Charles Darwin: a Famous Scientist

Charles Darwin is a famous scientist that lived in the 17th century that was well known for his scientific discoveries and controversial theories of the time. If you ask anyone who Charles Darwin was, they will say the guy who came up with evolution. Charles Darwin did come up with the theory of evolution, so they wouldn't be wrong with stating that fact. However, Charles Darwin didn't just come up with the theory of evolution, he also came up with other works that consisted of The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, and The Descent of Man.

Although he wasn't known in psychology for any other works but natural selection and theory of evolution. Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. He was born as the fifth child in a family of six children. Darwin's mother and father were Susannah Wedgewood, and Robert Darwin (Famous Scientist, 2018). Charles Darwin grow up in a wealthy family mainly due to his father Robert Darwin, Robert invested money he made in his medical job. So, as Charles Darwin went to school that was paid for by his dad, he didn't really worry about passing of failing his classes because he knew his father would pay for his living (Famous Scientist, 2018).

The major reason for Charles laziness in school was that he didn't care for medical school like his dad had before him. However, shortly after his first year of medical school he became interested in zoology. Charles Darwin's interest in zoology is the start of his famous career as a scientist. The field of zoology opened Charles up to his legendary Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection. Later in his life when he when on a trip to the Galapagos Islands, he saw multiple types of finch and as he looked at the different characteristics of the types of finch, he noticed they all looked quite similar (BBC, 2014). Darwin also noticed that the finch with the larger beaks where the only ones to survive the droughts of the islands. The finch with the larger beaks surviving is a prime example of Darwin's Natural Selection. The larger beak finch could break open harder seeds which the narrow/small beaked finch couldn't, which is why the larger beaked finch survived and narrow/small beaked finch didn't. Which would lead to the evolution of the finch to have larger beaks in hundreds or thousands of years (BBC, 2014).

As Charles Darwin was researching the Theory of Evolution, he did research on plants and animals trying to find similar traits within them. In doing so he wrote that humans and animals were descendants of a common ancestor that later became humans and animals today (Kruger, 2009). Since, Darwin stated that Humans and animals had a common ancestor, psychologist study animals to learn more about human behavior. Darwin's discovery in evolution changed many thoughts scientist once had and helped psychologist learn more about human beings as well (Kruger, 2009).

In conclusion, Charles Darwin was mostly like everyone else in the world except for being born in to a rich family. However, he went to school and figured out that he didn't want to follow in his dad's foot steps and finish medical school because it bored him, and he didn't enjoy it. So, he listened to himself and became a scientist which he thoroughly enjoyed. In doing so he followed more so in his grand-fathers foot steps and the world should be grateful he did because without him becoming a scientist we wouldn't have his Theory of Evolution or Natural Selection. Without Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection, Scientist might have taken even longer to figure out that animals and humans share mostly the same genes. Also, Psychologist might not know everything they do now about human beings' behavior. So, in all Charles Darwin was well before his time and for that he reshaped the world with his creative thinking and ideas.

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