The Origin of Species

Charles Darwin was a naturalist earned fame for the 'Theory of Evolution'. He was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury England. His father Robert Waring Darwin was a medical doctor and mother Susannah Wedgwood belonged to a famous pottery family. In his childhood he went Shrewsbury School, academically he was not good. For advanced learning, his father sends him to Edinburgh University in Scotland to become a doctor but he was not interested and he joined Christ's College Cambridge. His interests developed in botany thus, he studied John Stevens Henslow's course in botany, though he completed his graduation in 1831. As a naturalist Darwin got an opportunity to go to second sea voyage of H. M. S. Beagle to survey the coast of South America. On his voyage he studied plants and animal's life. His interests in life science evolved and after working more than 20 years, in 1859 his world fame work 'On the Origin of Species' was published. He explained theory of evolution by natural selection. He said that life on earth evolved from a common ancestor. On earth there is struggle for survival between members who have favourable traits they survive and reproduce, it is known as survival of fittest. Well adapted species survived and less became extinct. Earlier Darwin faced criticism but later he earned honour for the theory. Darwin died on 19 April 1882.