charles_darwin

18
CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
family was wealthy, the Darwins belonged to the Shropshire gentry.
Darwin grew up in a family whose wealth enabled him to become a
gentleman, a man of means who did not need a career to support
himself or his future family.
Apart from his wealth, Darwin was fortunate in another way:
he had distinguished recent ancestors on both sides of his family. As
well as a famous grandfather on his mother’s side, Josiah Wedgwood
(1730–1795), Darwin’s paternal grandfather was Erasmus Darwin
(1731–1802), the renowned doctor, scientist, poet, and entrepreneur.
Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood also distinguished themselves
as leading figures in the British Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth
century. Together with men such as James Watt (1736–1819);
Matthew Boulton (1728–1809), the manufacturer who build Watt’s
steam engine; John Whitehurst (1713–1788), the pioneering geologist;
and Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), the famous chemist, they
formed a club called the Lunar Society of Birmingham. The club was
partly social and partly business. The members, who were all close
friends, held their meetings in the 1770s near the date of the full
moon so that, as the story goes, they could stagger home drunk
without hurting themselves. The Lunaticks, the nickname they gave
themselves, discussed new inventions, particularly technological ones
such as Josiah Wedgwood’s pyrometer (which measured high temperatures),
and considered ways to promote these technological innovations
so that they could become viable business ventures. Even
before he became famous as the author of The Origin of Species, Darwin
had a high standard to emulate.
When Darwin was sixteen, he seemed to have little direction
and drive in his life. His father made the following caustic comment
about him: ‘‘You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching
and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family.’’ 4 The
comment is easier to understand if Darwin’s family background is
taken into account. Robert Darwin had continued the family tradition
of brilliance: he became a fellow of Royal Society at the age of
twenty-two and, like his father, had a well-respected medical practice.
The son of Robert Darwin was privileged in ways that meant
much was expected of him.
From Early Childhood to Cambridge University
Being privileged provides no insurance against disappointment
or tragedy. This was true of Darwin’s childhood (as well as his adult
life). His mother died when Darwin was eight years old: it is the first