Charles Darwin and the Galapagos Islands
Charles Darwin, the author of the controversial work On the Origin of Species, went on a five-year expedition on the HMS Beagle while researching his theory and looking for evidence to support it.
Darwin was born in 1809 and he showed a great interest in the field of natural history at a young age. When he was college-aged, he began attending the University of Edinburgh Medical School. Before long, he began studying marine invertebrates at the University of Cambridge. This gave him the encouragement and motivation to go on a voyage on the HMS Beagle with Charles Lyell.
The expedition, which also included captain Robert FitzRoy, began on December 27, 1831. For much of the expedition, Darwin was collecting information and pieces of natural history as well as investigating the geology of the area. The journey went from Portsmouth, England to Santiago, Cape Verde. From there, it went along the coastline of Brazil, Punta Alta, Chile and the Galapagos Islands. The journey also sailed along Australia’s southern coast, around the Keeling Islands and to Cape Town, South Africa.
Darwin took note of the thousands of species that he found during the five-year voyage. When he returned home, he cataloged and organized his findings and collections which became the basis for his work – On the Origin of Species – which spelled out his theory for evolution and the idea of natural selection. This became his defining work and one of the most influential science books in the history of the world.
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