The famous scientist and thinker, Charles Darwin, was born on February 12, 1809. His family lived not far from the River Severn, England.

Darwin's father was a well-known doctor and the son of a still greater doctor and scientist. Darwin's father hoped that his son would also become a doctor.

As a boy, Darwin liked to go for walks in the fields and forests. He watched nature, and compared what he saw with everything he had read in science books. He also liked collecting very much. He collected many things, birds, eggs, stones and leaves. His father did not like that, and Darwin was not studying very well at school.

At the age of sixteen, Darwin was sent to Edinburgh University to study in order that he could become a doctor. But he was interested in the history of nature.

Then he was sent to study in Cambridge University. There he studied until 1831.

Some time later he heard that the ship Beagle was going on a trip to South America and needed a scientist. His professor advised him to go. He said the trip would be just for Darwin. So when the ship left England in December 1831, Darwin was on it. His research lasted almost five years. The Beagle studied the waters in the sea near South America. It also visited New Zealand, Australia and islands in the Pacific. Darwin saw many new plants and animals. He collected all kinds of plants.

In 1842 Darwin went to live in Kent, where he continued his studies of changes in nature. Darwin understood that plants and animals are not always the same, and that they really change.

By 1859 Darwin had finished his famous book "The Origin of Species"（《物种起源》）. It made a great hit in the world of science. He was opposed by the church and even by some scientists. But later, more and more scientists agreed with him.