Letters reveal Darwin's youth

Before stomach pain forced Charler Darwin to drop out of medical school, before boarding the Beagle around the world and before penning a masterpiece of " Origin of Species ", the future father of evolution was a boy reads poorly and his feet are always stained.

"I only wash my feet once a month at school, because even though I know it's very dirty, I can't do anything , " 12-year-old Darwin wrote to a friend.

In another letter, Darwin (older) expresses the naive excitement of the upcoming trip that will forever change his life and the biology: "This is the greatest plan. They I will spend about 2 years in South America, the rest will be fun around the world ".

Stories like this about the man - the father of the natural selection theory of evolution - will now become familiar to the public, thanks to his first letters being published online. .

One of the last photos taken of Charles Darwin,
photo taken in 1878 (Photo: Livescience)

The website contains a summary of more than 14,700 letters, sent to or sent from reputable naturalists, with many of them posted verbatim. This is part of the ambitious Darwin Letter Project, which aims to publish all the letters in the form of books. When completed, the letters will account for about 30 sets.

"This project started in 1974, and has not finished yet , " said project researcher Sam Kuper, from Cambridge University in the UK. "The letters before 1867 were published, and we are working on a book of letters since 1868. Darwin, however, lived until 1882, so there are still many unpublished photos."

Darwin exchanged letters with nearly 2,000 people in his life. Besides family and scientists, he also wrote for diplomats, pastors, gardeners and bird keepers.

In a letter to a friend JD Hooker (Photo: Darwinproject)

Letters make up an important part in the development of his scientific ideas."For most of his life, Darwin lived like a disabled person and hid himself in his home in Kent," Kuper said.

To get the information that is difficult to collect by himself, Darwin wrote to those who could replace him."He used letters like his eyes and ears while building the theory of evolution," Kuper said.

Not just a scientist

In a letter to friend JD Hooker, the British botanist who urged Darwin to publish the theory of evolution, he admitted that his theory of species invariants "is like confession." I'm a murderer ".

Reading the letter, one can feel not just a Darwin scientist, but also a Darwin friend, a husband and a father. Perhaps recalling the death of his daughter, Anne, Darwin was heartbroken when she heard that the son of his friend Hooker had a scarlet fever: "My poor old friend he was unfortunate. soon change . The more love there is, the more challenges it will be, and life will be just a dry desert without love. "

In Emma's letter, Darwin's wife, she expressed concern that he would lose faith in God, which he eventually did. The letters also reveal about the most humble man and prefer to travel much more than guesswork.

Emma Darwin, wife of Darwin (Photo: Darwinproject)

T. An