In October 1825....Darwin's Father insists that Darwin shouldn't go array and that Darwin must pursue a medical career as he and his grandfather did before him..and he sent him to the university of Edinburgh in Scotland because it was known that this university have one of the best medical schools in Europe. And once he joined his brother Erasmus (do u remember him??)after finishing his medical studies at Cambridge to live together near the university (at 11 lothian street for accuracy)....BUT!! ...Darwin didn't enjoy his medical studies - because of his fear of the sight of blood ...and also because he found medicine incredibly boring!!......his 1st year(1826) wasn't interesting....but he enjoyed the chemistry lectures given by prof. Thomas Hope.
John Edmonstone, a freed black slave from Guyana, South America, taught Darwin taxidermy(if you dont know taxidermy then it is the methods of reproducing a life-like three-dimensional representation of an animal for permanent display or as we call in arabic "tahneet" ...read about pharaonic mummies and the stuffed animals in museums) from February to April 1826 (Read more about John Edmonstone...he is a great man!!) The two of them often sat together for conversation, and John would fill Darwin's head with vivid pictures of the tropical rain forests of South America. These pleasant conversations with John may have later inspired Darwin to dream about exploring the tropics. In any event, the taxidermy skills Darwin learned from him were indispensable during his voyage aboard H.M.S. Beagle in 1831(Will be an episode soon-an important part in his life)......after fininshing his first year of medical school,He spent the summer hiking in the Welsh hills near his home in Shrewsbury. During this time Darwin read Revd. Gilbert White's, "The Natural History of Selborne" and he came away from this book with a much greater appreciation for wildlife. Darwin started making detailed observations of birds and kept a notebook of their habits. (I think this was a good begining for his research...while Hiking....COOL!!)
After the vacation Darwin began his second year of medical school at Edinburgh, but now he was alone; his brother, Erasmus, having left Edinburgh for London to study anatomy. Darwin spent a lot of time at the university museum, taking notes on the plants and animals on display there. He also joined the Plinian Society during this time and often attended their scientific debates. These debates were perhaps his first exposure to anti-Christian sentiments(so....that was a begining). The topics of these debates centered upon the merits of scientific investigation stemming from an examination of natural causes rather than divine intervention(what God Do). Darwin also attended Professor Robert Jameson's lectures on Geology, and ironically he found himself dreadfully bored with the subject, and sweared never to read or study geology again.
In (winter-spring) 1827 Robert Grant, a Scottish zoologist, became a very close friend of Darwin. They would often go out on long walks together at the Firth of Forth, an estuary just north of Edinburgh, discussing marine life and collecting specimens. On these walks Grant filled Darwin's head with evolutionary ideas, especially those of Lamarck, whom Grant admired a great deal(so....it was an old idea........thats new!!).
In 27 March1827 Darwin gave his first scientific speech at a meeting of the Plinian Society. The subject was his discovery that the larva of sea-mats can swim, and that the tiny black specks inside old oyster shells were skate leech eggs. Not the most earth shattering discovery, but it was a start for Darwin.......and then in April of the same year he quit the medical school but his father didn't welcome this idea because he planed to send Charles to Christ's school of medicine in Cambridge (the school of his brother....do you remember??!!)
In summer1827 Darwin started to take an interest in one of his sisters best friends, Fanny Owen; daughter of William Owen of Woodhouse. They spent much time riding horses together, shooting birds, playing billiards, and engaging in mild flirtations.
Darwins father sent him into Christ's College at Cambridge, but did not start until winter term because he needed to catch up on some of his studies, and then Darwin began studying for the clergy at Christ's College. His brother, Erasmus, joined him at Cambridge where he would be studying for his medical exams but Once again Darwin did not take his studies very seriously, spending much of his free time collecting beetles, reading Shakespeare, and having dinner parties with his friends......in 1828 William Darwin Fox, Darwin's cousin, introduced him to Revd. John Stevens Henslow, Professor of Botany at Cambridge. Darwin started attending Henslow's lectures and was very soon addicted to natural history. By spring term Darwin saw a natural science career in his future.
In 1828 Darwin spent the first part of summer at home in Shrewsbury. In June he went to the Welsh coast at Cardigan Bay, taking a math tutor with him so he could bone up on algebra, a subject he found very difficult to grasp. The tutoring only lasted a few weeks, at which time Darwin got back to serious business - collected beetles and fly fishing. He also went on a reading tour at Barmouth with his Cambridge friends, John Herbert and Thomas Butler. During this tour Darwin confided with Herbert that he had serious doubts about entering the clergy. Towards the end of summer he spent some time with Fanny Owen at her father's estateand in 31 October 1828 He returned to Christ's College, and took up residence in Revd. William Paley's former rooms.
In December 1828 and During winter break Darwin visited London where his brother showed him around to the Royal Institution, Linnean Society, and Zoological Gardens. These visits further ignited Darwin's interest in natural history. Afterwards Darwin visited Woodhouse to see his girlfriend, Fanny Owen, and in the begining of 1829 he began to have more doubts regarding pursuing a religious career. His studies were not going very well, and he was spending too much time out in the countryside collecting beetles.....then Darwin spent the summer at home, visiting Fanny at Woodhouse, and hunting pheasants at Maer Hall (the estate of his uncle, Josiah Wedgwood II). During this time his brother, Erasmus, decided not to pursue a medical practice and his father put him up with a generous pension and in october of the same year Darwin attended the Birmingham Music Festival with the Wedgwood family, and then he began to study hard for the exams in cambridge.
In february 1830,Darwin's relationship with Fanny was beginning to diminish. The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but evidently Darwin had developed too much of a relationship with entomology (he had not visited her the previous winter break, having stayed in Cambridge to hunt beetles)(That's Cool!!), and Fanny was being pursued by more attentive suitors. Just after he passed his "little go" exam they broke up.(oh dear!!), and then Darwin passed his "little go" exam at Cambridge(well done Darwin). He was tested on translating Greek and Latin text (barely squeaked by), questions on the gospels (did fairly well with this), and on Paley's Evidences of Christianity (he shined here, having a great fondness for Paley's logic and simple elegance), and then he spent the spring term attending botany lectures from Professor Henslow. By this time Henslow had marked Darwin out as a gifted student with great promise. They often went on long walks together, discussing botany and going on plant collecting outings. Henslow also had Darwin over to his house for his Friday night dinner parties. It was during this time in his life that Darwin clearly saw his future; he would become country clergyman/naturalist like Henslow.
In august 11th Darwin went on holiday to Barmouth, in Wales. He spent sunny days collecting beetles, and rainy days fly fishing at the mountain lakes. When he was young Darwin was an avid hiker and during this holiday he explored the Capel Curig region and climbed Mt. Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales and in 10 sept. 1830 Upon returning home at Shrewsbury he received a letter from Fanny that she was engaged to be married. This upset Darwin a great deal and in 7th october 1830 he returned to Cambridge for the fall term. He shifted his focus away from beetle collecting and exerted a huge burst of energy towards studying for his final exam. During this time Revd. Henslow became his private tutor.
in 22nd January 1831 He took his final exam and passed with very good scores! The exam covered such topics as Homer, Virgil, Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy (good scores here), Locke's Essay concerning Human Understanding (did well here, too), mathematics (did not do so well), physics and astronomy (also, not very good). He came in 10th place out of 178 students who passed the exam.(WELL DONE!!.....this man is changing!!).......then Darwin started thinking about settling down in a nice countryside parish as a clergyman with ample time to ramble about the countryside collecting bugs and plants. He read Paley's "Natural Theology," Sir John Herschel's book, "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy" and gained a burning zeal for science. Another book he read had a strong influence on his life; it was Alexander von Humboldt's 7-vol. "Personal Narrative" of his South America adventures. Now Darwin began dreaming about the glorious tropical rain forests. Revd. Henslow suggested that he should go off and explore in the tropics for a short time.
Inspired by Henslow's advice, Darwin planned out a ocean voyage to explore Tenerife at the Canary Islands. He tried to get Revd. Henslow to go along with him but he could not go (his wife just had a baby). Darwin's father tentatively approved the trip, wanting him to first work out the logistics and expenses and Darwin returned to Cambridge for graduation and studied for his trip. Seeing that Darwin would benefit from knowing a little something about geology, Henslow introduced him to Professor Adam Sedgwick, professor of Geology at Cambridge. Darwin was invited to attend Sedgwick's geology lectures which oddly enough he enjoyed a great deal (this is ironic, as he found Jameson's geology lectures at Edinburgh to be very boring). because he dont want to travel alone, Darwin convinced his friend, Marmaduke Ramsay, a tutor at Jesus College, to travel with him to the Canary Islands.(A Great place!!)
in August 1831 Darwin returned to Shrewsbury for summer vacation. Professor Sedgwick came by the house on 4 August loaded down with hiking gear and geology tools. He and Darwin went off to Northern Wales where Sedgwick gave him a crash course in field geology. Within a week Darwin was addicted to the subject. He only spent a week with Sedgwick, then went off to visit with friends at Barmouth, geologizing along the way, and in the middle of the month Darwin's Tenerife Island plans were crushed when found out that his friend, Ramsay, had died on 31 July. Months of preparation were wasted and Darwin was now very despondent.(that was BAD!!)
End of episode 2.........i think it was a very important part in his life....so...read it well....you'll know that man more.......so.....see you in the Next episode.....i wish u read it,,,,leave your opinions and comments......see you in Part 3....the Beagle Voyage......the End
references:
4)the natural history of selborne by Gilbert white
5)Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy by john herchel
7)Charles Darwin's autobiography <<<<<<<<<
2 comments:
أحب أن أعبر لك عن إعجابي بالبلوج تبعك ولكن الرجاء أن تنوع فليس كل ماتقوله عن نظرية دارووين وقريبا جداا سأدعوك أن تأتي لزيارتي علي البلوج تبعي ...................شباب روش طحن
Thanks dear for writing here....this is a real support for me....sure i will visit your blog....but please...tell people about this blog...thanks again....sure i will write in different subjects...bye
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