make it back home to Falmouth England. So basically that voyage was not for the faint of heart when it comes to the sea. I mean I was queasy
 my first few months but I was willing to take it for the thrill of finding something new.

Inventions

There were many important inventions and discoveries made in Britain during the Victorian Era. The three  inventions that was the most significant in my opinion was the Telephone made by Alexander Grand Bell in 1876, The Electric Light Bulb made by Thomas Edison in 1879 and if I do say so myself  My Theory of Evolution by yours truly Charles Darwin. The telephone  was an inevitable improvement on the telegraph, allowing people to transmit their own voices to convey information rather than relying on telegraph operators to decipher transmitted tones. The telephone remains one of the most influential and important inventions of the last 200 years. In the late 1880s, power demand for electric motors brought the industry from mainly nighttime lighting to 24-hour service and dramatically raised electricity demand for transportation and industry needs.  The
electric light brought Thomas Edison to new heights of fame and wealth, as electricity spread around the world

About Me

Good-day my name is Charles Robert Darwin. I was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. I`v come from a long line of scientists my father Dr. R.W. Darwin was a medical doctor and my grandfather Dr.Erasmus was a renowned botanist. In my childhood I loved to explore nature hence why I became a naturalist. In October 1825, at age 16, I enrolled at Edinburgh University along with my brother Erasmus. Two years later I went to Christ College in Cambridge to study natural history. My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and become a medical doctor but the sight of blood made me sick. When I was in college I became good friends with my professor John Stevens Henslow which became my mentor later down the line. I graduated Christ College in 1831 with a bachelors of arts degree. I have a wife (Emma Darwin) and 10 beautiful children (George, Francis, Etty, Horace, Leonard, Charles Warning, William Erasmus, Mary Eleanor, Elizabeth Darwin).