The collection contains printed and manuscript materials, photo albums, correspondences, pamphlets, diaries, and various ephemera by and relating to Charles Darwin and others interested in natural history and the theory of evolution. Includes material by Bernard Darwin, Francis Darwin, Thomas Henry Huxley, Julian Huxley, John Stuart Mill, and Marie Stopes among others.

Short biographical sketches are provided for some of the key figures represented in the collection.Charles Robert Darwinwas born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. His father, Robert Waring Darwin (1766-1848), was a physician, the son of Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), a poet, philosopher, and naturalist. Robert established a successful medical practice in Shrewsbury where he was known for his kindness extended to the poor. He was financially quite successful and willing to support his sons in their various endeavors. Although not a prolific writer, he was elected to the Royal Society in 1788. Charles' mother, Susannah Wedgwood Darwin (1765-1817), was the daughter of Josiah Wedgwood, one of the founders of the Wedgwood pottery works and a supporter of the movement to abolish slavery in the British Empire. She died when Charles Darwin was eight years old. At age sixteen, Darwin left Shrewsbury to study medicine at Edinburgh University. Repelled by the sight of surgery performed without anesthesia, he eventually went to Cambridge University to prepare to become a clergyman in the Church of England. After receiving his degree, Darwin accepted an invitation to serve as an unpaid naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle, which departed on a five-year scientific expedition to the Pacific coast of South America on December 31, 1831.

5.8 linear feet (10 document boxes and 1 oversize box)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

None.