Born February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury. Doctor's son , Charles took an interest in wildlife since childhood, which contributed greatly to his grandfather , Erasmus Darwin , the famous naturalist . At the request of his father , Charles entered the University of Edinburgh Faculty of Medicine .Soon , seeing his son indifference to medical sciences , father encouraged him to choose the profession of a priest , and in 1828 , Darwin began to study theology at Cambridge. Here he met with a great expert in the field of natural sciences JS Henslow and geology expert from Wales A. Sedgwick . Communication with them , excursions and field work led Charles to abandon a career clergyman .On the recommendation of Henslow , he participated as a naturalist in the circumnavigation on board the " Beagle ". During this expedition , which lasted from December 1831 to October 1836, Darwin crossed three oceans , visited Tenerife , the Cape Verde Islands , Brazil, Argentina, Patagonia , Chile, the Galapagos Islands , Tahiti , New Zealand, Tasmania and other countries. His responsibilities included the collection and description of collections of plants and animals of the British colonies in South America.In Brazil and Uruguay, Darwin found 80 species of birds, and also found the jaw megatherium - extinct giant sloth and a tooth fossil horse . These findings suggesting that the fauna of Latin America was once very different , made him think about the reasons for the change and development of nature . Linking the evolution of living organisms to changes in living conditions , he suggested that the emergence of new species subject to certain laws .Final push to design thinking in a scientific theory served as the residence of Darwin in the Galapagos . This piece of land is almost isolated from the rest of the world , and by the example of native bird species can be traced way of life forms change depending on the environment.Darwin returned home laden collections and diaries . By processing of materials he started in London, then worked in Downey - a small town close to the capital .The first articles on geology and biology , based on the received data while traveling , Darwin put in some of the largest UK scientists (in particular, he put forward his version of education coral reefs ) . But his main business was the creation of a new evolutionary theory.In 1858, he decided to report it in the press.A year later , when Darwin was 50 years old , his fundamental work "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" , was released and caused a sensation , not only in the scientific world .In 1871, Darwin developed his theory in his book " The Origin of Man and sexual selection " : he considered the arguments in favor of the fact that people are descended from ape-like ancestor .Darwin's views became the basis of the materialist theory of organic evolution of the Earth as a whole and served as enrichment and development of scientific ideas about the origin of species.On the night of April 18, 1882 , Darwin had a heart attack , he died a day later . Buried in Westminster Abbey .