beagle voyage – The Friends of Charles Darwin

Newsletter No. 16: ‘Pilgrimages and plans’

A bumper Christmas edition of Darwin-related goodies.

Newsletter No. 10: ‘Attending a very little to species’

In which Darwin gets to work on species, and I disappear down a research rabbit-hole. With loads of links to recent Darwin- and evolution-related stories.

Newsletter No. 5: ‘Discovery and adventure’

Our fifth newsletter marks the anniversary of Charles Darwin setting sail aboard HMS Beagle.

Book review: ‘Darwin’s Fossils’ by Adrian Lister

Discoveries that shaped evolution.

Book review: ‘Charles Darwin: Vol.1: Voyaging’ by Janet Browne

Part 1 of an entertaining two-part biography of Charles Darwin.

HMS Beagle in the Straits of Magellan

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.

Darwin's (and others') fossil barnacles. Natural History Museum.

The great Darwin fossil hunt

In which a friend beyond measure arranges a behind-the-scenes visit to the Natural History Museum to see fossils collected by Charles Darwin during the Beagle voyage.

Drawing of the remains of the Cathedral in Concepción by John Clements Wickham (1798–1864); Engraving: S. Bull fl. 1838–1846. Source: Wikipedia

20-Feb-1835: Darwin witnesses an earthquake

On 20th February 1835, while taking a rest in a wood in Valvidia, Southern Chile, Charles Darwin experienced a major earthquake.

Napoleon’s grave, St Helena by Syms Covington.

11-Jul-1836: Darwin visits Napoleon

Towards the end of her second voyage, HMS Beagle called at the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic. Darwin took the opportunity to visit the grave of St Helena’s most famous former occupant/prisoner, Napoleon Bonaparte.