Darwin in 1854, 5 years before he published The Origin of
Species. Born 12 February 1809 Mount House, Shrewsbury,
Shropshire, England Died 19 April 1882 Down House, Kent, England
Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English
naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable
evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at
the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural
selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. This
theory is now considered a cornerstone an interest in natural
history while studying first medicine, then theology, at
university. Darwin's observations on his five-year voyage on the
Beagle brought him eminence as a geologist and fame as a popular
author. His biological finds led him to study the transmutation
of species and in 1838 he conceived his theory of natural
selection. Fully aware that others had been severely punished
for such "heretical" ideas, he confided only in his closest
friends and continued his research to me