Charles Darwin's Biography

Charles Darwin, as most know, is famous for his theory of evolution. What most don’t know is of his personal life, and how he came to predict his theory of evolution and natural selection..
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shrophshire in 1809 to a wealthy British physician Robert Darwin and his wife Susannah Darwin. He was the fifth out of six children, and attended the Unitarian Chapel every Sunday. In 1818 Charles started at the nearby Shrewsbury School as a boarder until 1825. After graduating Charles spent his summer helping his father treat the sick as an apprentice doctor before going into the University of Edinburgh Medical School with his brother Eramus. Mr. Darwin studied medicine in hopes of becoming a physician. However, this did not work out well because Mr. Darwin did not like blood, suffering, and overall did not find medicine that interesting. Because of this his father suggested Charles study for the church instead, and enrolled him at Christ’s College. After studying there, Darwin signed up to attend the University of Cambridge on January 26, 1828 where he met his love of the natural world. Darwin was never a model student, but studied the natural world with a mighty passion. He ended up getting his name in the British Entomology by Stephens. A friendship with a botany professor, John Henslow, awakened Charles Darwin’s love for the natural world even more, and after Darwin graduated on April 26th, 1831, Henslow invited him to travel on the HMS Beagle as a naturalist. Darwin would be under the Commander Robert Fitzroy and travel around the world performing various scientific studies. Charles was weary of accepting because his father thought of it a waste of time, but went along on it anyways. After the trip around the world, Darwin came back and fell in love with his cousin Emma Wedgewood, and married her in 1839. They had ten children together, but three of them died under the age of 12. Whenever an illness would come upon the children he would blame himself for marrying his cousin, because he believed that that made weak children. Mr. Charles Darwin passed away in 1882 on April 19, and is buried next to the famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton
It took a lot of hard work for Charles Darwin to discover and publish his theory of evolution, but it was also fun for him because he loves being a naturalist. Charles Darwin is famous for his voyage on the Beagle because that’s where he made most of his jaw-dropping discoveries of the 1800’s. One of Darwin’s discoveries that he found on his voyage on the HMS Beagle was that plants and animals were well suited to whatever environments they inhabited. Similar ecosystems were inhabited by different kinds of animals, but they were all similar in behavior. Another finding from Darwin was fossils that resembled current living organisms, and others unlike any organism he had ever seen. This made him wonder how the living organisms and the look-a-like fossils were related, and if the fossils that resembled nothing maybe had a “relative” as well. Darwin observed many different islands with different climates, and saw that each island had a slightly different species with traits that suited their particular environments. For example, a tortoise on an island where he had to reach for his food had a longer neck, while on another island where food was close to the ground and easily accessible the tortoise had a shorter neck. All of these findings influenced Darwin to produce his theory of evolution by natural selection, of which he formally published in 1859.
In Conclusion, Charles Darwin was an extraordinary man with an extraordinary way of viewing “outside the box”. Because of this man, we now know of our past, and by “our past” I mean before humans, when we were just apes, and whatever came before that. Charles Darwin’s discovery of his evolution theory is the best theory yet. We all thank you, Mr. Charles Darwin, for your discoveries and courage to publish.

Evidence Supporting Darwin's Theory

There are four main pieces of evidence that supports Darwin's theory.

• The Fossil Record

We know through many pieces of fossil evidence that whales used to have legs, and that they slowly adapted to not have any at all. This is sure evidence that adaptations can occur, have occured, and possibly are occuring at this very moment.

• Similarities in DNA and Protein Sequences Between Organisms

DNA sequences in humans and apes only differ slightly, while DNA sequences in humans and rats differ extremely. This hints that all living creatures originated from one common ancestor, and species whose DNA is similar to another species' DNA must be close together in how they differ with the common ancestor.

• Homologous and Vestigial body Structures

Definition of "Homologous body Structure" - body parts similar in structure, but have different functions. An example of this is the flipper of a whale, and arm of a human, and the wing of a bat. Click on this website to view a diagram: http://g-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/askville/259862_1624020_mywrite/5fingers.jpg Homologous body structures supports evidence that we all came from the same common ancestor because we are all made up the same sort of way. The definition of a "Vestigial body Structure" is a body structure that serves no purpose. An example of this would be the human tailbone. Vestigial body structures proves that Darwin's theory of evolution may be correct because as species develop they may not need a certain body part anymore, so the body gets rid of it through millions of years of genetic mutations.

• Similarities in Early Development

Early embryos of different species often look very similar. An example of this would be the embro of a human and the embro of a rabbit. Click on this website to view a diagram: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhql01O5sJlqt8X3dSo-OBhK-b8PLZw2rMdrDkeAFMIrGwDDHgBNvqrWl478FENjvcUDFP3uZIGQLjnlJ7xIQFCkeUZ8Nu-FhVKpQ-NwwDs9ooXBY0nY88-fPGVul8sTtwtlb8eps32g0Fb/s660/embryo-compare.jpg This similarity is evidence that we all evolved from the same common ancestor because all sorts of animals' embryos look the same.

Natural selection and Artificial selection

Natural selection- the process by which organisms with favorable variations reproduce at higher rates than those without such variations. ex.-Galapagos tortoises and finches

Artificial selection- breeding of organisms by humans for specific phenotypic characteristics
ex.- Dogs are bred for different kinds of dogs.

Natural selection is a part of nature while artificial selection involves humans interfering with the breed type.

Thomas Malthus' influence on Darwin

Thomas Malths was an economist and a scientist. He observed that in every population more individuals are produced than can survive. Darwin saw this in nature and thought about its meaning. He realized that certain organisms would survive in a population and others would not survive or reproduce. Using this knowledge, Darwin was able to develop his theory of natural selection. Natural selection is the process by which organisms with favorable variations reproduce at higher rates than those without such variations.

Misconceptions of Evolution

Misconception: Gaps in the fossil record disprove evolution.

Truth: Evolutionary scientists would say that many of the animals may not have become fossils but that does not mean that those animals never existed. People should not expect scientists to find every fossil or every animal that ever lived.
Critics would say that though gaps in the fossil record do not completely disprove evolution, the gaps, however, leave many questions unanswered. Some questions are: Where are all the "missing links" that evolutionists talk about? Why can't scientists find any of the "missing links"?

Misconception: Evolution is not observable or testable.

Truth: Evolutionary scientists would say that many people misunderstand that evidence of evolution is not found inside a laboratory but in observations of the world. Scientists see many examples of micro-evolution through animals adapting to their environments, such as, the tortoises and the finches in the Galapagos Islands. They say that we cannot see macro-evolution because the process is much slower and unable to be seen except over millions of years.
Critics say that macro-evolution is not testable. Evolutionists state, however, that genetic mutations cause different species to evolve. For one thing, aren't all genetic mutations bad or neutral? Scientists have yet to show one genetic mutation that is good or contains new genetic information. Also, if evolution happened and is happening, shouldn't there be "in-between" forms today, partially evolved creatures? Should there not be at least one fossil of an "in-between" form throughout all the billions of animals? We have no evidence of the "in-between" forms. Micro-evolution, however, is observable because we can see animals adapting to their habitats.

Charles Darwin's discoveries on his voyage on the Beagle

Darwin observed that the ancient rivers' silt deposition is the same as it is deposited today. He also studied the geological changes in the Earth's structure convincing him that the mountains took millions of years to form. He also noticed the similarities between the Galapagos finches causing him to believe that they all descended from one common ancestor. He believed that over time the finches adapted to their habitats. Darwin observed many kinds of tortoises in the Galapagos islands and saw that they were similar but the main differences were in neck length and shell differences. He believed that the turtles also descended from a common ancestor. Darwin also discovered the likenesses between the mockingbirds on the Galapagos islands.

Jean-Baptist Lamarck

Lamarck was one of the first people to develop a theory of evolution. His theory stated that acquired traits were passed down through the generations. This was incorrect because offspring do not ever inherit acquired traits. The offspring are changed by genetic mutations to adapt to their environment.

The Theories of James Hutton and Charles Lyell

Hutton and Lyell studied rock formations and changes in Earth and came to the conclusion that the Earth was very old. Lyell wrote the book Principles of Geology this explained how old he believed the Earth was according to his studies. Uniformitarianism is the what these men called this theory. Uniformitarianism is the belief that changes in the Earth are caused by specific events.

The Theory of Evolution

Evolution is all the changes that have formed life from its earliest beginnings to the diversity that characterizes it today. Evolution is considered a theory because there is evidence supporting evolution but it cannot be tested or proven.

The main parts of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection

• The Struggle for Existence

- Every species constantly competes for resources (food, water, shelter, etc.)

• The Survival of the Fittest

- The best adapted organisms of a species survive, flourish, and reproduce more so than the less-adapted, who will eventually die off.
- Over time this natural selection changes characteristics of a certain species, making them more fit for their environment.

• The descent with modifications

-Species descend with changes of their species over time.
-All living things are related to one-another, or are of common descent.

• More offspring are produced than can survive.

• Natural variation is inherited.
  

Why was Darwin hesitant about publishing his theory of evolution by natural selection, and why did he decide to finally publish his work?

Charles Darwin kept his theory of evolution to himself for twenty-one years! He was hesitant to publish his findings because because he was afraid of what others would think. Many people wouldn't agree to his theory because it went against the Christian faith by saying that God did not create each species separately; that nature itself did, and continues to create new species. Darwin decided to publish his theory of evolution when he was approached by another naturalist: Alfred Wallace. Mr. Wallace asked Darwin to review his paper on evolution by natural selection, so Charles Darwin hurried up his refining on his book, The Origin of Species, and published it in 1859 to further other scientists' knowledge, and to receive primary credit before anyone else did.

How did an understanding of geology influence Darwin?

Charles Darwin's understanding of geology influenced him to solve the scientific mystery of evolution for two major reasons.
- The first reason is that he understood that the Earth changes over time, so he thought that life could as well.
- The other reason why Darwin's understanding of geology influenced him is that Darwin knew that the Earth was VERY old, so he was assured that there had been enough time for evolution to take place.

Jean-Baptisite Lamarck's [wrong] theory of evolution

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Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle

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