... which he thought would best allow him to pursue his increasing interest in natural history. At Cambridge he came under the influence of two figures: Adam Sedgwick, a geologist, and John Stevens Henslow, a botanist. Henslow not only helped build Darwin's self-confidence but also taught his student to be a meticulous and painstaking observer of natural phenomena and collector of specimens. After graduating from Cambridge in 1831, the 22-year-old Darwin was taken aboard the English survey ship HMS Beagle, largely on Henslow's recommendation, as an unpaid naturalist on a scientific expedition round the world. This voyage, which began on December 27, 1831, determined Darwin's whole future career. Voyage of the Beagle The Beagle, under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy, a strict disciplinarian of aristocratic stock and fundamentalist religious beliefs, was originally scheduled to spend a year or two primarily charting the coastal waters of South America. In the event, ...

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