Page - 5 - in The Origin of Species

INTRODUCTORY NOTE Charles Robert Darwin, horn at Shrcii'sbiiry, England, on February 12, 1809, came of a family of remarkable intellectual distinction which is still sustained in the present generation. His father tvas a successful physician zvith remarkable powers of observation, and his grandfather was Erasmus Danvin, the well- knozvn author of "The Botanic Garden." He went to school at Shrewsbury, zvhere he failed to profit from the strict classical curriculum there in force; nor did the regular professional courses at Edinburgh University, zvhere he spent two years study- ing medicine, succeed in rousing his interest. In 1827 he was entered at Christ's College, Cambridge, to study for the B. A. degree, preparatory to entering the Church; hut zvhile there his friendship with Henslow, the professor of botany, led to his enlarging his general scientific knozvledge and finally to his joining the expedition of the "Beagle" in the capacity of natural- ist. From this Darzmn returned after a voyage of five years with a vast first-hand knozvledge of geology and zoology, a reputation as a successful collector, and, most important of all, with the germinal ideas of his theory of evolution. The next few years were spent in working up the materials he had col- lected; hut his health gave signs of breaking, and for the rest of his life he suffered constantly, but without complaint. With extraordinary courage and endurance he took up a life of seclusion and methodical regularity, and accomplished his colossal results in spite of the most severe physical handicap. He had married in 1839, and three years later he withdrczv from London to the little village of Dozvn, about sixteen miles out, zvhere he spent the rest of his life. His custom, zvhich zvas almost a method, was to work till he was on the verge of complete collapse, and then to take a holiday just sufficient to restore him to zvorking condition. As early as 1842 Darwin had thrown into rough form the out- lines of his theory of evolution, hut the enormous extent of the inve'stigations he engaged in for the purpose of testing it led to a constant postponing of publication. Finally in June, 1S5S, A. R. Wallace sent him a manuscript containing a statement of an identical theory of the origin of species, which had been 5