Charles Darwin Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Charles Darwin
OCCUPATION: Biologist
BIRTH DATE: February 12, 1809
DEATH DATE: April 19, 1882
EDUCATION: University of Edinburgh, Cambridge
PLACE OF BIRTH: Shrewsbury, England
PLACE OF DEATH: Downe, England
Full Name: Charles Robert Darwin

Best Known For

Charles Darwin is best known for his work as a naturalist, developing a theory of evolution to explain biological change.

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Charles Darwin

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Darwin, however, noticed similarities among species all over the globe, along with variations based on specific locations, leading him to believe that they had gradually evolved from common ancestors. He came to believe that species survived through a process called “natural selection,” where species that successfully adapted to meet the changing requirements of their natural habitat thrived, while those that failed to evolve and reproduce died off.

In 1858,

after years of further scientific investigation, Darwin publically introduced his revolutionary theory of evolution in a letter read at a meeting of the Linnean Society. On November 24, 1859, he published a detailed explanation of his theory in his best-known work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

Death and Legacy

Following a lifetime of devout research, Charles Darwin died at his family home, Down House, in London, on April 19, 1882, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. During the next century, DNA studies revealed evidence of his theory of evolution, although controversy surrounding its conflict with Creationism—the religious view that all of nature was born of God—still abounds today.