Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist who became known for the idea of natural selection. Cambridge appears at several points in his story, from his student years to the specimens he sent back during the Beagle voyage.

Christ's College

Darwin entered Christ's College in January 1828 to read for a degree, and he stayed in Cambridge until June 1831. His second cousin William Darwin Fox, who was still a student there, introduced him to beetle collecting. Through Fox he also became a close friend of the botany professor John Stevens Henslow. He sat the ordinary degree examination in January 1831, placing tenth among 178 candidates. The college's own entry lists Darwin and the poet John Milton among its alumni.

Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve

Darwin collected beetles at Wicken Fen in the 1820s. The fen lies west of Wicken in Cambridgeshire and is a National Nature Reserve. Other Victorian naturalists also collected insects there, and some of their collections survive in museums.

Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences holds the Beagle Collection, about 2,000 rocks and a few fossils that Darwin gathered between 1831 and 1836. Before the ship sailed he had taken Adam Sedgwick's geology course in 1831, then travelled with him to Wales to map rock strata.

University Museum of Zoology

The University Museum of Zoology keeps fish that Darwin collected on the Beagle voyage, preserved in spirit. Its insect collection also holds specimens he collected around Cambridge.

Huntingdon Road

Darwin's widow, Emma, wintered at The Grove on Huntingdon Road from 1882, the year he died. Francis Darwin lived at Wychfield and Horace Darwin at The Orchard, both on the same road.

Darwin College

Darwin College, founded in 1964, takes its name from the Darwin family. Charles Darwin's second son, George, bought Newnham Grange in 1885, and the house is the oldest part of the college.

Visiting

The Sedgwick Museum and the University Museum of Zoology both state that admission is free. At Wicken Fen, admission to the core Sedge Fen area is through the Visitor Centre, and National Trust members enter free. The gardens of Darwin College are generally open to the public between 9am and 6pm.