Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was an English physician, poet, and polymath known for his contributions to both science and literature. Born in Elston, Nottinghamshire, he pursued his education at Chesterfield School, Cambridge, and Edinburgh Medical School before starting his medical practice in Lichfield. Darwin was a significant figure in the Lunar Society, a group of intellectuals advocating for scientific advancements, which included notable members like Josiah Wedgwood. He authored several works, including the long poem "The Botanic Garden," which gained popularity and combined his interests in botany and poetry.
Darwin's scientific inquiries led to the publication of "Zoonomia," where he presented early ideas on biological evolution, and "Phytologia," which discussed photosynthesis. His posthumous work, originally titled "The Origin of Society," reflected his evolutionary theories through poetry. While he is primarily recognized today for his scientific achievements, during his lifetime, he was celebrated as one of England's leading poets. His influence extended to later Romantic poets, connecting the realms of nature and humanity in profound ways.
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Erasmus Darwin
Physician
- Born: December 12, 1731
- Died: April 18, 1802
- Place of death: Derby, England
Biography
Erasmus Darwin was born December 12, 1731, in Elston, Nottinghamshire. He was the seventh and youngest child of Robert Darwin, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Hill Darwin. As a youth, he attended Chesterfield School. After four years of study at Cambridge, he spent two years at the Edinburgh Medical School.
In 1756, he began his career as a doctor, practicing in the town of Lichfield. The following year, he married Mary Howard, with whom he had five children. However, only two lived to adulthood: Erasmus, who became a lawyer, and Robert, a doctor who would father the famous naturalist Charles Darwin. His friends included American statesman Benjamin Franklin, and around 1765, he founded the Lunar Society, a group of intellectuals promoting science and technology. Members of this group included Josiah Wedgwood and Matthew Boulton. Darwin’s wife died in 1770, after which he fathered two illegitimate daughters with Mary Parker: Susan and Mary Parker. He pursued numerous inventions, including a horizontal windmill used in Wedgwood’s pottery.
In 1781, Darwin married the widow Elizabeth Pole. He participated in Cathedral Close, a literary circle that was sometimes visited by author Samuel Johnson. His work for this society consisted of translating the botanical works of Linnaeus into English. He used this material in his long poem, The Loves of the Plants, published in 1789. The poem, written in rhyming couplets, was later combined with another poem, “The Economy of Vegetation,” to form the volume, The Botanic Garden. The book was very popular with both readers and critics. In 1794, Darwin published the first volume of Zoonomia: Or, the Laws of Organic Life, which outlined his own system of medicine and an early theory of biological evolution. In 1800, he published another scientific book, Phytologia, which described the process of photosynthesis. Darwin died in 1802 of a heart attack. His final book, a long poem, was published after his death, in 1803. Although he had titled the volume The Origin of Society, the publisher, Joseph Johnson, changed the title to The Temple of Nature for political reasons. Again using rhyming couplets and material explored in an earlier work, Darwin, in this poem, presents his own evolutionary theory.
Although Erasmus Darwin is best known today for his scientific work, for a short period of time in his own day he was known as the most popular poet in England. At home in both scientific and literary circles, he was highly influential to Romantic poets such as William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth because of the way he seamlessly combined the natural and human worlds.