Profile of the Day: Charles Darwin

Posted February 12, 2020 by Amanda | No Comment

Today marks the 211th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Celebrated as Darwin Day throughout the world, the day commemorates Darwin’s enormous contribution to science.

Image: Charles Darwin / Library of Congress

Charles Robert Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 at his family’s home in Shrewsbury, England. His family was wealthy and well known in English society. His paternal grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was an abolitionist and a key thinker of the Enlightenment movement. While his maternal grandfather, Josiah Wedgewood, was a famous English potter who is credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. In 1839, he married his first cousin, Emma Wedgewood, and they had 10 children together.

Dubbed the “Father of Evolution,” Darwin’s publication of On the Origin of Species transformed the world’s understanding of nature. By 1870, Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection had been greatly accepted by the scientific community and much of the general public.

Fun fact: Charles Darwin shares the same birthday as Abraham Lincoln. Did you know they are also 11th cousins?

Explore Charles Darwin’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected!