- Events sorted by day of the month: Darwin was dropped off at
Maldonado while the Beagle returned to Montevideo. He went on a
twelve day interior expedition with two hired gauchos and a team
of horses. Darwin was influenced by the recent discovery of
"fossilized monkeys" in Africa. He conjectured that such fossils
were evidence that mankind was descended from some kind of ape
ancestor. However, he dared not mention this to anyone, as such
talk was tantamount to heresy. Darwin paid a visit to Revd.
Henslow at Cambridge for a few days and had thoughts of settling
there. He did not like London very much, but unfortunately that
was where all the "action" was for the natural sciences. Darwin
started working on a short essay on his theory of natural The
Orchid book was published today. The full title was : "On the
Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids and
fertilized by Insects". Darwin's old friend and mentor, Revd.
John Stevens Henslow, died of heart disease. Darwin could not
bring himself to