Darwin Evolves Onto The Internet For The First Time April 18, 2008

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The private papers of science giant, Charles Darwin, have just been made available for free on the Internet for the first time.

There are over 20,000 items – all of his papers and manuscripts – now available as 90,000 viewable images from the Cambridge University Library. Up until now, only smarty pants scholars at Cambridge had access to the material.

The collection is ‘vast and varied’ according to the University and among the treasures is the first draft of his theory of evolution, notes from the voyage of the Beagle and Emma Darwin's recipe book. The Origin of Species, published in 1859, has been freaking out Creationists and other hard core religious groups ever since.

The collection of documents was handed over by the Darwin Family and the Pilgrim in 1942 – here’s a description of how they were delivered:

“They were in parcels each containing small packets of manuscript wrapped in tissue paper on which the subjects had been noted in Darwin's hand. They were presumably just as Darwin left them, and accordingly this arrangement was preserved when they were bound, the volumes now representing as closely as possible Charles Darwin's papers in the order in which he left them. Beside the original papers there were copies of a large number of letters to Darwin, collections of press-cuttings, etc.”

Wow, a positive use for the Internet. Makes a welcome change from the usual online FaceAche/MyArse child safety scares.-Martin Lynch

[Darwin Online]

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