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Darwin , Charles Robert , 1809-1882 , scientist and naturalist
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Charles Darwin was born in Shropshire and educated at the University of Edinburgh and Christ's College, Cambridge. After graduating he spent two years exploring the coasts of South America, Australasia as a naturalist on HMS Beagle; the observations that he made during the voyage later led him to formulate his influential theory of evolution by natural selection, now regarded as the foundation of modern biology and one of the most important ideas in science. After returning to Britain he continued to research and published many books, including On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871).