Charles Darwin was an English naturalist born in 1809 who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. He established that all species evolve over time from common ancestors through a process where favorable inherited traits become more common in successive generations. Darwin gained interest in nature as a student which led him to study marine invertebrates. From 1831-1836 he traveled the world, including locations in South America and islands in the Pacific, collecting evidence of how species were similar yet different between locations that informed his theory of evolution. He published his theory most fully in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. Darwin died in 1882 from heart disease.

1. Charles Darwin
“It is not the strongest
of the species that
survives, not the most
intelligent, but the one
most responsive to
change.”

2. Charles
Darwin (bornFebruary 12,
1809) was an English
naturalist who gained
great fame within his
lifetime as well as long
after his death for the
development of
evolutionary theory.

3. Most of Charles
Darwin's evolutionary
theory is contained in
the book Origin of
Species (1859).
He established
that all species of
life have
descended over
time
from common
ancestors.

4. Darwin's early interest
in nature led him to
neglect his medical
education at
the University of
Edinburgh; instead, he
helped to investigate
marine invertebrates.
Studies at
the University of
Cambridge encouraged
his passion for natural
science...

5. In 1831, Darwin went on
a voyage ( in HMS
Beagle, a ship).The travel
was difficult and costly,
and people didn’t use to
stay away from their
homes for a long time.
Darwin, however, spent
almost five years
exploring the world. He
set foot on many
locations in the
Southern hemisphere.

6. As he traveled from place to place, Darwin was
surprised, not by the differences between species, but
by their similarities. He wrote "...there is even a
difference between the inhabitants of the different
islands; yet all show a marked relationship with those of
America, though separated from that continent by an
open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in
width."

7. At this early stage in
his life, soon after
graduating from
college, Darwin was
already accumulating
evidence and asking
questions that would
lead to his theory of
natural selection.
Follow in Darwin's
footsteps as he travels
the world and changes
from an amateur
naturalist to a noted
scientist.

8. According to Darwin’s
theory, favorable
characteristics that
are inherited become
more common in
successive generations
of a population of
organisms that
reproduce and
unfavorable
characteristics that
are inherited become
less common.

9. In 1882 he was diagnosed
with what was called
“angina pectoris " which
then meant coronary
thrombosis and disease of
the heart. At the time of
his death, the physicians
diagnosed "anginal
attacks", and "heart-
failure”.
He died at Down
House on 19 April 18822.