Erasmus Darwin
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
| Erasmus Darwin | |
.jpg/225px-Portrait_of_Erasmus_Darwin_by_Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_(1792).jpg) Painting of Erasmus Darwin |
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| Born | December 12 1731 Elston Hall, Elston, Nottinghamshire near Newark-on-Trent |
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| Died | April 18 1802 (aged 70) Breadsall, Derby |
Erasmus Darwin (12 December 1731–18 April 1802), was a scientist, poet, inventor and a medical doctor. He was a member of the Lunar Society (a group of important scientists and businessmen that were friends). Erasmus Darwin looked at how living things evolved (change over a long time). His grandson, Charles Darwin, later wrote a book that explained evolution by natural selection.
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[change] Life
[change] Early life
Darwin was born in Newark-on-Trent, a town in Nottinghamshire. His father was a lawyer. When Erasmus was a child, he was very interested in nature. He liked clocks and electricity. He understood nature well. He said that people should eat meat in Lent, a Christian festival at Easter when people eat only simple food. He wrote in a letter:
| “ | All flesh is grass! | ” |
[change] Becoming a Doctor
He went to the University of Cambridge, and then studied to be a doctor in Edinburgh. He became a doctor in 1756, and worked in Lichfield in Staffordshire. He worked very hard and learned a lot about medicine. Soon, lots of people respected him, and the King, George III asked him to become the Royal Doctor. Darwin believed that everyone was equal, at the same social level, so he said no.
[change] Later Life
Darwin translated (changed) the work of Carolus Linnaeus from Latin to English. The books explain how different plant species are related (connected) to each other. Darwin made the English names for many plants. He was friends with many important scientists and businessmen, the Lunar Society. These men shared lots of ideas. They supported (agreed with) the French and American Revolution, and wanted to end slavery. Darwin wrote poems against slavery. He was a generous man, he helped people who had no money. He wrote poems explaining his ideas about evolution. He also made many inventions (new things) and predicted that electricity and aeroplanes would be useful in the future. He also made a sketch (simple drawing) of a hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine in 1779.
Erasmus Darwin died on the 18 April, 1802, and is buried in All Saints Church, Breadsall, north of Derby.
[change] Books
- Desmond King-Hele, Erasmus Darwin: A Life of Unequalled Achievement 1999, Giles de la Mare Publishers
- Desmond G. King-Hele (ed.), Charles Darwin's 'The Life of Erasmus Darwin 2002, Cambridge University Press
- Desmond G. King-Hele, The Letters of Erasmus Darwin 1981, Cambridge University Press
- Jennifer Uglow, Lunar Men: The Friends Who Made the Future 2003, Faber and Faber
[change] Other Websites
- Works by Erasmus Darwin at Project Gutenberg
- "Preface and 'a preliminary notice'" by Charles Darwin in Ernst Krause, Erasmus Darwin (1879)
- Erasmus Darwin House, Lichfield
- Revolutionary Players website
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