|
|
Article: Darwin, Charles
- Article from:
- Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Darwin, Charles
Charles Robert Darwin (1809
–
1882) is widely considered the greatest naturalist of the nineteenth century. His pioneering work in the theory of
evolution wrought a revolution in the study of the origins and nature of plant and animal life.
The son of Robert Darwin, a prominent English physician, Charles had an early interest in natural history, especially hunting, collecting, and geology. At his father's urging, Darwin attended medical school at Edinburgh, but found that he had little interest in medicine and returned home after two years. Wanting his son to have a respectable career, Darwin's father suggested that he should become an Anglican clergyman. Because ...