It was as popular as it was controversial. In 1859, Darwin published his thoughts about evolution and natural selection in On the Origin of Species. In this way, such traits become more widespread in the species and can lead eventually to the development of a new species. The theory of natural selection says that individuals of a species are more likely to survive in their environment and pass on their genes to the next generation when they inherit traits from their parents that are best suited for that specific environment. This work convinced him of the insight that he is most famous for- natural selection. Darwin’s analysis of the plants and animals he gathered led him to question how species form and change over time. Fossils he collected were shared with paleontologists and geologists, leading to advances in the understanding of the processes that shape the Earth’s surface. Studies of his samples and notes from the trip led to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Upon his return to England in 1836, Darwin’s work continued. He packed all of his specimens into crates and sent them back to England aboard other vessels. He explored regions in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and remote islands such as the Galápagos. The work that Darwin did was just an added bonus.ĭarwin spent much of the trip on land collecting samples of plants, animals, rocks, and fossils. The main purpose of the trip was to survey the coastline of South America and chart its harbors to make better maps of the region. In 1831, Darwin embarked on a voyage aboard a ship of the British Royal Navy, the HMS Beagle, employed as a naturalist. While he continued his studies in theology at Cambridge, it was his focus on natural history that became his passion. It turned out that Darwin was more interested in natural history than medicine-it was said that the sight of blood made him sick to his stomach. His father, a doctor, had high hopes that his son would earn a medical degree at Edinburgh University in Scotland, where he enrolled at the age of sixteen. Charles Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England.

Darwin on the origin of species