Many know Darwin. He is responsible for the most important contribution to biology: evolution by natural selection. His theory still holds today and has led many scientists past his time to conclusions that otherwise wouldn’t have been thought possible. Through Darwin’s work, scientists were able to identify what evolution was: change in allele frequencies in populations over time. They were also able to identify the mechanisms with which allele frequencies can change (natural selection isn’t the only way). Although his contribution was simple in the eyes of many biologists today, it is the most pivotal contribution.
Despite this, few know of the man behind the scientist. Who was Darwin? What kind of a person was he? In the past I've written about scientists being people just like you and I, and how this changed my view of scientists as a whole. I feel that I should do the same for one of the greatest scientists to have ever lived: Charles Darwin.
Darwin was born in the year 1809 and was baptized that same year in November 17 at a Christian orthodox church [1]. He lived the typical life of a young boy in the Victorian era: playing outside and romping through gardens. He was a silly, energetic, and athletic child who would often walk around aimlessly. Despite being an active child, he was a lazy student who would often disregard his studies. This behavior carried on throughout his life both as a young elementary student and a medical student [1].
His love for nature was sparked by his mother, who taught him how to color flowers via colored water [1]. Hiking and reading books about the world as well as helping and participating in his brother’s chemical lab would further his love for natural history [1]. In his later years, his thirst for the natural world grew; he took advantage of his time as a university student and read more books on natural history as well as going to museums [1]. He would later join the Plinian society, a club at his university, and would be exposed to the theory of evolution.
As a father and husband, Darwin was more engaged with his family than the average Victorian man was. He took great pleasure in playing with his children as well as spending time with his wife [1]. Although a religious man at first, Darwin would later shed this old exterior thanks to the time he spent on "The Beagle." It was here that Darwin came to question the idea of a merciful god existing, due to the horrid treatment he saw the slaves endure on the ship [2]. Another important factor about his voyage would be the fact that this voyage served as the gateway to his new transformation. The voyager would take Darwin to the Galapagos Islands where he would collect data and information that would later be used in his famous book “The Origin of Species” [2].
All this would come together to help Darwin become the famed biologist he is today as he was back then. It started with a playful curiosity and became a thirst for knowledge about the world around him. He was not born a scientist, rather he became a scientist thanks to his natural, childish curiosity that was nurtured by his mother.
