December 2008 – The Friends of Charles Darwin

Book Review: Darwin Slept Here

A short review of Eric Simons's forthcoming book, Darwin Slept Here.

Read article →

Moleskine inspirations

Just for a bit of inspiration, the other week I took a few images produced by scientific geniuses, resized them to fit neatly into my Moleskine notebook, printed and cut them out, and stuck them in.

Read article →

Beagle book

I've finally got round to posting areview of Keith S Thomson's HMS Beagle: the ship that changed the course of history.

Read article →

Hello, Republic of Nauru!

The Friends of Charles Darwin have their first member from the Republic of Nauru.

Read article →

Hello, Dominican Republic!

The Friends of Charles Darwin have their first member from the Dominican Republic.

Read article →

An embarrassment of Richards
In which my head appears on a spike (six times).
Hello, Serbia!
I am delighted to announce that the Friends of Charles Darwin have their first member from Serbia.
The Darwin bicentennial oak, 10 years on
Ten years ago today, I planted the Darwin Bicentennial Oak in my garden.
Hello, Azerbaijan!
I am delighted to announce that the Friends of Charles Darwin have their first member from Azerbaijan.
A cat among the pigeons
Could Charles Darwin really have been a moggy murderer?

03-Dec-1831: Darwin’s first night aboard HMS Beagle
Darwin records his experimentations with a hammock.
29-Jan-1839: Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood
On 29th January 1839, after a short courtship and engagement, Charles Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgwood at St Peter's Church, Maer, Staffordshire.
14-May-1856: Darwin starts writing his ‘big species book’
On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that, on the advice of his friend Charles Lyell, after almost 20 years exploring the subject, he had finally begun writing a ‘sketch’ of his ideas on species.
If humans evolved from monkeys, how come there are still monkeys?
This is a question frequently posed by creationists—and quite often by perfectly rational people…
13-Jan-1833: The day HMS Beagle nearly sank
Charles Darwin’s closest brush with death during the Beagle voyage came on Sunday 13th January 1833, near that most infamous of nautical perils, Cape Horn.