All
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
Wales 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?
AboutDarwin.com
first went online in the year 2000, on February 12th - The birthday
of Charles Darwin!
