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1. An Admirable Pedigree
- Johns Hopkins University Press
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[ 2 ] one v An Admirable Pedigree CHarLes’s granDfatHer, Erasmus Darwin (1731– 1802), was a physician and poet with a fascination for natural philosophy. He was popular as a doctor and did well financially because of his wealthy patients. Yet he refused payment from poor patients and often gave them money and food after he treated them. One of his wealthiest patients and closest friend was Josiah Wedgwood, the famous potter who industrialized the manufacture of kitchen ware. They shared an interest in emerging technology, such as the steam engine, and both were members of a like-minded group of scientists, inventors, and intellectuals —including James Watt, who perfected the steam engine, and Joseph Priestley, credited with the discovery of oxygen— who met once a month, always during the full moon. This Lunar Society jokingly called themselves Lunatics. They opposed slavery, defended religious freedom, and supported American independence. Erasmus Darwin proposed a natural explanation for the origin and development of life. In his 1794 book Zoonomia, he discussed the movement of climbing plants, cross-fertilization in plants, and the domestication of animals. In other works, he commented on the mechanism of inheritance and remarked on sexual selection. I mention these familiar Darwinian themes to suggest the sort of intellectual atmosphere [ 3 ] Dr. Robert Waring Darwin, Charles’s father. This wealthy, prominent physician and Fellow of the Royal Society, at six foot two and 24 stone (336 lbs), was a dominant force in Charles’s development. (Library, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine) whirling around the household into which Charles’s father and Charles himself were born. Robert Waring Darwin (1766–1848), like his father Erasmus , was a widely respected physician, well connected with both the new industrialists and the local gentry. He was also huge, weighing about 300 pounds. Whenever Charles referred [54.242.75.224] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 12:57 GMT) [ 4 ] Wedgwood anti-slavery cameo from 1791. Josiah Wedgwood distributed hundreds of these cameos to rally the populace to support the abolitionist cause. (Wedgwood Museum) to his father, he added “the greatest man I ever knew,” or “the kindest man,” or some other sort of superlative. He had a great deal of respect for—and probably some fear of—his formidable father. Much of Robert’s practice was psychiatric as well as medical. His patients held him in high esteem and valued his advice about their emotional problems. Charles’s mother was Susannah Wedgwood (1764–1817), Josiah’s daughter, whose marriage to Robert was a result of the friendship between Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood. Charles was born on 12 February 1809 (the same day and year as Abraham Lincoln), the fifth of six children (four daughters, [ 5 ] two sons), into a privileged, affluent, and prominent family. His sisters were Marianne (1798–1858), Caroline Sarah (1800– 1888), Susan Elizabeth (1803–1866), and his younger sister Emily Catherine (1810–1866). His older brother was Erasmus Alvery (1804–1881). In a broader context, this was the era of King George III and Jane Austen. As in many similar upper-class households during this period, social life for the Darwins revolved around books, correspondence, conversations about literature and politics, and dinners with neighbors. The Darwins and the Wedgwoods had a great deal of respect for one another, and both families were involved in the anti-slavery movement. ...