getlost’s blog

Robert FitzRoy, captain of the ship ‘Beagle’, sought in 1831 a gentleman of good family and interested in science for shipment worldwide. He spoke with John Henslow, a botanist at the University of Cambridge, that he recommended to his pupil Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882). Thus began the journey that, as recognized years later in his autobiography, marked the life and career of the father of modern biology and author of ‘The Origin of Species’ and, incidentally, the history of mankind.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of this masterpiece of science, CosmoCaixa center of Barcelona has opened the exhibition “Darwin observer, naturalist Darwin ‘, which can be visited until November next year.
Darwin is, next to Newton and Einstein, the summit of people who have managed to penetrate the scientific understanding of reality, “says Jorge Wagensberg, Head of the Department of Environment and Science of the Obra Social La Caixa. ‘And’ The Origin of Species’ is one of the few books that have marked a before and after.
‘Best-seller’ scientific
“Darwinism and evolution has been the scientific discipline most influential intellectual in the general debate, even today the subject of great debate,” says Wagensberg, which further emphasizes that Darwin signed the first ‘best-seller’ Scientific history. “In a busy day ‘The Origin of Species” he says.
The sample CosmoCaixa focuses primarily on the voyage of the Beagle. “Through the pieces of the exhibition, the public can get in the skin of the scientist, take a tour of the various places he visited and know well the variety of pieces that particularly caught his interest,” says Wagensberg. As a curiosity, states that “few people know this, but Darwin was a great expert on barnacles, it is uncertain whether he could visit the Galician coast, although we know she would have loved,” he says.
The exhibition will also display handwritten letters, mammal and bird specimens collected by him, the jaw of a mastodon, a platypus and the fossil of a giant armadillo.
Dizziness
Darwin had a passion for natural history observation and excited him, so he did not hesitate a moment to embark on the ‘Beagle’, despite its constant dizziness “as those responsible for the sample. Therefore, they add, “spent long periods on land, which allowed him to collect many specimens.
Posted 1529 species in 3907 bottles of alcohol and dissected specimens. On 2 October 1836, the ‘Beagle’ ended his tour and Darwin moved to Cambridge, where he began drafting his travel diary, which he used to publish in 1839 his first book, ‘The Voyage of the Beagle’. Thanks to him, he gained recognition in the scientific community and abandoned his idea of becoming a priest.