Studio portrait of Charles Darwin.

Item

Studio portrait of Charles Darwin.

• circa 1870 (Creation)

Mounted photographic print : b&w ; 36 x 29 cm.

The photograph is mounted on a board. Typed caption accompanying the photograph reads: "Charles Darwin came of a distinguished ancestry, and his name now ranks as that of the most eminent scientific man of this century. He was born in 1809, was making collections of natural objects before he was ten years old, and, as might be expected, strongly disliked the ordinary school routine in which, according to his oldest statement, he never accomplished much. Gifted with rare perceptive powers, he early became a close observer of Nature, pursuing without pay the position of naturalist to an expedition around the world. At thirty he published his first work, giving an account of his observations in the various countries visited during this voyage. This soon made him known as a keen and conscientious observer, a reasoner of great philosophic grasp, and a writer possessed of a lucid and interesting style. It is this clearness of statement, joined with an abundence of illustration seen in all his books, which brings them within the reach of average understanding and gives them their deserved popularity. From youth until past middle life he was patiently gathering the facts and reasoning out the conclusions which finally led to his great discovery of the principle of natural selection, and in turn to that modern revolution in the science of organic Nature with which his name is permanently associated. He died in 1882, and was buried in Westminster Abbey."

The collection is open and accessible for research.

Preferred Citation:

Item description, Reference Code, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.