Charles Darwin (1758–1778)
Encyclopedia
Charles Darwin was the oldest son of Erasmus Darwin
(1731–1802) and Mary Howard (1740–1770), and was the uncle of the famous naturalist Charles Robert Darwin
. He showed considerable promise while studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh
, but died while still a student.
Like his father, he suffered from a stammer as a child. In an attempt to cure this by learning the French language
, around the end of October 1766 the eight year old Charles Darwin was sent to Paris
with a private tutor, the Reverend Samuel Dickenson
. They travelled, and brought back many aromatic plants of Montpellier
from Gouan
. Darwin was was only allowed to converse in French, and by their return in or possibly after March 1767 he was able to speak fluent French without a stammer, but the problem persisted when he spoke English. He went on to study at Lichfield School
which had, in his father's view, an excessive emphasis on the Classics
. His mother suffered from a long illness, and died on 30 July 1770. Erasmus showed deep distress, but was resilient and after about a year found another partner. Charles continued to show impressive abilities as he grew up. He made friends with some of his father's fellow members of the Lunar Society, including William Small
and Matthew Boulton
.
In September 1774 Darwin entered Christ Church college
, University of Oxford
at the age of 16, and he matriculated
there on 30 March 1775. He studied at Oxford for less than a year, as he disliked the curriculum as pursuing "classical elegance" and "sigh'd to be removed to the robuster exercises of the medical schools of Edinburgh."
in the Autumn of 1775 or early in 1776, and was well settled in by April. At that time the university had a Europe wide reputation for its invigorating emphasis on experimental methods and intellectual stimulus. Soon after joining the university Darwin became friends with the up-and-coming clinical teacher Andrew Duncan
, staying in his house and getting personal guidance as well as access to the wards of The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He discussed his interests in letters to his father, commenting on new ideas and therapies in use. In April 1776 Erasmus wrote mentioning studies of the human pulse
, and an unpublished manuscript What are the established varieties of the pulse, their causes & uses in medicine appears to have been one of Charles Darwin's earliest works, showing his abilities in observations of variations due to age or exercise, and a good grasp of the current literature on blood circulation
. He submitted a dissertation on the distinction between mucus
and pus
for the first annual gold medal of the Aesculapian Society at Edinburgh, and won this medal in March 1778. His graduating dissertation, written as a conventional thesis in classical Latin
, discussed the relationship between the lymphoid system and "dropsy", heart failure. As well as following the teachings on this subject in Edinburgh at that time, it showed his independent ideas and evidence from well considered experiments.
The clinical picture described here, particularly the petechial haemorrhages
, strongly supports a diagnosis of meningococcal disease.
Charles Darwin was buried in the Duncan family vault in the graveyard of the Chapel of Ease built for St Cuthbert's Church on the South side of Edinburgh. This was later renamed the Buccleuch Parish Church Burying Ground, and is sited at 33 Chapel Street, not far from the Old College of the University of Edinburgh
.
in book form in 1780 as Experiments establishing a criterion between mucaginous and purulent matter. And an account of the retrograde motion from the absorbent vessels of animal bodies in some diseases. The author's name was shown as Charles Darwin, and Erasmus wrote a short memoir as an appendix, including the description of his son's childhood shown above. It also includes the only description Erasmus published of the boy's mother, Mary Howard, praising her for having brought their son up to have "sympathy with the pains and pleasures of others", and "as she had wisely sown no seeds of superstition in his mind, there was nothing to overshade the virtues she had implanted."
Pages 103–112 describe the use of "decoction of foxglove" (digitalis
) to treat "dropsy" (heart failure), under the heading "A note belonging to page 65, and 68", and the words "The fox-glove has been given to dropsical patients in this country with considerable success: the following cases are related with design to ascertain the particular kinds of dropsy, in which this drug is preferable to squill, or other evacuants." The case notes given on these pages are the first published account of the treatment, predating the description published in 1785 by its discoverer William Withering
in An account of the foxglove and some of its medical uses.
The book of Darwin's dissertations does not mention Withering, but the first case described in its appendix is a "Miss Hill of Aston near Newport" who is given a more detailed description as case IV in Withering's book. Erasmus Darwin noted the date in his Commonplace book as 25 July 1776, and it appears that he learnt of the use of digitalis when both he and Withering saw this patient in consultation. Withering's description suggests he is annoyed at Darwin's incomplete account, and Page 8 of his book says that "Dr. Duncan also tells me that the late very ingenious and accomplished Mr. Charles Darwin, informed him of its being used by his father and myself, in cases of Hydrothorax, and that he has ever since mentioned it in his lectures, and sometimes employed it in his practice." Though there is no indication as to the author of the case descriptions, implying that they were part of Charles Darwin's dissertation, in later publications Erasmus Darwin said he had appended case notes, and it seems clear that these were his own. In a paper, dated 14 January 1785 and read on 16 March of that year, Erasmus Darwin published a more detailed "account of the successful use of foxglove", but this gained little attention. Withering's "account" has a preface dated 1 July 1885, and its publication later that year convinced physicians of the use of digitalis as treatment. While Darwin had priority of publication, Withering is rightly given credit for finding and developing this treatment, and was understandably annoyed at Erasmus Darwin. The book of dissertations also had a note of "other ingenious works of the late Mr Darwin in the Hands of the Editor, which may at some distant time be given to the public". The only one discovered was Charles Darwin's unpublished manuscript on the pulse
, which was found in the Medical Society of London.
. The youngest of Erasmus Darwin
's three sons, Robert Waring Darwin
, followed his father and oldest brother into medicine, becoming a successful physician. He married Susannah Wedgwood
, and in the family tradition they named their first boy after his grandfather and uncle, Erasmus Alvey Darwin
. When their second boy was born they named him after his uncle and father, both medical men, Charles Robert Darwin
. While he was a child they called him "Bobby", but he became known simply as Charles Darwin, eclipsing the memory of the short life of his uncle of that name.
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
(1731–1802) and Mary Howard (1740–1770), and was the uncle of the famous naturalist Charles Robert Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. He showed considerable promise while studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, but died while still a student.
Childhood and classical education
A memoir by his father recalled young Charles Darwin as having a precocious interest in science, from infancy being:accustomed to examine all natural objects with more attention than is usual: first by his senses simply; then by tools, which were his playthings – By this early use of his hands, he gained accurate ideas of many of the qualities of bodies; and was thence afterwards enabled to acquire the knowledge of mechanics with ease and with accuracy; and the invention and improvement of machines was one of the first efforts of his ingenuity, and one of the first sources of his amusement.
He had frequent opportunities in his early years of observing the various fossile productions in their native beds; and descended the mines of Derbyshire, and of some other counties, with uncommon pleasure and observation. He collected with care the products of these countries; and examined them by such experiments, as he had been taught,or had discovered: hence he obtained not only distinct but indelible ideas of the properties of bodies, at the very time when he learnt the names of them; and thus the complicate science of chemistry became not only easy, but delightful to him.
Like his father, he suffered from a stammer as a child. In an attempt to cure this by learning the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, around the end of October 1766 the eight year old Charles Darwin was sent to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with a private tutor, the Reverend Samuel Dickenson
Samuel Dickenson
Samuel Dickenson was a clergyman and botanist.He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Erasmus Darwin. He succeeded his father John Dickenson as Rector of St...
. They travelled, and brought back many aromatic plants of Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
from Gouan
Antoine Gouan
Antoine Gouan was a French naturalist who was a native of Montpellier. Gouan was a pioneer of Linnaean taxonomy in France....
. Darwin was was only allowed to converse in French, and by their return in or possibly after March 1767 he was able to speak fluent French without a stammer, but the problem persisted when he spoke English. He went on to study at Lichfield School
King Edward VI School (Lichfield)
King Edward VI School, Lichfield is a co-educational comprehensive school near the heart of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. The school is a co-educational comprehensive school maintained by Staffordshire Education Authority and admits pupils from the age of 11 , with some 60%...
which had, in his father's view, an excessive emphasis on the Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
. His mother suffered from a long illness, and died on 30 July 1770. Erasmus showed deep distress, but was resilient and after about a year found another partner. Charles continued to show impressive abilities as he grew up. He made friends with some of his father's fellow members of the Lunar Society, including William Small
William Small
William Small was born in Carmyllie, Angus, Scotland, the son of a Presbyterian minister, James Small and his wife Lillias Scott, and younger brother to Dr Robert Small. He attended Dundee Grammar School, and Marischal College, Aberdeen where he received an MA in 1755...
and Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
.
In September 1774 Darwin entered Christ Church college
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
at the age of 16, and he matriculated
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
there on 30 March 1775. He studied at Oxford for less than a year, as he disliked the curriculum as pursuing "classical elegance" and "sigh'd to be removed to the robuster exercises of the medical schools of Edinburgh."
University of Edinburgh
Darwin arrived at the University of EdinburghUniversity of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in the Autumn of 1775 or early in 1776, and was well settled in by April. At that time the university had a Europe wide reputation for its invigorating emphasis on experimental methods and intellectual stimulus. Soon after joining the university Darwin became friends with the up-and-coming clinical teacher Andrew Duncan
Andrew Duncan (doctor)
Andrew Duncan FRSE FRCPE FSA was a Scottish physician. He was born at Pinkerton, by St Andrews, in Fife, and educated nearby at the University of St Andrews...
, staying in his house and getting personal guidance as well as access to the wards of The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He discussed his interests in letters to his father, commenting on new ideas and therapies in use. In April 1776 Erasmus wrote mentioning studies of the human pulse
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
, and an unpublished manuscript What are the established varieties of the pulse, their causes & uses in medicine appears to have been one of Charles Darwin's earliest works, showing his abilities in observations of variations due to age or exercise, and a good grasp of the current literature on blood circulation
Circulatory system
The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc...
. He submitted a dissertation on the distinction between mucus
Mucus
In vertebrates, mucus is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. Mucous fluid is typically produced from mucous cells found in mucous glands. Mucous cells secrete products that are rich in glycoproteins and water. Mucous fluid may also originate from mixed glands, which...
and pus
Pus
Pus is a viscous exudate, typically whitish-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammatory during infection. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess, whereas a visible collection of pus within or beneath the epidermis is known as a pustule or...
for the first annual gold medal of the Aesculapian Society at Edinburgh, and won this medal in March 1778. His graduating dissertation, written as a conventional thesis in classical Latin
Classical Latin
Classical Latin in simplest terms is the socio-linguistic register of the Latin language regarded by the enfranchised and empowered populations of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire as good Latin. Most writers during this time made use of it...
, discussed the relationship between the lymphoid system and "dropsy", heart failure. As well as following the teachings on this subject in Edinburgh at that time, it showed his independent ideas and evidence from well considered experiments.
Illness and death
This very talented medical student died on 15 May 1778, apparently from a cut sustained while performing an autopsy."About the end of April, Mr. Darwin had employed the greatest part of a day in accurately dissecting the brain of a child which had died of hydrocephalus, and which he had attended during its life. That very evening he was seized with severe head-ach. This, however, did not prevent him from being present in the Medical Society, where he mentioned to Dr. Duncan the dissection he had made, and promised the next day to furnish him with an account of all the circumstances in writing. But the next day, to his headach there supervened other febrile symptoms. And, in a short time, from the hemorrhagies, petechial eruption, and foetid loose stools which occurred,his disease manifested a very putrescent tendency.
The clinical picture described here, particularly the petechial haemorrhages
Petechia
A petechia is a small red or purple spot on the body, caused by a minor hemorrhage ."Petechiae" refers to one of the three major classes of purpuric skin conditions. Purpuric eruptions are classified by size into three broad categories...
, strongly supports a diagnosis of meningococcal disease.
Charles Darwin was buried in the Duncan family vault in the graveyard of the Chapel of Ease built for St Cuthbert's Church on the South side of Edinburgh. This was later renamed the Buccleuch Parish Church Burying Ground, and is sited at 33 Chapel Street, not far from the Old College of the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Publication of work
Erasmus translated his son's graduating dissertation from Latin into English, and had it together with the gold medal winning dissertation published in LichfieldLichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in book form in 1780 as Experiments establishing a criterion between mucaginous and purulent matter. And an account of the retrograde motion from the absorbent vessels of animal bodies in some diseases. The author's name was shown as Charles Darwin, and Erasmus wrote a short memoir as an appendix, including the description of his son's childhood shown above. It also includes the only description Erasmus published of the boy's mother, Mary Howard, praising her for having brought their son up to have "sympathy with the pains and pleasures of others", and "as she had wisely sown no seeds of superstition in his mind, there was nothing to overshade the virtues she had implanted."
Pages 103–112 describe the use of "decoction of foxglove" (digitalis
Digitalis
Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials that are commonly called foxgloves. This genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but recent reviews of phylogenetic research have placed it in the much enlarged family...
) to treat "dropsy" (heart failure), under the heading "A note belonging to page 65, and 68", and the words "The fox-glove has been given to dropsical patients in this country with considerable success: the following cases are related with design to ascertain the particular kinds of dropsy, in which this drug is preferable to squill, or other evacuants." The case notes given on these pages are the first published account of the treatment, predating the description published in 1785 by its discoverer William Withering
William Withering
William Withering was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis.-Introduction:...
in An account of the foxglove and some of its medical uses.
The book of Darwin's dissertations does not mention Withering, but the first case described in its appendix is a "Miss Hill of Aston near Newport" who is given a more detailed description as case IV in Withering's book. Erasmus Darwin noted the date in his Commonplace book as 25 July 1776, and it appears that he learnt of the use of digitalis when both he and Withering saw this patient in consultation. Withering's description suggests he is annoyed at Darwin's incomplete account, and Page 8 of his book says that "Dr. Duncan also tells me that the late very ingenious and accomplished Mr. Charles Darwin, informed him of its being used by his father and myself, in cases of Hydrothorax, and that he has ever since mentioned it in his lectures, and sometimes employed it in his practice." Though there is no indication as to the author of the case descriptions, implying that they were part of Charles Darwin's dissertation, in later publications Erasmus Darwin said he had appended case notes, and it seems clear that these were his own. In a paper, dated 14 January 1785 and read on 16 March of that year, Erasmus Darwin published a more detailed "account of the successful use of foxglove", but this gained little attention. Withering's "account" has a preface dated 1 July 1885, and its publication later that year convinced physicians of the use of digitalis as treatment. While Darwin had priority of publication, Withering is rightly given credit for finding and developing this treatment, and was understandably annoyed at Erasmus Darwin. The book of dissertations also had a note of "other ingenious works of the late Mr Darwin in the Hands of the Editor, which may at some distant time be given to the public". The only one discovered was Charles Darwin's unpublished manuscript on the pulse
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
, which was found in the Medical Society of London.
Relatives
Charles Darwin's younger brother Erasmus Darwin II became a rich solicitor, but in 1799 drowned himself in the River DerwentRiver Derwent
River Derwent is the name of several rivers in England:*River Derwent, Derbyshire*River Derwent, North East England on the border between County Durham and Northumberland*River Derwent, Cumbria in the Lake District*River Derwent, Yorkshire in Yorkshire...
. The youngest of Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
's three sons, Robert Waring Darwin
Robert Darwin
Dr Robert Waring Darwin, F.R.S. was an English medical doctor, who today is best known as the father of the naturalist Charles Darwin. He was a member of the influential Darwin-Wedgwood family.-Biography:...
, followed his father and oldest brother into medicine, becoming a successful physician. He married Susannah Wedgwood
Susannah Darwin
Susannah Darwin was the wife of Robert Darwin, and mother of Charles Darwin, and part of the Wedgwood pottery family. She was the daughter of Josiah and Sarah Wedgwood. In 1817 she started growing ill, with gastrointestinal symptoms that were probably a sign of either a severe ulcer or stomach...
, and in the family tradition they named their first boy after his grandfather and uncle, Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin , nicknamed Eras or Ras, was the older brother of Charles Darwin, born five years earlier, and also brought up at the family home, The Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
. When their second boy was born they named him after his uncle and father, both medical men, Charles Robert Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. While he was a child they called him "Bobby", but he became known simply as Charles Darwin, eclipsing the memory of the short life of his uncle of that name.