Darwin made many friends at Cambridge; from former school fellows to Professors. John Maurice Herbert, who joined Charles at Barmouth, recalled: ‘At our frequent social gatherings – at breakfast, wine or supper parties, he was ever one of the most cheerful, the most popular and the most welcome.’
One of Charles’ closest friends in his first year was his cousin William Darwin Fox who fired his interest in beetle hunting, then a popular craze. They regularly breakfasted and explored the surrounding countryside together. Charles sorely missed Fox who graduated in 1828: ‘I am dying by inches, from not having anybody to talk to about insects.’
Charles was very sociable. He was one of eight students who formed the Glutton Club, dining once a week on rare delicacies in a member’s rooms, and ending the evening with games of cards.
Charles also sought out the small network of people who shared his interest in natural history. He regularly went to lectures given by Professors John Henslow and, in his final year, Adam Sedgwick, who encouraged his interest in botany and geology respectively. He also attended Friday evening soirées at Henslow’s house.