The year 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of “On The Origin of Species.” The University of Cincinnati is marking these anniversaries with a year-long celebration of Darwin’s life and work. This series on the life of Charles Darwin is part of the celebration.
Discerning that Charles was unsuited to a career in medicine, Robert Darwin enrolled his son in Christ’s College, Cambridge in early 1828. The plan was for Charles to spend three years in pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by another year of preparation for ordination as an Anglican curate. Raised in the freethinking environment of “The Mount,” Charles was not particularly religious. But neither was he hostile toward the organized structure of the Church. So when Darwin arrived at Cambridge, he was still, in many ways, non-committal and drifting. Fortunately for Charles he would not be alone. His cousin William Darwin Fox was already at Christ’s College, while his brother Erasmus, fresh from a year at the Great Windmill Anatomy School in London, would be studying medicine at Cambridge.
Darwin soon discovered that Cambridge was a much different place than Edinburgh. Where Edinburgh was lively and free-spirited (bordering on radical), Cambridge was strict and regimented. Almost every aspect of life in and around the university was dominated by the Anglican church. Students were subject to a long list of complex, sometimes contradictory, rules governing behavior, dress, and association. A cadre of enthusiastic professors and upperclassmen, known as proctors, enforced these rules. Violations were dealt with swiftly and severely. The university Vice-Chancellor, arbiter of the regulations, had the power to confine an offending student to his college, temporarily banish him from town, or expel him from the university. While expulsions were rare, confinement was common, even for relatively minor offenses. Darwin quickly learned to follow curfew, to remain sober (at least in public), to never be seen with a woman, and to always wear the required regalia.
Preparation for holy orders was both intense and grueling. A steady diet of the classics, mathematics, and theology was challenging for even the most persistent of students. For Darwin, it bordered on the unbearable. Like his medical studies before, Charles’ studies began to slip in favor of other pursuits. Hunting, beetle collecting, and socializing in networks of like-minded students continually drew his attention. Darwin initially made little headway in developing the necessary training to run an Anglican parish. He was, however, making a number of acquaintances and friendships that would ultimately shape his future life.
While studying at Cambridge, Darwin had the great fortune to meet some of England’s most renowned naturalists. From Adam Sedgwick, professor of mineralogy (and one of the sternest proctors in the university), Darwin learned how to read the history of the land by meticulously tracing its geology. From John Stevens Henslow, director of the university’s botanic garden, he learned how to closely examine flower structure and to classify plants based on shared characteristics. And from entomologists Frederick Hope and James Stephens, Darwin learned where to capture beetles and how to identify them. Beetle collecting was all the rage among the gentry at this time and Darwin waded in with great enthusiasm. He spent hours combing the local meadows, fens, and gardens sniping for rare or prized specimens. By 1830 Darwin was considered to be among the country’s most accomplished “beetlers.”
Although somewhat unsteady at first, Darwin eventually adapted to Christ’s College demanding course of study. Following a feverish winter of study and preparation, he successfully passed his preliminary examinations in March 1830. More intensive reading in mathematics, political theory, astronomy, and theology soon followed. He immersed himself in the proofs of Euclid, slogged through the works John Locke, and devoured William Paley’s immensely influential “Evidences of Christianity.” In January 1831, Darwin successfully completed his final exams, earned his B.A., and began considering his next step. A letter from Henslow would provide that step.
There are several outstanding biographies of Charles Darwin readily available to the public. The definitive biography is a two volume work by E. Janet Browne titled “Charles Darwin: Voyaging” and “Charles Darwin: The Power of Place.” “Darwin: the Life of a Tormented Evolutionist,” by Adrian Desmond and James Moore is also highly regarded. For a shorter biography of Darwin try “The Reluctant Mr. Darwin,” by David Quammen.