Charles Darwin Trivia Questions

Darwin never said humans came from monkeys; he argued humans and apes share a common ancestor, not direct descent.

Darwin worked on his theory for over 20 years, writing a 230-page sketch in 1842 but delaying publication until 1859.

Darwin studied medicine for two years but found lectures dull and surgery distressing; he left Edinburgh and later attended Cambridge University to prepare for the clergy.

Herbert Spencer coined 'survival of the fittest,' not Darwin. Darwin later used it in later editions of 'On the Origin of Species.'

Charles Darwin married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood; they had ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.

Darwin's diaries confirm he ate tortoise meat while on the Galápagos. The crew often ate the animals and Darwin preserved the shells as scientific specimens, sending many back to England for study.

Darwin suffered from severe anxiety and illness, so he rarely gave public lectures and let Thomas Huxley defend his work in debates.

Darwin bred fancy pigeons and joined pigeon fancier clubs to study how artificial selection produced diverse breeds, evidence he cited in On the Origin of Species.