About this Website:

 

Who created this website?

This website was created by me, David Leff. I am an amateur scholar of the History of Science, with a focus on scientific developments during the Victorian era (around 1835 to 1900).

 

How did I get the idea to create this website?

I have had a passing interest in Charles Darwin since I was a boy, but all I ever knew was that he developed some sort of theory of evolution and wrote a few good books on the subject.

During the summer of 1998 I went on a six week holiday to England and in my travels I ended up visiting many places related to the life of Charles Darwin. It was during my rambling about the English countryside that it occurred to me just how little I knew about who Darwin was.

Upon returning to the states I resolved to learn more about Darwin, so I bought Desmond & Moore’s “Darwin - The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist.” The more I read the more I wanted to know about this fascinating individual. I noticed that the text made heavy use of the “Correspondence of Charles Darwin” series of books, so I bought Volume-1 and devoured it as quickly as I could. Anyway, to make a long story short, I bought more volumes of the Correspondence, many of the Darwin works edited by Paul Barrett & R.B. Freeman, Charles Darwin’s Notebooks, and so on. I now have over forty books by or about Charles Darwin, several dozen journal papers about him, and over one thousand photographs of places related to his life.

 

Why was this website created?

AboutDarwin.com was created to fill a niche on the internet. It seemed to me a shame that a gentleman who has had such a profound influence on humanity did not have a website devoted exclusively to him. While there are a few excellent websites that touch on few aspects of Darwin’s life, none of them really get into the details of who Charles Darwin actually was, deep down on a personal level. This is the primary focus of my website. Other goals of this website are -

[1] To provide as much detail of the life and times of Charles Darwin as possible. My spare time is very limited, so please bear with me if progress on this front seems to be going slowly.

[2] To provide unique resources to those of you seeking information on Charles Darwin. The illustrated maps of the Beagle Voyage are, so far as I can tell, entirely unique.

[3] To illustrate his amazing life through photography.

[4] Another goal I have is to provide information to those of you who are seeking to do scholarly research on Darwin, but this is still under development.

When was this website started?

In the year 2000, on February 12th - The birthday of Charles Darwin!

 

Acknowledgments:

Numerous institutions have taken the time to assist me in my Darwin research. They include:

Royal Society, London, England.
Linnean Society, London, England.
The Darwin Correspondence Project, Cambridge University Library, England.
Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Cambridge University Library, England.
Down House, Downe, Kent, England.

 

Website Bibliography:

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin.
Barlow, Nora. (editor) (Charles Darwin's grand-daughter).
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. (a reprint of the 1958 edition by Collins Publishers)

"An Influential Set of Chaps: The X-Club and Royal Society Politics 1864-85."
Barton, Ruth.
British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 23 (1990), pages 53 - 81.

Charles Darwin's Notebooks, 1836-1844. Geology, Transmutation of Species, Metaphysical Enquiries.
Barrett, Paul and Smith, Sydney et al.
New York: Cornell University Press, 1987.

Correspondence of Charles Darwin Volume 1 (1821-1836).
Burkhardt, Frederick and Smith, Sydney.
Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Correspondence of Charles Darwin Volume 2 (1837-1843).
Burkhardt, Frederick and Smith, Sydney.
Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Correspondence of Charles Darwin Volume 3 (1844-1846).
Burkhardt, Frederick and Smith, Sydney.
Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Correspondence of Charles Darwin Volume 4 (1847-1850).
Burkhardt, Frederick and Smith, Sydney.
Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

"Confessing a Murder: Darwin's First Revelations about Transmutation."
Colp Jr., Ralph.
Isis, (1986) pages 9 -32.

Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836, Volume 3.
Darwin, Charles.
New York: AMS Press, 1966. (a reprint of the 1839 edition, by Henry Colburn Publishers, London)

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin and Selected Letters.
Darwin, Francis. (editor) (Charles Darwin's son)
New York: Dover Publications, 1958. (a reprint of the 1892 edition by D. Appleton Publishers, New York)

Darwin, The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist.
Desmond, Adrian and Moore, James.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1991.

"The Final Mission of the H.M.S. Beagle: clarifying the historical record."
Dubowsky, Nathan and Dubowsky, Scott.
British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 27 (1994), pages 105 - 111.

Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836, Volume 2.
FitzRoy, Capt. Robert.
New York: AMS Press, 1966. (a reprint of the 1839 edition, by Henry Colburn Publishers, London)

Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836, (appendix to Volume 2).
FitzRoy, Capt. Robert.
New York: AMS Press, 1966. (a reprint of the 1839 edition, by Henry Colburn Publishers, London)

"Darwin as a Geologist."
Herbert, Sandra.
Scientific American, May (1986), pages 116 - 123.

The Rural Life of England.
Howitt, William.
Shannon, Ireland: Irish University Press, 1971 (Reprint of the 1844 edition).

Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary.
Keynes, Richard Darwin. (Charles Darwin's great-grandson)
Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Erasmus Darwin.
King-Hele, Desmond.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1963.

"Historic Houses: Charles Darwin's Home in Kent."
Lambert, Elizabeth.
Architectural Digest, February Vol. 40 (1983) pages 134 - 142.

The Sailing Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy, Built, Purchased and Captured 1688-1860.
Lyon, David.
London: Conway Maritime Press, 1993.

H.M.S. Beagle, Survey Ship Extraordinary.
Marquardt, Karl Heinz.
London: Conway Maritime Press, 1997.

Daily Life in Victorian England.
Mitchell, Sally.
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996.

Manners, Morals, and Class in England, 1774-1858.
Morgan, Marjorie.
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1994.

The Admiralty Chart: British Naval Hydrography in the Nineteenth Century.
Ritchie, Rear Admiral G.S., C.B., D.S.C. (Hydrographer of the Navy 1966-1971).
Edinburgh, Cambridge, Durham, USA: The Pentland Press, 1995 (reprint of the 1967 edition).

Popular Culture and Custom in nineteenth-century England.
Storch, Robert D. (editor).
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1982.

HMS Beagle, The Story of Darwin's Ship.
Thomson, Keith Stewart.
New York, London: W.W. Norton, 1995.

"FitzRoy and Darwin: The Odd Couple."
Thomson, Keith.
American Scientist, Vol. 83 May-June (1995), pages 224 - 227.

"H.M.S. Beagle, 1820-1870."
Thomson, Keith.
American Scientist, (1975), pages 664 - 672.

From Sails to Satellites: The Origin and Development of Navigational Science.
Williams, J.E.D..
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.