History UsefulNotes / CharlesDarwin

!!Appears in the following works:

* The 2009 film ''Film/{{Creation}}'' is a dramatisation of part of his life, with Creator/PaulBettany as a younger Darwin and Creator/JenniferConnelly as his wife Emma.

* Darwin was voted the #4 "Greatest Briton" on ''Series/OneHundredGreatestBritons'', and named the fourth most influential person of his millennium in a special edition of [[Creator/AAndE A&E's]] ''Biography''.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate'' has him show up as an ally of the Frye twins.
* Darwin squares off against [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Ash Ketchum]] in Season 5 of ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''.
* Darwin has a small cameo in the original ''Literature/TheScienceOfDiscworld''. The second sequel, ''Darwin's Watch'', centers around a conspiracy to hold back the progress of science on "Roundworld" by introducing Darwin to Discworld's God of Evolution, leading him to write a book about intelligently guided evolution instead. ''Theology of Species'' is embraced without controversy by theologians and scientists alike and leads to humanity getting stuck on a theological--scientific view for a long time.
** Said God of Evolution was first seen in ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', and is a fairly obvious ringer for Darwin himself,along with having a rather inordinate passion for beetles.
* Music/{{Nightwish|Band}}'s 2015 ConceptAlbum ''Endless Forms Most Beautiful'' was inspired by Darwin's writings.
* Is a significant character in ''The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists'' by Gideon Defoe and the animated film [[WesternAnimation/ThePiratesInAnAdventureWithScientists of the same name]], in which he's voiced by Creator/DavidTennant.
* The song “Turtle Soup” by Music/ChrisWoodMusician tells the story of Darwin’s voyage on the ''Beagle,'' although he isn’t named until the last verse.

** This song was originally part of a multi-artist collaboration, ''The Darwin Song Project'' which was ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* A NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed version of him, simply called "Charles", appears in the 5th episode of the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Primal}}'', ”The Primal Theory”.

The book was an instant bestseller, and [[SeriousBusiness debates over God, creation, science, ethics, the place of man, the meaning in life and other such philosophical concepts began almost immediately, continuing to this day.]] Darwin never actively joined in with the debate, leaving the fighting to his more pugnacious friends; T.H. Huxley was dubbed "Darwin's Bulldog" for his staunch defence of the theory, leading eventually to UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins being dubbed "Darwin's Rottweiler" by some. Interestingly, the ''initial'' controversy over the theory had little to do with religion directly, and focused more on the revelation by Darwin that the green and pleasant scenes so familiar to the English country gentleman of the time were, in fact, vast battlefields where species and individuals were locked into an unending cycle of conflict; if this seems surprising to you, consider that the issue of the evolution of mankind as a species was barely touched on in ''Origin'', that subject being tackled instead by a later volume, ''The Descent of Man'' (Not to be confused with ''The Ascent of Man'', which [[{{Pun}} evolved]] its title from that work). His name has also been associated with {{Social Darwinism}}, which is the application of his ideas to nations and the human race, notably advocated by his cousin, Sir Francis Galton[[note]][[https://youtu.be/vM1QgwaKv4s?t=64 "I postulate that the chances of two specific individuals having the same fingerprint is very teeny-tiny! ... I also invented Eugenics!" "Oh, God, get him out of here!"]] [[/note]], as well as Herbert Spencer.[[note]]Galton was not just founding father of Eugenics, he was also the inventor of the (literal) Dog-Whistle, which is often (metaphorically) employed by those arguing in favour of his big idea. He also had some fascinating ideas on [[https://oldschoolpastry.pastrysampler.com/cutting-a-cake-1906-instructions-based-on-scientific-principles/ the best way (mathematically speaking) to cut a cake]], for those wishing for something a little more light-hearted and a lot less racist.[[/note]]

The book was an instant bestseller, and [[SeriousBusiness debates over God, creation, science, ethics, the place of man, the meaning in life and other such philosophical concepts began almost immediately, continuing to this day.]] Darwin never actively joined in with the debate, leaving the fighting to his more pugnacious friends; T.H. Huxley was dubbed "Darwin's Bulldog" for his staunch defence of the theory, leading eventually to UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins being dubbed "Darwin's Rottweiler" by some. Interestingly, the ''initial'' controversy over the theory had little to do with religion directly, and focused more on the revelation by Darwin that the green and pleasant scenes so familiar to the English country gentleman of the time were, in fact, vast battlefields where species and individuals were locked into an unending cycle of conflict; if this seems surprising to you, consider that the issue of the evolution of mankind as a species was barely touched on in ''Origin'', that subject being tackled instead by a later volume, ''The Descent of Man'' (Not to be confused with ''The Ascent of Man'', which [[{{Pun}} evolved]] its title from that work). His name has also been associated with {{Social Darwinism}}, which is the application of his ideas to nations and the human race, notably advocated by his cousin, Sir Francis Galton[[note]][[https://youtu.be/vM1QgwaKv4s?t=64 "I postulate that the chances of two specific individuals having the same fingerprint is very teeny-tiny! ... I also invented Eugenics!" "Oh, God, get him out of here!"]] [[/note]], as well as Herbert Spencer.

By 1831, Darwin was all set for a life of peace and obscurity when he received an [[CallToAdventure invitation]] to join a two-year around the world voyage on the HMS ''Beagle'' as the captain's companion. No, not like [[Series/DoctorWho that]], or ''[[HelloSailor that]]''; at the time, being captain on a small surveying ship like the ''Beagle'' was a hard lonely job, as there was an extraordinary amount of work to do and the captain could not fraternize with the enlisted crew. With few officers aboard, a companion was usually hired to provide a source of intelligent conversation. Captain [=FitzRoy=] was particularly keen to have a companion, since the previous master of the Beagle had [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]]; [=FitzRoy=] may also have been concerned about the stress of overwork, having seen his half-uncle, the [[UsefulNotes/LordCastlereagh Viscount Castlereagh]] (Foreign Secretary under UsefulNotes/TheEarlOfLiverpool), commit suicide after cracking under the strain of overwork.

During the trip, Darwin sent back massive amounts of fossils and specimens, and filled journal after journal with the observations (especially those on the Galapagos Islands) of common traits that would eventually lead to his initial theories. Despite all this, the trip was not that pleasant for Darwin, as he spent most of his time on the water violently seasick, stuck in cramped quarters (with a mast stuck in the middle of his room), contracted a debilitating disease, fell out with [=FitzRoy=] on several occasions, and was plagued by a chronic inability to get into his hammock. Despite their arguments, Darwin and [=FitzRoy=] remained distant friends for years after the voyage, although their relationship finally broke down as [=FitzRoy=] descended into clinical depression due to his personal and financial troubles--and partially due to him personally blaming himself for having a hand in giving birth to evolutionism, a theory that he was bitterly opposed as a devout Anglican. When [=FitzRoy=] committed suicide, Darwin contributed the equivalent of about £10,000 (in today's money) to assist his wife and orphan daughter. The disease Darwin contracted was possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagas_disease Chagas disease]], as he studied the feeding habits of bloodsucking Assassin Bugs by ''[[ProfessorGuineaPig letting them bite him]]''. Whatever the illness was, it plagued him for the rest of his life.

* The song “Turtle Soup” by Music/ChrisWood tells the story of Darwin’s voyage on the ''Beagle,'' although he isn’t named until the last verse.

But did Darwin's ideas ''really'' inspire Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union? Well, yes ''and'' no. On the one hand, the Soviet Union [[BannedInChina banned his work as]] [[AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues "bourgeois science"]], instead [[LamarckWasRight promoting a neo-Lamarckian view of evolution]], which hampered their biological research for decades, until they had to abandon it (they also attempted something similar with UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein's theories, but thanks in large part to Vladimir Fock, it didn't stick). On the other hand, it is true that evolution was taught in Nazi schools and universities, and the Nazis themselves were seriously influenced by Social Darwinism. On the other end of the spectrum, Creator/KarlMarx saw a resonance between Darwin's ideas and his own, which saw the impersonal forces of Nature (in Darwin's case)/History (in Marx's case) driving change; Marx moreover pulled that idea over into believing that the proletariat was best fit to the new industrial world, and would therefore be the "champions" of the social "evolutionary race." Friedrich Engels, in his eulogy for Marx, explicitly called Marx the Darwin of the social sciences, for bringing materialism and data into what had previously been a realm of pure speculation. However, Marx misunderstood Darwin only a bit less than the German racists did--had he been a true Darwinist, he would have realized that evolution doesn't have a "goal" or "winners," only survivors, and would've been more circumspect about predicting the future.

But did Darwin's ideas ''really'' inspire Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Well, yes and no. On the one hand, the Soviet Union [[BannedInChina banned his work as]] [[AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues "bourgeois science"]], instead [[LamarckWasRight promoting a neo-Lamarckian view of evolution]], which hampered their biological research for decades, until they had to abandon it (they also attempted something similar with UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein's theories, but thanks in large part to Vladimir Fock, it didn't stick). On the other hand, it is true that evolution was taught in Nazi schools and universities, and the Nazis themselves were seriously influenced by Social Darwinism. On the other end of the spectrum, Creator/KarlMarx saw a resonance between Darwin's ideas and his own, which saw the impersonal forces of Nature (in Darwin's case)/History (in Marx's case) driving change; Marx moreover pulled that idea over into believing that the proletariat was best fit to the new industrial world, and would therefore be the "champions" of the social "evolutionary race." Friedrich Engels, in his eulogy for Marx, explicitly called Marx the Darwin of the social sciences, for bringing materialism and data into what had previously been a realm of pure speculation. However, Marx misunderstood Darwin only a bit less than the German racists did--had he been a true Darwinist, he would have realized that evolution doesn't have a "goal" or "winners," only survivors, and would've been more circumspect about predicting the future.

His ideas did ''not'' inspire either the Soviet Union or the Nazis. Well, they did and they didn't. On the one hand, the Nazis [[BannedInChina banned his work]] (''On The Origin Of Species'' was one of the first books to be burned by them), and the Soviet denounced it as [[AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues "bourgeois science"]], instead [[LamarckWasRight promoting a neo-Lamarckian view of evolution]], which hampered their biological research for decades, until they had to abandon it (they also attempted something similar with UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein's theories, but thanks in large part to Vladimir Fock, it didn't stick). On the other hand, it is true that the Nazis were seriously influenced by Social Darwinism, particularly German racist Social Darwinism--which, as we've noted already, twisted Darwin's work in a matter that utterly disgusted him. On the other end of the spectrum, Creator/KarlMarx saw a resonance between Darwin's ideas and his own, which saw the impersonal forces of Nature (in Darwin's case)/History (in Marx's case) driving change; Marx moreover pulled that idea over into believing that the proletariat was best fit to the new industrial world, and would therefore be the "champions" of the social "evolutionary race." Friedrich Engels, in his eulogy for Marx, explicitly called Marx the Darwin of the social sciences, for bringing materialism and data into what had previously been a realm of pure speculation. However, Marx misunderstood Darwin only a bit less than the German racists did--had he been a true Darwinist, he would have realized that evolution doesn't have a "goal" or "winners," only survivors, and would've been more circumspect about predicting the future.

By 1831, Darwin was all set for a life of peace and obscurity when he received an [[CallToAdventure invitation]] to join a two-year around the world voyage on the HMS ''Beagle'' as the captain's companion. No, not like [[Series/DoctorWho that]], or ''[[HelloSailor that]]''; at the time, being captain on a small surveying ship like the ''Beagle'' was a hard lonely job, as there was an extraordinary amount of work to do and the captain could not fraternize with the enlisted crew. With few officers aboard, a companion was usually hired to provide a source of intelligent conversation). Captain [=FitzRoy=] was particularly keen to have a companion, since the previous master of the Beagle had [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]]; [=FitzRoy=] may also have been concerned about the stress of overwork, having seen his half-uncle, the [[UsefulNotes/LordCastlereagh Viscount Castlereagh]] (Foreign Secretary under UsefulNotes/TheEarlOfLiverpool), commit suicide after cracking under the strain of overwork.

By 1831, Darwin was all set for a life of peace and obscurity when he received an [[CallToAdventure invitation]] to join a two-year around the world voyage on the HMS ''Beagle'' as the captain's companion. No, not like [[Series/DoctorWho that]], or ''[[HelloSailor that]]''; at the time, being captain on a small surveying ship like the ''Beagle'' was a hard lonely job, as there was an extraordinary amount of work to do and the captain could not fraternize with the enlisted crew. With few officers aboard, a companion was usually hired to provide a source of intelligent conversation). Captain [=FitzRoy=] was particularly keen to have a companion, since the previous master of the Beagle had [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]]; [=FitzRoy=] may also have been concerned about the stress of overwork, having seen his half-uncle, the Viscount Castlereagh (Foreign Secretary under UsefulNotes/TheEarlOfLiverpool), commit suicide after cracking under the strain of overwork.

[[YouShouldKnowThisAlready The biggest name in biology, period.]]

* A NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of him, simply called "Charles", appears in the 5th episode of the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Primal}}'', ”The Primal Theory”.

* A NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of him, simply called "Charles", appears in the 5th episode of the second season of WesternAnimation/{{Primal}} ''”The Primal Theory”''.

* He appears in the 5th episode of the second season of WesternAnimation/{{Primal}} ''”The Primal Theory”''.

* He appears in the 5th episode of the second season of WesternAnimation/{{Primal}} ''The Primal Theory''.

* He appears in the 5th episode of the second season of WesternAnimation/Primal ''The Primal Theory''.

* He appears in the 5th episode of the second season of WesternAnimation/Genndy TartakovskysPrimal ''The Primal Theory''.

* Music/{{Nightwish}}'s 2015 ConceptAlbum ''Endless Forms Most Beautiful'' was inspired by Darwin's writings.

[[KissingCousins He and Emma were first cousins]] - Darwin felt guilty about this because he believed it might have led to their children being weak, one daughter dying tragically of illness while very young. He is usually seen in fiction as an old man with a BadassBeard, but he wasn't always like that. The picture at the top of the page shows he was rather cute in his younger days. Darwin was also an expert in pigeon breeding, orchids, earthworms and (of all things) sea barnacles.[[note]]The compartmentalisation of sexual function within Barnacles led to Darwin speculating on the evolution of sexual dimorphism, i.e. how Male and Female came to be seperate entities in most forms of life.[[/note]]

Darwin was not the most interesting of children. By all accounts he was quite [[BrilliantButLazy lazy]], more interested with foxhunting than anything else. He flunked out of medical school because he [[AfraidOfBlood couldn't stand the sight of blood]]. He eventually settled down to study theology at Cambridge for becoming a country parson, a job that would have given him the easy living that he wanted. At Christ's College, he became a protege of [[TheMentor John S. Henslow]], who sparked Darwin's lifelong fascination of biology and geology.

It took Darwin about 20 years of work before he would publish his theory of evolution. He had completed several drafts of ''On the Origin of Species'', and made arrangements for it to be published after his death, but was spurred to action when another scientist, Alfred Russel Wallace, having arrived at a very similar idea, wrote to him to ask his advice on it. Darwin forwarded Wallace's paper to Charles Lyell with a letter remarking of the similarities, "he could not have made a better short abstract! Even his terms now stand as heads of my chapters ... he does not say he wishes me to publish [Wallace's paper], but I shall, of course, at once write and offer to send to any journal." Distraught and distracted over the illness of his baby son, Darwin put the problem of assigning credit into the hands of his friends Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker, who proposed that Wallace's essay be put forward in a joint publication with unpublished work by Darwin, highlighting the fact that Darwin had got there first, and presenting the article to the Linnean Society in May of 1859. When the reaction to the presentation and publication was muted, sparking no great controversy, Darwin proceeded with publication, and before 1859 was out, the first edition of ''On the Origin of Species'' was released.

* Darwin squares off against [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Ash Ketchum]] in Season 5 of ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''.

Darwin would be absolutely disgusted by these {{Social Darwinist}}s misinterpreting his work for use in {{Realpolitik}}, and ''was'' disgusted and horrified by the slave trade, as had been his grandfather Erasmus Darwin and wife Emma's grandfather, Josiah Wedgewood, both prominent abolitionists[[note]]In the original editions (1839 and 1845) of his ''Journal of Researches'' [[StiffUpperLip he treats quite casually most hardships]] of the expedition. There is just one thing, over 5 years exposed in more than 500 pages, which made him loose his cool head altogether: slavery witnessed in South America, in Chapters I, [=II=] and [=XXI=]. One can almost feel he wrote them gnashing his teeth in rage[[/note]]. He considered this interpretation impractical, and disagreed with it on scientific grounds, as well as moral ones. Although he analyzed the supposed negative effect that the "weak" caused by "propagating their kind," he cautioned that to allow hard reason to override sympathy would have an even worse effect: "A deterioration in the noblest part of our nature." At any rate, the idea that certain types of people were "superior" to other types wasn't exactly a new idea (remember that whole slavery thing?). Darwin's studies just gave some people the chance to claim that biology supported such views. In any case, Darwin's idea of 'survival of the fittest' referred to individuals and species fitting into a niche in nature, [[CompletelyMissingThePoint not comparing the attributes of one species to another.]] One could say that the cat is 'superior' or 'fitter' than the mouse, but the mouse still has a niche into which it fits very nicely and continues to thrive.

[[KissingCousins He and Emma were first cousins]] - Darwin felt guilty about this because he believed it might have led to their children being weak, one daughter dying tragically of illness while very young. He is usually seen in fiction as an old man with a BadassBeard, but he wasn't always like that. The picture at the top of the page shows he was rather cute in his younger days. Darwin was also an expert in pigeon breeding, orchids, earthworms and (of all things) sea barnacles.[[note]]The compartmentalisation of sexual function within Barnacles led to Darwin speculating on the evolution of sexual dimorphism, i.e. how Male and Female came to be seperate entities in most forms of life[[/note]]

[[KissingCousins He and Emma were first cousins]] - Darwin felt guilty about this because he believed it might have led to their children being weak, one daughter dying tragically of illness while very young. He is usually seen in fiction as an old man with a BadassBeard, but he wasn't always like that. The picture at the top of the page shows he was rather cute in his younger days. Darwin was also an expert in pigeon breeding, orchids, earthworms and (of all things) [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking sea barnacles]][[note]]The compartmentalisation of sexual function within Barnacles led to Darwin speculating on the evolution of sexual dimorphism, i.e. how Male and Female came to be seperate entities in most forms of life[[/note]].

During the trip, Darwin sent back massive amounts of fossils and specimens, and filled journal after journal with the observations (especially those on the Galapagos Islands) of common traits that would eventually lead to his initial theories. Despite all this, the trip was not that pleasant for Darwin, as he spent most of his time on the water violently seasick, stuck in cramped quarters (with a mast stuck in the middle of his room), contracted a debilitating disease, and fell out with [=FitzRoy=] on several occasions, and was plagued by a chronic inability to get into his hammock. Despite their arguments, Darwin and [=FitzRoy=] remained distant friends for years after the voyage, although their relationship finally broke down as [=FitzRoy=] descended into clinical depression due to his personal and financial troubles--and partially due to him personally blaming himself for having a hand in giving birth to evolutionism, a theory that he was bitterly opposed as a devout Anglican. When [=FitzRoy=] committed suicide, Darwin contributed the equivalent of about £10,000 (in today's money) to assist his wife and orphan daughter. The disease Darwin contracted was possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagas_disease Chagas disease]], as he studied the feeding habits of bloodsucking Assassin Bugs by ''[[ProfessorGuineaPig letting them bite him]]''. Whatever the illness was, it plagued him for the rest of his life.

Darwin was not the most interesting of children. By all accounts he was quite [[BrilliantButLazy lazy]], more interested with foxhunting than anything else. He flunked out of medical school because he [[AfraidOfBlood couldn't stand the sight of blood]]. He eventually settled down to study theology at Cambridge for becoming a country parson, a job that would have given him the easy living that he wanted. There he became a protege of [[TheMentor John S. Henslow]], who sparked Darwin's lifelong fascination of biology and geology.

During the trip, Darwin sent back massive amounts of fossils and specimens, and filled journal after journal with the observations (especially those on the Galapagos Islands) of common traits that would eventually lead to his initial theories. Despite all this, the trip was not that pleasant for Darwin, as he spent most of his time on the water violently seasick, contracted a debilitating disease, and fell out with [=FitzRoy=] on several occasions. Despite their arguments, Darwin and [=FitzRoy=] remained friends for years after the voyage - when [=FitzRoy=] committed suicide, Darwin contributed the equivalent of about £10,000 (in today's money) to assist his wife and orphan daughter. The disease Darwin contracted was possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagas_disease Chagas disease]], as he studied the feeding habits of bloodsucking Assassin Bugs by ''[[ProfessorGuineaPig letting them bite him]]''. Whatever the illness was, it plagued him for the rest of his life.

* The 2009 film ''Film/{{Creation}}'' is a dramatisation of part of his life, with Creator/PaulBettany as a younger Darwin and Creator/JenniferConnolly as his wife Emma.

* The 2009 film ''Film/{{Creation}}'' is a dramatisation of part of his life, with Creator/PaulBettany as a younger Darwin.