Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England to wealthy parents. His father, a medical doctor, R.W. Darwin and mother Susanna who passed when Darwin was only eight years of age. He was the second youngest of six children. At age sixteen he started college at Edinburgh University and two years later became a student at Christ’s College in Cambridge where he would start his career in the natural sciences.
Upon graduating from Christ’s College Charles Darwin was selected for a naturalist position onboard HMS Beagle which was to take a 5 year trip surveying the world. They set sail on December 27, 1831. During this time Darwin started to recognize the interconnection of species throughout the world and begin work on his complex