The one thing that got Charles Darwin started was his love and interest of nature. Charles Robert Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. He was one of five children. His mother, Susannah Wedgwood, was often very sick and Charles never seemed to really love her like most sons do with their mothers. His father, Robert Waring Darwin, was a wealthy aristocrat who was roughly 350 pounds.

At age 13 Charles was sent to Shrewsbury School by his father who insisted he go there. Charles did poorly in school because it bored him most of the time. He never studied but always hunted and was an excellent horseman. He soon was accepted to Cambridge University. He studied medicine for a little while but was too sensitive for that kind of practice. Charles was a nature man and was an avid collector of plants and animals.

Charles heard of a ship that sailed around the world, the Beagle, and it needed a young man of his type. He got his uncle to convince his father to let him go on the trip. Charles had very small corridors and only had a hammock to sleep in. Seasickness was tough to face on these rough seas. On the trip he got a letter from his girlfriend, Fanny Owen, decided to marry someone else. This was terrible news for Charles. Every stop the ship took Charles collected everything that seemed unusual to him. The most significant find was a seashell in the mountains, which suggested that the sea level might have changed. Charles ended up marrying his first cousin Emma. After years of writing letters to every person imaginable, he got his information together. Another man had the same ideas as Charles did on evolution and it was a race to see who would publish their book first. After years and years of studying fossils and artifacts, Charles Darwin came up with his most famous book, The Origin of Species. Besides this book Charles published two other books in his lifetime - The Descent of Man and The Voyage of The Beagle.