Who was Charles Darwin?
Charles Darwin (1809-82) was born in Shrewsbury, England. He initially studied medicine, but after attending medical operations which were performed without anesthetic, he decided to study theology at Cambridge University with the intention of joining the Church. While at Cambridge, Darwin became interested in natural history. On 27 December 1831, Darwin joined the Admiralty survey ship H.M.S. Beagle as an unpaid naturalist, and began a five-year voyage around the world.
Darwin's main interest on the first part of the voyage was geology. Inspired by Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology, Darwin agreed with some of Lyell’s theories, but challenged others. During the voyage he began to question the accepted view that living species were fixed at creation, and developed his theory of evolution based on the principle of natural selection.
Darwin's influence
A number of Darwin’s later publications also made a significant impact in many fields of science. Darwin’s The expression of the emotions in man and animals (1872) founded the study of ethnology and communication theory. The effects of cross and self fertilization in the vegetable kingdom (1876) demonstrated Darwin’s discovery of hybrid vigour, and Climbing plants (1875) and Power and movement in plants (1880)) influenced the development of the science of growth hormones in plants. | 
