January 2013 – The Friends of Charles Darwin

Darwin in plain English?

In which I attempt to rewrite the wonderful final paragraph of ‘On the Origin of Species’ using only the 1,000 most common English words.

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10-Jan-1860: Darwin to Lyell

Charles Lyell

On 10th January 1860, Charles Darwin wrote to his good friend the geologist Charles Lyell, humorously describing mankind’s ancestor.

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I have seriously cool friends (part 3)

My wonderful, long-suffering partner, Jen, filled a gaping hole in my Darwin-groupie library this Christmas.

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I have seriously cool friends (part 2)

My wonderful friend Stense bought me two magnificent books for Christmas.

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I have seriously cool friends (part 1)

Mug shot

What do you buy a tea-addicted, Darwin groupie photographer for Christmas?

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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?
Maureen Brian, FCD (12 June 1942 – 31 July 2018)
I was sad to learn via Facebook that Maureen Brian died earlier today.
The problem writing a book about Charles Darwin
…there are so damn many of the things already, how do you make your book different?

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.