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Growing up: Bobby, the Rat-Catcher
Subject of study: Charles Robert Darwin
Location: Shrewsbury, England
Date: 1809-1825
February 12, 1809: Charles Darwin is born to Robert Waring Darwin, a doctor, and Susannah Wedgewood, the daughter of a famous potter. It is a joyful morning at The Mont, their beautiful home in the British countryside. The baby is welcomed by his four siblings, three sisters and a brother. Lovingly, they call him Bobby.
Bobby’s maternal grandfather, Josiah Wedgewood, started a pottery company that is still well known today.
But Bobby can’t spend all day playing in the woods surrounding his house. At the age of eight, he is sent to elementary school. Before Bobby turns nine, his mother dies. In the aftermath of this sad event, Bobby is sent to boarding school. The school is quite close to home, so Bobby runs back several evenings a week right before curfew to see his family and his dog Spark.
He hates being forced to learn dead languages at school and would rather be outside among the living things. One day his father says to him, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family.”
The large, imposing buildings at Edinburgh University bore no resemblance to the elements of the natural world that Charles enjoyed so much.
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Date: 1825-1827
Charles is just sixteen. His father takes him out of boarding school and sends him to medical school at the University of Edinburgh. The young man hates performing dissections and observing operations. His only enjoyments are studying nature and presenting his findings to the University’s scientific society.
When Darwin was a young man, a beetle-collecting craze hit England. Along with his cousin, William Darwin Fox, Darwin stomped through the forest seeking out new and rare beetles.
Location: Cambridge, England
Date: 1827-1831
Darwin’s father creates a new plan for his unhappy son. Charles transfers to Cambridge University to get an ordinary degree, the prerequisite for becoming an Anglican minister.
Again, Darwin shows little interest in his studies. During his free time he loves to collect beetles and to attend the botany lectures and excursions of Professor Henslow. The professor and the student soon strike up a friendship rooted in their academic interests.
April 26, 1831: Charles graduates at the age of 22. His exam scores are tenth highest in the class.
