Darwin's Legacy

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Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury on February 12, 1809. His father and grandfather, being admired and respected doctors, Charles grew up in a well-educated and freethinking family. At the age of eight, his mother died, leaving Charles and his five siblings with their stern and often overbearing father. A short time later, he was sent to boarding school in Shrewsbury to study Greek and Latin. Outside of class Charles collected beetles and conducted his own chemistry experiments, earning him the nickname “Gas” around school. Growing bored and indifferent towards his language studies, Charles’ motivation began to slip. His father, seeing his son’s mediocre academic scores, pulled him out of school and hired him as an assistant in his medical practice. In 1825, Charles was accepted into Edinburgh University to study medicine, however, he would not carry on the reign of Darwin doctors. Charles, realizing he was much more interested in natural history, began to visit fishermen, riffling through their catch nets for specimens he could study. Here, he happened to meet Robert Edmont Grant, a sponge expert, who peaked his interest in marine invertebrates. Eventually growing bored with marine biology, Charles took up hunting and met John James Audubon, an ornithologist who sparked his interest in birds and taxidermy. Once again however, his father was displeased with his academic standings and suggested that Charles leave the university to become a priest. In 1828, Charles began attending Christ’s College at Cambridge where he met Reverend Professor John Stevens Henslow. Henslow was a botanist who would prove to be of the highest influence to Charles and a driving force behind his ventures after college. After graduating in 183... ... middle of paper ... .... Today, Darwin’s legacy lives on strong through his written works and the knowledge he passed down through generations. Because of Darwin we now understand why antibiotics and pesticides fail to work after lengthy amounts of time. Living organisms adapt to their surroundings and learn to thrive no matter what environment they may be put into. His theory of evolution has opened people’s minds to other possibilities surrounding earth’s formation. He showed that humans are part of nature, not above it and that, and that all life is descended from a common ancestor. His work has had an impact on every branch of science and his explanation of the evolutionary process occurring through natural selection forms the basis of modern-day biological sciences. Today, “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” has been translated into thirty languages worldwide.

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