A Tribute to
Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin famous for his work, ‘On the Origin of Species by means of natural selection’, more popularly known as ‘The Origin of Species’, was a naturalist who lived in England during the Victorian era. His ideas about the world we live in were considered radical at the time. He was a free thinker, with a passion for Natural History from a young age. It was his voyage on the HMS Beagle around the world, an opportunity of a lifetime, that his investigations and observations lead him to the theory of evolution.

Charles Darwin made a name for himself by publishing an account of his travels and it was only later that he presented his findings on evolution and published ‘The Origin of Species’, mainly because of the society he lived in, a society not open to ideas, a society which ostracized his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, for writing about transmutation. Evidence on his theory of evolution were revealed through DNA studies years after his death.

He continued to challenge ideas that were considered the norm then with his works such as ‘The Descent of Man’ and went on to publish his works, ‘The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals’, and ‘The Power of Movement in Plants’. His final work was ‘The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms’.

Charles Darwin’s works on evolution was revolutionary and gave meaning to our world and the existence of all its inhabitants. Apart from his scientific achievements and contributions, he was also a political liberal who was against slavery. He challenged himself and the society and lead the way to how we see the world we live in today.