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referred panion dropped out。
from a twenty…first…century perspective the two men’s most striking joint feature was their1an auspicious date in history： on the same day in kentucky； abraham lincoln was born。
extreme youthfulness。 at the time of sailing； fitzroy was only twenty…three； darwin justtwenty…two。
fitzroy’s formal assignment was to chart coastal waters； but his hobby—passion really—was to seek out evidence for a literal； biblical interpretation of creation。 that darwin wastrained for the ministry was central to fitzroy’s decision to have him aboard。 that darwinsubsequently proved to be not only liberal of view but less than wholeheartedly devoted tochristian fundamentals became a source of lasting friction between them。
darwin’s time aboard hms beagle； from 1831 to 1836； was obviously the formativeexperience of his life； but also one of the most trying。 he and his captain shared a small cabin；which can’t have been easy as fitzroy was subject to fits of fury followed by spells ofsimmering resentment。 he and darwin constantly engaged in quarrels； some “bordering oninsanity；” as darwin later recalled。 ocean voyages tended to bee melancholyundertakings at the best of times—the previous captain of the beagle had put a bullet throughhis brain during a moment of lonely gloom—and fitzroy came from a family well known fora depressive instinct。 his uncle； viscount castlereagh； had slit his throat the previous decadewhile serving as chancellor of the exchequer。 （fitzroy would himself mit suicide by thesame method in 1865。） even in his calmer moods； fitzroy proved strangely unknowable。
darwin was astounded to learn upon the conclusion of their voyage that almost at oncefitzroy married a young woman to whom he had long been betrothed。 in five years indarwin’s pany； he had not once hinted at an attachment or even mentioned her name。
in every other respect； however； the beagle voyage was a triumph。 darwin experiencedadventure enough to last a lifetime and accumulated a hoard of specimens sufficient to makehis reputation and keep him occupied for years。 he found a magnificent trove of giant ancientfossils； including the finest megatherium known to date； survived a lethal earthquake inchile； discovered a new species of dolphin （which he dutifully named delphinus fitzroyi）；conducted diligent and useful geological investigations throughout the andes； and developeda new and much…admired theory for the formation of coral atolls； which suggested； notcoincidentally； that atolls could not form in less than a million years—the first hint of hislong…standing attachment to the extreme antiquity of earthly processes。 in 1836； aged twenty…seven； he returned home after being away for five years and two days。 he never left englandagain。
one thing darwin didn’t do on the voyage was propound the theory （or even a theory） ofevolution。 for a start； evolution as a concept was already decades old by the 1830s。 darwin’sown grandfather； erasmus； had paid tribute to evolutionary principles in a poem of inspiredmediocrity called “the temple of nature” years before charles was even born。 it wasn’t untilthe younger darwin was back in england and read thomas malthus’s essay on the principleof population （which proposed that increases in food supply could never keep up withpopulation growth for mathematical reasons） that the idea began to percolate through his mindthat life is a perpetual struggle and that natural selection was the means by which somespecies prospered while others failed。 specifically what darwin saw was that all organismspeted for resources； and those that had some innate advantage would prosper and pass onthat advantage to their offspring。 by such means would species continuously improve。
it seems an awfully simple idea—it is an awfully simple idea—but it explained a great deal；and darwin was prepared to devote his life to it。 “how stupid of me not to have thought ofit！” t。 h。 huxley cried upon reading on the origin of species。 it is a view that has beenechoed ever since。
interestingly； darwin didn’t use the phrase “survival of the fittest” in any of his work（though he did express his admiration for it）。 the expression was coined five years after thepublication of on the origin of species by herbert spencer in principles of biology in 1864。
nor did he employ the word evolution in print until the sixth edition of origin （by which timeits use had bee too widespread to resist）； preferring instead “descent with modification。”
nor； above all； were his conclusions in any way inspired by his noticing； during his time inthe galápagos islands； an interesting diversity in the beaks of finches。 the story asconventionally told （or at least as frequently remembered by many of us） is that darwin；while traveling from island to island； noticed that the finches’ beaks on each island weremarvelously adapted for exploiting local resources—that on one island beaks were sturdy andshort and good for cracking nuts； while on the next island beaks were perhaps long and thinand well suited for winkling food out of crevices—and it was this that set him to thinking thatperhaps the birds had not been created this way； but had in a sense created themselves。
in fact； the birds had created themselves； but it wasn’t darwin who noticed it。 at the timeof the beagle voyage； darwin was fresh out of college and not yet an acplished naturalistand so failed to see that the galápagos birds were all of a type。 it was his friend theornithologist john gould who realized that what darwin had found was lots of finches withdifferent talents。 unfortunately； in his inexperience darwin had not noted which birds camefrom which islands。 （he had made a similar error with tortoises。） it took years to sort themuddles out。
because of these oversights； and the need to sort through crates and crates of other beaglespecimens； it wasn’t until 1842； six years after his return to england； that darwin finallybegan to sketch out the rudiments of his new theory。 these he expanded into a 230…page“sketch” two years later。 and then he did an extraordinary thing： he put his notes away andfor the next decade and a half busied himself with