Film review: ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists’

In which I dismiss any charges of historical inaccuracy against the latest Aardman animation.

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.