Charles Darwin: Groundbreaking Naturalist and Evolutionary Theorist
Charles Darwin studied the world and all living things from an early age or religion Charles was surrounded and influenced by people who questioned and explored the world around them He became one of the world’s most accomplished naturalists someone who studies animals and plants in their natural environment 6
Education in Darwin’s Day For much of the 1800s upper-class English children mainly studied Latin and Greek They rarely learned other topics Over time schools began teaching mathematics science history geography and literature England’s Grammar School Act of 1840 made sure literature and science as well as Latin and Greek were taught in every school 7 From his earliest years Charles loved being outdoors He enjoyed collecting items from nature He brought home shells insects plants and rocks Then he tried to identify them He watched birds and even collected bird eggs He was careful to never take more than one egg from a nest Young Charles also enjoyed swimming hunting and fishing School Days As a child Charles disliked school He felt teachers taught the same topics over and over again He also wanted more time to discover things on his own In the early 1800s schools focused on teaching Latin and Greek Charles was not good at learning languages
Darwin once caught a rare crucifix beetle but lost it while trying to handle three different beetles Because of this most of his teachers described him as an average student Charles’s father was a doctor He hoped his son would become one too In October 1825 at age 16 Charles went to medical school at Edinburgh University He did not like it He found the lectures dull and thought the professors facts were outdated Charles also hated the sight of blood One time he 8
Darwin’s Beetles Darwin collected plants and rocks But he also collected beetles while at Cambridge One day he pulled back some tree bark and found two rare beetles He caught one in his left hand and the other in his right Then he saw an even rarer beetle called the crucifix ground beetle He was eager to catch it but did not have a free hand He popped one of the other beetles in his mouth and reached for the new one The beetle squirted a nasty liquid in his mouth causing him to spit it out and lose it He also lost the rare crucifix beetle 9 saw a child being operated on and had to run out of the room Not long after he left medical school In 1827 Charles went to the University of Cambridge While there he studied Greek Latin and mathematics Charles often did not do his schoolwork Instead he studied nature and took part in long debates with his classmates In his free time Charles became an avid botanist or a person who studies plants He also collected beetles In January 1831 Charles passed his final exams Now his father wanted him to become
