On February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England, a little boy was born. This little boy was named Charles Darwin.

Charles was born into a wealthy family. His Father was a medical doctor and his Grandfather was a well-known scientist.

As Charles grew up he became very fond of exploring and collecting things. He cared very little about school and saw it as a waste of time. 

University of Edinburgh

Although, Charles' father wanted him to focus on his education and become a doctor like him. He decided to send 16-year-old Charles to the University of Edinburgh where he studied medicine.

Charles spent 2 years at the University of Edinburgh. He did not enjoy his studies of medicine and the sight of blood would make him queasy. He was also unable to perform any surgeries. 

Charles left the University of Edinburgh and entered Christ's College in Cambridge, England, to become a minister. He soon gave up on that idea also, but continued his education. He attended John Stevens Henslow's course in botany (study of plants) and started a beetle collection that became famous. 

After Charles attended John Stevens Henslow's class, John then recommended that he board the H.M.S Beagle. The ship was set to take a 5 year voyage to survey the coast of South America. 

Have fun Charles! I know that you are a great choice for this voyage!

He visited 4 continents over the course of his trip and collected a large variety of things such as birds, plants, and fossils. Charles explored many new places and finally found what he was truly passionate about!

The H.M.S Beagle made a 5 week stop at the Galapagos Islands, a collection of small volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean. 

He was fascinated by these islands, which were so different than anything he had ever seen before. He encountered birds as blue as the sky, sharks he had never knew existed, and tortoises that seemed to live forever.

Charles studied many new plants and animals as he explored the islands. He was most fascinated by the birds and tortoises.  

After closely studying the birds know as Finches, native to the Galapagos Islands, he noticed some key details about this specific bird.

Charles noticed that the beaks of these birds were all different, depending on what they ate and where they lived. 

He came to the conclusion that species change over time, form into new species, and that all animals and humans share a common ancestor.

I made new discoveries!

When Charles arrived back home in England he spent a long time gathering his notes and data to explain what he had discovered.