I happen to read "Annie's Box",a biography,written by Randal Hume Keynes,a British conservationist.
The story goes like this..
Charles was born in Shrewsbury in England on the 12th of February, 1809. His father was a wealthy doctor and financier. Although Robert was a freethinker, Charles was baptized in the Anglican Church in keeping with his mother Susannah's religious beliefs. Charles had 5 siblings and they attended the day school run by the preacher of a Unitarian Chapel.
Anne Elizabeth Shortly "Annie" was born on 2 March 1841.She was the second child and eldest daughter of the delighted couple. According to Keynes, she was a delightful child who brought much happiness to her parents.
"Anne was... the apple of her proud father's eye, his favourite child, he confessed to" [his friend and cousin William] . "More than any of the other children she treated him with a spontaneous affection that touched him deeply; she liked to smooth his hair and pat his clothes into shape, and was by nature self-absorbedly neat and tidy, cutting out delicate bits of paper to put away in her workbox, threading ribbons, and sewing small things for her dolls and make-believe worlds."
Isn't she the cutest thing..
In 1849,A terrible storm wiped out the couple's household harmony.Anne caught scarlet fever and her health thereafter declined; some believes that she suffered from tuberculosis.Despite of their Intensive treatment,she died in Montreal House on the Worcester Road, and is buried in the Great Malvern Priory Church yard.
Her premature death was a terrible blow for her parents even though the death of a young children were still all too common in Victorian times.
Charles wrote in a personal memoir..
"We have lost the joy of the household, and the solace of our old age.... Oh that she could now know how deeply, how tenderly we do still and shall ever love her dear joyous face."
What next..??
The death of Anne left him devastated and destroyed any feeling he had within himself about a benevolent God and told to his fellow friends that
"an Agnostic would be a more correct description of my state of mind."
Whenever any of his other children fell ill, he greatly feared that his children may have inherited weaknesses.
This was because Emma was his cousin.
and that made him study the effects of inbreeding among the species.
After Anne's death,he made several voyages to the coast of South America land and collected a variety of fossils and specimens of living organisms, studied many a geological features and made extensive notes.
These were later published as ‘The Voyage of the Beagle’.
Could you guess the name of this great scientist??
if you didn't so far,soon you will..
Charles observed in this voyage, that the landmasses were rising with the passage of time. He concluded this by observing the geological strata, marine and plant life, fossils and observing the variety of birds present on the islands of South America.
Studying the mockingbirds and tortoises in the area, the theory of the origin of the species began to take root in his mind. Meanwhile Charles kept sending back specimens and letters describing his findings, which became greatly admired.
Origin of the species??if u say OMG.. its Charles Darwin..BINGO:)
Throughout this time Charles was working on his theory of natural selection. However, he feared revealing the theory to the world at large because he saw the critics debunk similar theories posed by other scientists such as Alfred Russel Wallace. Also several prominent scientists of the time like Thomas Henry Huxley were dead set against evolution.
Finally,
In November 1859, his book The Origin of Species was published and was sold out. The book generated a lot of controversy and criticism. Yet, the common man was hooked on to the theory. The Church reacted and stood against him;To his consternation,chief among those,who anti this theory,were his old teachers Henslow and Sedgwick.
However, Darwin was too ill to take part in these debates and was defended by his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker. He also wrote to several people and garnered a lot of support for his work.
Before Anne's death,When she fell ill and he accompanied her to a seaside resort. There he developed an interest in orchids and the process of pollination and cross fertilization.
Besides all these,Charles was quite an attentive and devoted father.Since Emma was his close cousin,almost
all his children were quite deficient when it comes to immunity and they were prone to illness.
So,in 1871, he published ‘The Descent of Man, and The Selection in Relation to Sex’,which illustrates the severe medical problems faced by the children,when parents are closely related,out of which a new branch of science called Genetics emerged.
Folks look around you..Remember a simple idea can bring great changes to your life..
Randal Keynes??
Annie's box – actually her writing case – passed to Randal Keynes’ father, who was Charles Darwin’s great-grandson. The box contained mementoes and some notes by Darwin recording the fluctuating state of Annie’s health in the months before her death. Investigation of the box and its contents led Keynes(great-great-grandson) to explore the lives of Annie and of the Darwin family in general. His book is, in effect, a joint biography of Annie and her father which seeks to uncover the joys and the heartaches of Victorian family life and to throw light on Darwin’s increasingly pessimistic image of nature and human origins.
It begins with the story of a father and his daughter Anne,who happen to be the apple of her proud father's eye and after her tragic death,it explains how the desperate father Charles proposed a revolutionary theory,
by proving him an eminent scientist,whose findings were taken seriously and the evidence he presented generated scientific, philosophical, and religious discussions.
The story goes like this..
Charles was born in Shrewsbury in England on the 12th of February, 1809. His father was a wealthy doctor and financier. Although Robert was a freethinker, Charles was baptized in the Anglican Church in keeping with his mother Susannah's religious beliefs. Charles had 5 siblings and they attended the day school run by the preacher of a Unitarian Chapel.
Charles's father being himself a paramedic always wanted his son to be a medico.
But due to Charles superfluity of interest in taxidermy, natural history, marine biology, botany and zoology he became a Naturalist.
In 1837, Charles visited his maternal cousins. That was where he first met Emma. She was nine months older to him.
During 1838, he kept on falling ill on and off. It was during this time, that he began to contemplate marriage. He wanted to marry Emma, but kept putting it off. He even visited her once in July 1838, but did not propose.
Finally proposed to Emma by the year end,she accepted. They were happily married in January 1839.
During 1838, he kept on falling ill on and off. It was during this time, that he began to contemplate marriage. He wanted to marry Emma, but kept putting it off. He even visited her once in July 1838, but did not propose.
Finally proposed to Emma by the year end,she accepted. They were happily married in January 1839.
They were blessed with ten children(OMG)..
Anne Elizabeth Shortly "Annie" was born on 2 March 1841.She was the second child and eldest daughter of the delighted couple. According to Keynes, she was a delightful child who brought much happiness to her parents.
Isn't she the cutest thing..
In 1849,A terrible storm wiped out the couple's household harmony.Anne caught scarlet fever and her health thereafter declined; some believes that she suffered from tuberculosis.Despite of their Intensive treatment,she died in Montreal House on the Worcester Road, and is buried in the Great Malvern Priory Church yard.
Her premature death was a terrible blow for her parents even though the death of a young children were still all too common in Victorian times.
Charles wrote in a personal memoir..
"We have lost the joy of the household, and the solace of our old age.... Oh that she could now know how deeply, how tenderly we do still and shall ever love her dear joyous face."
What next..??
The death of Anne left him devastated and destroyed any feeling he had within himself about a benevolent God and told to his fellow friends that
"an Agnostic would be a more correct description of my state of mind."
Whenever any of his other children fell ill, he greatly feared that his children may have inherited weaknesses.
This was because Emma was his cousin.
and that made him study the effects of inbreeding among the species.
After Anne's death,he made several voyages to the coast of South America land and collected a variety of fossils and specimens of living organisms, studied many a geological features and made extensive notes.
These were later published as ‘The Voyage of the Beagle’.
Could you guess the name of this great scientist??
if you didn't so far,soon you will..
Charles observed in this voyage, that the landmasses were rising with the passage of time. He concluded this by observing the geological strata, marine and plant life, fossils and observing the variety of birds present on the islands of South America.
Studying the mockingbirds and tortoises in the area, the theory of the origin of the species began to take root in his mind. Meanwhile Charles kept sending back specimens and letters describing his findings, which became greatly admired.
Origin of the species??if u say OMG.. its Charles Darwin..BINGO:)
Throughout this time Charles was working on his theory of natural selection. However, he feared revealing the theory to the world at large because he saw the critics debunk similar theories posed by other scientists such as Alfred Russel Wallace. Also several prominent scientists of the time like Thomas Henry Huxley were dead set against evolution.
Finally,
In November 1859, his book The Origin of Species was published and was sold out. The book generated a lot of controversy and criticism. Yet, the common man was hooked on to the theory. The Church reacted and stood against him;To his consternation,chief among those,who anti this theory,were his old teachers Henslow and Sedgwick.
However, Darwin was too ill to take part in these debates and was defended by his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker. He also wrote to several people and garnered a lot of support for his work.
Before Anne's death,When she fell ill and he accompanied her to a seaside resort. There he developed an interest in orchids and the process of pollination and cross fertilization.
Besides all these,Charles was quite an attentive and devoted father.Since Emma was his close cousin,almost
all his children were quite deficient when it comes to immunity and they were prone to illness.
So,in 1871, he published ‘The Descent of Man, and The Selection in Relation to Sex’,which illustrates the severe medical problems faced by the children,when parents are closely related,out of which a new branch of science called Genetics emerged.
Folks look around you..Remember a simple idea can bring great changes to your life..
Randal Keynes??
Annie's box – actually her writing case – passed to Randal Keynes’ father, who was Charles Darwin’s great-grandson. The box contained mementoes and some notes by Darwin recording the fluctuating state of Annie’s health in the months before her death. Investigation of the box and its contents led Keynes(great-great-grandson) to explore the lives of Annie and of the Darwin family in general. His book is, in effect, a joint biography of Annie and her father which seeks to uncover the joys and the heartaches of Victorian family life and to throw light on Darwin’s increasingly pessimistic image of nature and human origins.
