On Thursday 12 February 2009 the College celebrated the Bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

The day began with the unveiling, by the Duke of Edinburgh, of a specially commissioned bronze sculpture of Darwin as a young man. We were joined by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Alison Richard, and descendants of Charles Darwin, including botanist Sarah Darwin, his great, great grand-daughter. The Chancellor was on fine form, and spent time talking with students who had waited to see him.

The Master, Professor Frank Kelly, remarked "The public perception of Charles Darwin is as an old man with a beard, but while here in College he was an energetic and life-loving student who worked and played hard.

And it was in

Cambridge that many of his interests and fascinations, which eventually led to his great discoveries, were nurtured. The statue shows Charles Darwin in 1831, in his final year as an undergraduate. Later that year he joined HMS Beagle. It was from observations on the voyage of the Beagle, especially of the Galapagos mockingbirds, that Darwin later drew the evidence to support his theory of evolution by means of natural selection."

During the afternoon undergraduates showed guests around Darwin's refurbished rooms in First Court, and the Exhibition in the Old Library "On Land and At Sea".

The evening marked the start of an exciting collaboration between Christ's College and the Galapagos - both places so closely associated with the development of Darwin's radical thinking. Following an introduction by the Master in the Yusuf Hamied Theatre, Andrew Marr, President of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, chaired a discussion between Sir David Attenborough and Felipe Cruz of the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos. 

A fundraising dinner marked the launch of the Charles Darwin and Galapagos Islands Fund, to support a lasting research link between Christ's College and the Galapagos Islands. The Duke of Edinburgh spoke of his memories of the Galapagos and of the Charles Darwin Foundation, of which he is Patron. The Master and the Vice Chancellor proposed toasts. The dinner was attended by Sir David Attenborough, Andrew Marr, Randal Keynes and Sarah Darwin, both descendants of Charles Darwin, and many alumni and friends of the College and of the Galapagos.

For more information on the Charles Darwin and Galapagos Islands Fund, please telephone or email Alexandra Cullen ( +44 (0)1223 766710,  ac597@cam.ac.uk  ).

More News and Events on the Darwin 200th Anniversary.