Learning more...

Charles Darwin

Darwin at the Museum Darwin’s work

Charles Darwin is probably the most During the famous round-the-world
famous biologist of all time. The Origin voyage of The Beagle between 1831 and
of Species, published in 1859, 1836, Darwin observed and recorded the
challenged the prevailing world view of rich variety of plant and animal life that he
God’s divine creation of the Earth and encountered. While visiting the Galapagos
its inhabitants, and laid the Islands in 1835, he found significant
foundations for modern biology. The evidence for his ideas on variation, and the
Museum has a collection of Darwin’s birds and tortoises he observed there
crustaceans that he amassed on his became the subjects of some of his most
voyage on The Beagle, and this article famous studies.
gives a summary of his life, work, and Back in England in 1836, Darwin tried to
his association with the Museum. solve the questions raised by these
observations, and the great mystery of
Darwin’s early life
how new species arose. He realised that
Charles Darwin was parents passed on characters to their
born in 1809. He grew offspring, that there was variation
up with an interest in between individuals within populations of
natural history and this a species, and that limited resources were
interest continued as available to support populations. He
he began his medical concluded that new species arose as a
studies in Edinburgh. result of what he termed natural selection
Primitive surgery, acting on these variable populations.
disease, and sight of
blood repelled Darwin
and he never completed
his degree. In 1828, at his father's insistence,
he went to Christ's College, Cambridge to study
theology. He graduated in 1831. During his
time at Cambridge he regularly discussed the
natural world with the botanist John Henslow,
the geologist Adam Sedgwick and others. It
was Henslow who recommended Darwin for
the post of naturalist and captain's companion Darwin’s work sparked great controversy and debate, and he
on board HMS Beagle. was often depicted in comics as a monkey or ape (left); in his
later years (right) he suffered from an unexplained illness.

What is ‘Learning more’? Darwin continued to work on his theories

for 20 years, and in 1859 he published his
‘Learning more’ comprises a series of articles about the
famous and controversial book On the
Museum and its collections. It is designed for older
Origin of Species by Means of Natural
students, teachers, researchers, and anyone who wants to
Selection. This sparked a furious debate
find out more about particular aspects of the Museum’s
between scientists and theologians, most
work and its history.
notably the one between Thomas Huxley
This article gives a brief introduction to the life and work and Samuel Wilberforce that took place in
of Charles Darwin, and describes his collections that are Oxford in 1860 at the newly opened
held in the zoology collections of the Museum. University Museum. Darwin died at home
‘Learning more’ articles are free, and available to all for in 1882 after suffering an extended illness
educational, non-profit purposes. The Museum retains and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
copyright of all material used in this leaflet. The Archbishop was indisposed.

© Oxford University Museum of Natural History Page 1

Learning more... Charles Darwin

Darwin’s collection at the Museum

Darwin not only made ecological and correspond with those listed in the ‘Catalogue
geological observations during the voyage of for specimens in Spirit of Wine’ - a
The Beagle, but also amassed a vast collection chronological listing of specimens collected
of specimens. On his return to England these throughout the voyage.
were entrusted to various scientists for study, All the crustaceans listed in this catalogue are
with the Crustacea being sent to Thomas Bell. marked in pencil with the letter ‘C’,
These specimens were never properly presumably to allow a separate list to be
described and remained in Bell’s cabinets for copied out. In total, 230 specimen lots are
many years. In 1862 much of the Bell marked as crustaceans in the catalogue,
collection was purchased by J. O. Westwood, however, only 110 can be traced in the
the first Hope Professor of Zoology, on behalf zoological collections today; further
of the University Museum. Over the years, this specimens can be tentatively linked to Darwin
material was transferred to the zoology through more circumstantial evidence.
collections, with the last transfer taking place The Darwin database, found in the zoology
in 1975. pages of the Museum’s website, holds details
Darwin’s collection chiefly comprises of the dry material in the Darwin collection.
crustaceans, but also a few other invertebrates For details of the spirit preserved material see
(such as insects, sea spiders, millipedes, Chancellor et al. (1988). The existing dry
spiders, etc.). Some of this material is stored material, which can be positively attributed to
dry and some preserved in spirit, although it Darwin, consists of 40 taxa (39 decapods and
is clear from Darwin’s notebooks that 1 stomatopod), collected from fifteen locations
originally everything was stored in spirit. spanning the voyage of The Beagle.
Many of the surviving specimens have either References
numbered labels attached to them in Chancellor, G., A. diMauro, R. Ingle & G. King
handwriting that has been ascribed to (1988). Charles Darwin’s Beagle collections in the
Covington, Darwin’s servant on The Beagle, or Oxford University Museum. Archives of Natural
numbered metal tags. These numbers History, 15: 197-231.

ARCTIC OCEAN

NORTH EUROPE ASIA

AMERICA
ATLANTIC
PACIFIC
PACIFIC OCEAN
AFRICA
OCEAN
OCEAN
SOUTH INDIAN
Galapagos AMERICA
Islands
OCEAN AUSTRALIA

ANTARCTICA
The voyage of The Beagle Specimen 137
Between 1831 and 1836 Charles Darwin travelled around the world on TheFrom Beagle.
nearHe actedIII.asBoudinaged
Camp the ship’s naturalist,
limestoneamassing a vast
and metapelite.
collection of plants and animals. The red dots on the map indicate the places whereonDarwin
Situated foundmoraine
the lateral the crabs nowEast
of the heldRongbuk
in the Museum’s
Glacier at
zoological collections. Darwin’s skill at cataloguing his collections is evident, as many
21300 feet, of
thisthecamp
specimens are associated
is the highest withcamp
of the main diarysites.
entries noting the environment in which they lived, details of their colour and
Themarkings,
specimenand other relevant 8cm
is approximately information.
across.

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Learning more... Charles Darwin

The database and specimens

After inital neglect Darwin’s collection of
dry crustaceans was transferred to the
zoological collections. The last of it was
moved in 1975. Since then, each specimen
has been re-housed separately in
conservation grade material. All original
labels were retained, and the specimens
have been kept as close to their original
appearance as possible. Dilocarcinus (Dilocarcinus) pagei cristatus
Darwin’s diary entry: June 1833 Maldonado; Crab, caught
in dry hole in one of the low islands of the R.Parana,
above Rosario

Original storage
Petrolisthes tuberculatus (Guerin-Meneville)
This photograph shows Darwin’s dry collection in its original
Darwin’s diary entry: November & December 1834;
storage; since it was taken, the collection has been rehoused.
Archipelago of Chiloe; Crabs in the greatest numbers
The Museum has electronically catalogued under stones
Darwin’s collection which is now available
as a searchable database. It is fully
illustrated and contains Darwin’s original
diary entries. It is available to browse on
the Museum’s website, linking from the
zoological collections’ pages. Further
information about Darwin’s holdings can
be found by contacting the Museum.

Petrolisthes sp
Darwin’s diary entry: August 1835 Lima; Decapod Notapod

Rehoused and databased

This photograph shows specimen 14538, Grapsus grapsus, in
its new storage; Darwin’s diary entry for this specimen states: Mithrax sp.
August 1834 Valparaiso; crab, above dark “Cochi. R.” Legs Darwin’s diary entry: March 1834 Tierra del Fuego; Crust.
“Hyacinth & tile R front pincers purplish”. Bracy. & Macro. Hab: east end of Beagle Channel

© Oxford University Museum of Natural History Page 3