Charles Darwin was the son of Robert Waring Darwin and his wife Susannah. He was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Charles mother died when he was eight years old. His sister raised him after the death of his mother. Darwin studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and theology at Cambridge University (The World Book Encyclopedia 40). In 1827, he loved to collect insect, plants, and geological specimen. He visited many places under Captain Robert Fitzroy. He visited Tenerife, Brazil, Montevideo, Tahiti, New Zealand, and many other interesting places. In one of his experiments, he devised a theory of coral reefs. He obtained intimate knowledge of fauna, flora, and the geology of many lands during his expedition. This helped equipped him for his later investigations. Darwin served as a naturalist with a British scientific expedition aboard the H.M.S. Beagle (The World Book Encyclopedia 40).
While Darwin explored South America he found fossils of extinct animal that closely resembled modern species. For his future study he had collected fossils and other specimens. When he returned from England in 1836, he spent the rest of his life doing experiment and studying specimens. He also spent time corresponding with other scientist. Darwin did a little writing about his own finding. One of Darwin's books early books included The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. Charles Darwin married his own cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839. In 1842, Darwin and his family moved to Downe, near Croydon. He lived in Downe until his death. While he lived in Downe, he gained practical knowledge of variation and interbreeding.