Life of Reason: Charles Darwin 

by Groff Schroeder

The father of modern evolutionary biology finished 10th in Cambridge University's Christ's College class of 1878, graduating in Theology, Euclid and the Classics. At a time when most theology graduates became clergymen, Charles Robert Darwin became a naturalist and author, laying the foundations of modern biology and becoming one of the most famous scientists in history.

Charles was born in Shrewsbury, England, February 12, 1809, into an accomplished family. His father Robert and paternal grandfather Erasmus were esteemed physicians, and his maternal grandfather was the innovative Josiah Wedgewood, whose achievement in measuring temperature in kilns earned him membership in the prestigious Royal Society.

Erasmus Darwin was one of England's leading intellectuals who abandoned medicine for science and writing to become an internationally famous naturalist and author. He was a prominent proponent of transmutation (the belief that organisms change over time), and his well-received poem, "Zooonia, or the Laws of Organic Life," discussed the concept of evolution, foreshadowing the work of his grandson. Both of Charles' grandfathers participated in the "Lunar Society," a monthly gathering of scientists, inventors and intellectuals who supported radical religious and political ideas such as free markets and opposed the control the Anglican Church held over intellectual life. Erasmus' influence was apparently instrumental in creating a family environment that placed great value on questioning established ideals.

At 16, Charles entered Edinburgh University to study medicine. Finding medicine uninteresting, the sight of blood unpleasant and the practice of amputation without anesthetic untenable, he refused to complete his studies in medicine. Back home in Shrewsbury, he began a process of self-education as a naturalist. In 1827, Darwin gave his first talk at the Plinian Society, a science club that emphasized the study of nature over idea of the supernatural.

Charles enrolled in Christ's College of Cambridge University in 1828 with the goal of becoming an Anglican clergyman. But when he read a book by John Hershel about the possible future of scientific knowledge, he decided he wanted to be part of the future of scientific discovery. After graduation, he eventually won an unpaid position as ship's naturalist for the five-year voyage of The Beagle, a refitted Royal Navy ship set to sail around the world. During that voyage, Darwin collected evidence that finally convinced first him, and later the scientific world, that the concept of evolution through means of natural selection was the guiding principle through which organisms changed over time.

However, Darwin was not insensitive to the disruptions his discoveries would incite and withheld publication of On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection for 20 years. In 1880 he wrote, "Though I am a strong advocate for free thought on all subjects, yet it appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against Christianity or Theism produce hardly any effect on the public, and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual advancement of science. It has, therefore, always been my object to avoid writing on religion, and I have confined myself to science."

Charles Darwin died on April 19, 1882, perhaps unaware that his name would go down in history among the giants of scientific discovery.