The city of Darwin, Australia is named after Charles Darwin. The name originally came from a port that was named in Darwin’s honor by his former shipmate on the HMS Beagle, John Clements Wickham. There was a nearby settlement named Palmerston which was renamed Darwin in 1911.

Charles Darwin’s visit to the Galapagos Islands contributed greatly to him discovering evolution by natural selection. The islands are also well known for its giant tortoises, and Charles Darwin apparently had a few as pets. One of them was apparently called Harriet, and she lived to the age of 175. She passed away in 2006…

In his life Charles Darwin had ten children with his wife Emma, and he was quite the devoted father. A bit uncommon in the 19th century, as many fathers spent very little time raising their children. When his daughter Anne died from scarlet fever at the age of ten, he was absolutely devastated.

While Charles Darwin had quite the opposition with the theory of evolution, a supporter named Thomas Henry Huxley was so well known for his advocacy that he was nicknamed “Darwin’s Bulldog”. In 1860 he debated Church of England bishop (and talented public speaker) Samuel Wilberforce at Oxford. Wilberforce mocked him and asked Huxley if he…

Charles Darwin once inspected an particular type of orchid from Madagascar which had a certain problem. Nobody could really figure out what kind of insect could pollinate the flower due to its unique shape. Darwin suspected it was some kind of moth with a lengthy string-like mouth. The Morgan’s sphinx moth was discovered about 21…