American Philosophical Society Museum

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Dialogues with Darwin: An Exhibition of Historical Documents and Contemporary Art

From Darwin's Journeys: The Making of a Naturalist

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Darwin, “Voyages”

This romanticized image of exploration accompanies an abbreviated translation of Darwin’s account of his voyage aboard the Royal Navy’s HMS Beagle. Darwin’s official role was to provide company for captain Robert FitzRoy, but, in fact, he ended up serving as the naturalist for the trip. He actually spent more than three of the five years of the voyage on land, meeting native peoples, measuring mountain ranges, visiting tropical islands, weathering violent storms, and documenting hundreds of species of animals.

Charles Darwin (1809–1882). “Voyages d’un naturaliste,” Le Tour du monde. Vol. 2. Sw. Melloc, trans. 1860.

Read this article online (in French).

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