Watch a short film version of a biography, such as the one of JK Rowling on the Biography.com website.
TASK: Carry out research and write a biography on the blog for one of the following:
Mary Anning (1799-1847);
Charles Darwin (1809-1882);
or Alfred Wallace (1823-1913).
Duration: 1 week
Create a timeline of the events first and use this to structure your biography.
Remember to include some simple devices to link events and build cohesion, e.g. in the meantime, meanwhile, in due course, until then.
Comments
Fr4nc3sc4
9 March 2019
Charles Darwin – A biography by Francesca Grady
On 12th February 1809, Charles Robert Darwin was born. He was born in Shrewsbury, England. His parents were Robert and Susannah Darwin. His father – who hoped Charles would follow in his footsteps – was a physician. Susannah died on 15th July 1817. From the age of nine to sixteen, he attended Dr. Butler’s boarding school in Shrewsbury. After Charles attended Edinburgh University (Scotland) to become a physician like his father. Instead, he had another interest: natural history. When he was seventeen, Darwin’s first papers were read for the Plinian Society. In 1828, Darwin went to Cambridge, where he studied for the clergy. He passed his baccalaureate examination in December 1831 but continued studying geology there.
In 1831, Darwin set off on a voyage on the H. M. S. Beagle. He was invited to do so by Captain Robert Fitz-Roy. It visited: Santiago (Capo Verde), Bahia (Brazil), and Argentina in just three years! Whilst in the Andes, Darwin was ill. It is thought to be caused by an insect. In 1835, Darwin arrived at Galapagos Island. He found and collected specimens that would help prove his theory of evolution. Finally, the Beagle returned to British shores on 2nd October 1836.
In 1836, Charles opened his first notebook and jotted down ideas and facts linked to the beginning and alteration of species. He did made notes for around eight years! Meanwhile, he married Emma Wedgewood in 1839. Next, his first book was published.
After this, Darwin created more and more books: Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (1839-1843); Coral Reefs (1842); Volcanic Islands (1843); Sketch of 1842; Essay of 1844 and Vestiges of Natural creation (1844). 1854 Darwin started writing a book he called his “Big Book”. It was all about his theory. It was over 2000 pages long. In 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace in June. Wallace had found striking results similar to Darwin’s.
In 1859, the Origin of Species book was published. He was just 51 years old at the time of this. Later he published five additional versions of Origin of Species (1860-1872) and also published three other books on species and evolution: the Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication; Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex and the Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals. At the end of all this, Darwin died at the age of 73 on April 19th 1882. He was buried at Westminster Abbey near Sir Isaac Newton.
CG
13 September 2019
Charles Darwin-A biography
Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882),the creator of the theory of natural selection, came to this world on the 12th February 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. His parents were Robert and Susannah Darwin. Robert was a physician who hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. Susannah died in July 1817 when Charles was at the age of eight. Mr Butler’s boarding school came next at nine to sixteen years of age. In due course he and his brother Erasmus attended Edinburgh University 1825–1831 which was the best medical university in Britain.
His next great adventure was getting to sail on the HMS Beagle voyage. Over 5 years he sailed south through the Atlantic, around South America via the Drake Strait, up to the Galápagos Islands, across the Pacific Ocean stopping at Tahiti, then making it to Australia and New Zealand, across the Indian Ocean, up along Africa and back to Britain. Along this journey he found himself exposed to a wondrous selection of wildlife, flora and fauna which helped him and his partner (Alfred Wallace) write the Origin of Species.
Darwin compiled his Theory of Evolution over two decades then finally decided to publish them in 1858 when he met Alfred Russel Wallace who had also been delving into evolution. A year later the two officially published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The book was found controversial because it went against the Christian belief of creationism and both Wallace and Darwin were Christians themselves so this was a big problem and the two were hit hard by criticism!
Darwin kept publishing books but a combination of a chronic illness and heart failure lead to his demise in 19th April 1882. To conclude, he lead a life of criticism and discovery, he died knowing he had uncovered a great secret of human history and had paved the way for future scientists to explore evolution...
Mrs Beesley
22 September 2019
Loved the linking phrases CG and brackets for parentheses: a slave to your art :)
An excellent biography with effective use of genre features.
Prize Box!
Lennon Mc Donagh
15 September 2020
Charles Darwin
He was born February 12 1809 Shrewsbury and died at the age of 73 in 1882. Charles is famous for his theory of evolution which explained about diversity of life on Earth. He spent 5 years on a Navy Ship collecting information about animals, plants and the places they travelled to.
Darwin wrote a journal about what he had found out called ‘The Voyage of the Beagle’ and this is one of the greatest historical diaries.
He had a wife called Emma and 2 children. He is buried at the Westminster abbey. His legacy is called Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Ryan McDonagh
15 September 2020
ALFRED WALLACE
Alfred was born on the 8th of January 1823.He was a British naturalist, explorer, biologist and social activist. He is best known for proposing a theory of natural selection. This was published in 1858 together with Charles Darwin's idea.
After a few years of working as a railway surveyor with his brother Wallace’s life was changed by meeting Henry Walter Bates in Leicester in 1847.
Wallace and Bates sailed from Liverpool in 1848 arriving in Belem at the end of May. After 1 year they decided to begin researching the animals separately.
Wallace stayed in the Amazon for 4 years collecting specimens, flora, forna and making notes on the people and geography.
On 12th July 1852 Wallace embarked on his return to England. Unfortunately there was a fire on the ship and Wallace lost most of his specimen collection though saved a part of his diary and a few sketches. After 10 days Wallace and the crew were saved by the brig Jordeson.
Wallace continued his researching and spent 8 years travelling through Malaysia and Indonesia. Wallace collected more than 125,000 specimens (80,000 beetles alone).
Later whilst exploring the archipelago Wallace refined his thoughts about evolution and his famous insight to natural selection.
Wallace died on 7th November 1913 at 90 years of age at home.
HM
16 September 2020
Mary Anning
Early life: Mary Anning was born on the 21st of May 1799 in Lyme Regis the seaside town in the English county of Dorset. She was one of nine children but only she and her brother, Joseph survived adult hood. When she was a toddler a women came up to her to hold her and the women was struck by lightning! Sadly the women died, surprisingly Anning didn't! Her Family was poor so she didn't attend school very often, instead she taught herself to read and write.
When Mary was older her father took her out looking for fossils and they would then sell them for a penny each. Then, when she was eleven her father sadly passed away in 1810 leaving the family in debt they would have to pay off.
Later on in life when Mary Anning was an adult she looked for fossils just like her father did before he died. She was the first to find a complete Ichthyosaurus skeleton. At first she was not given credit for her findings because she was a women and she was poor but now she is known as the greatest fossil hunter ever!
A few years later Anning's mother died in 1842 and soon after she died too, on the 9th of March 1847 at the age of forty seven.
Mary Anning never married and didn't have any children.
Fun Facts: The cliffs near where she lived had lots of fossils from the Jurassic period.
Some of the male scientists she had worked with claimed that the findings she had found were theirs.
Mary Anning 1799-1847
Rmu
16 September 2020
Mary Anning
Early life
She was born on near the sea . In 21st of May 1799. When she was 15 month Her mother left her with three lady . On one day there was blue sky Than there was a storm and the three lady and a her the got` under a tree and sadly the tree got hit by lightning and the three lady died but a miracle happened .She survived But know for her dull nest but now she was happy. When she was a child she would go to the beach know matter what
When she was 12 years old her dad fell of a cliff and was not getting any better and sadly died . She went to the beach ever day when she was a adult on day she found a big fossil and as some men help. Her take it to her home when she was Spent week and week and when she did it a science from London had a look at it and said they had never seen anything like it and offered her $25 pound . But here fossil where I the British museum they never mentioned her name until . A 100 years later the greatest fossil finder ever.
She died at forty eight year old
1848
Roza Matewska
16 September 2020
Early Life
Mary Anning was a fossil collector born on 21 May 1799, She was also a palaeontologist and a dealer. Unfortunately, her father died only when she was eleven years of age leaving her with her mother. They became poor and her mother couldn't earn a lot of money. Mary was one of her nine siblings that soon died leaving her brother ( Joseph Anning ) alone with Mary Moore ( her mother ) .
Adult-hood
When Mary Anning got older, she became a fossil collector. She found many fossils that showed a lot of history behind Britain's biggest and smallest prehistorical animals. She became known around the globe for finds she made in a place called Jurassic marine fossil beds. Her discoveries help contribute to changes in thinking about prehistoric life (like dinosaurs, bugs and more).
Elder Life
She died on 9th of March 1847. Mary left behind many new discoveries , helping us to learn more about the past animals that lived before humans! Scientists are grateful of her findings.
F.E.R
16 September 2020
Mary Anning -A biography
Mary was born on the 21st May 1799 in Lyme Regis, England. The story starts when there was a terrible storm in a local town, when Mary was just a baby. Mary was being looked after by three women when suddenly a huge lightning strike hit the group killing the women who were looking after Mary. Somehow Mary survived the lightning strike. Some people said that the lightning strike changed Mary completely. Before the lightning struck she was always was getting ill and was quiet. After the strike Mary's personality had changed, she became more lively and brighter.
Whilst Mary was growing up she liked tp go out on the coast to look for interesting items with her father. When they got home her father would teach her how to carefully chisel the rocks to reveal the fossils. Mary and her brother would sell the fossils for a penny to help the family. Sadly, one summers day Mary's father slipped whilst fossil hunting and had an injury that he could not recover from. Mary was also religious and attended church frequently.
Despite her fathers death Mary continued discovering fossils now with her trusty dog Tray. She also continued reading and researching in memory of her father. One year later Mary found an unusual shaped rock. At that moment Mary left Tray by the rock and went to find some people to get the rock and take it to her house so that she could chisel the rock away. After many days and weeks of carefully chiseling eventually she uncovered a huge fossil. In the years following Mary discovered other great discoveries. She was able to sell the fossils for a good profit some even went from £100-200 which in todays money would be £15,000.
This extremely talented Paleontologist was never recognized by the scientific community with the exception of a few scientists. Later on when Mary died the vicar and the scientists who respected Mary's talents made a stained glass window at her local church in memory of her great findings. Mary's discoveries changed the way we think about all life on earth.
AF
16 September 2020
The life of Charles Darwin.
On the the 12th of February 1809 in Shrewsbury Charles Robert Darwin was born, he was the fifth child of six and was born into a wealthy family. his grandfather was a scientist and his dad was a physican. Charles mother (Susannah Wedgewood) was from the famous pottery family. She died when Charles was eight years old.
When Charles was nine years old he went to go school, his school was a mile away from his home. In school his wasnt very good at languges and wasnt considerd to be very smart, he was very interseted in science. When Charles was 16 in 1825, Charles became a medical student at the Universty of Edinburgh, he didnt enjoy it.
Early in 1828, just before his 20th birthday, Charles Darwin went to the University of Cambridge to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree. After three years he received his B.A. degree with Results placing him near the top of the class. During his time in Cambridge, Darwin continued to pursue his scientific interests, particularly in botany and zoology: his greatest interest by far was in collecting different species of beetle.
In July 1837 Darwin began keeping a notebook of his thoughts and theories about the variation of plants and animals. By December 1838 Darwin was mulling over how breeders improve domestic animals by selecting the animals with the best qualities. In the natural world the selection is carried out by the environment. The lifeforms best adapted to the environment survive and breed. This is natural selection. In 1845 he published thoughts, formed much earlier, about the new species of finches he discovered in the Galapagos Islands, saying he could imagine that one original species had been modified into all the different species.If Darwin had been an ambitious scientist, he could have published a theory of evolution by natural selection in 1839, but he didn’t.
On the 19 of April 1882, Charles died from heat disease at 73 years old.
Facts
. Darwin was born on the same day as Abraham Lincon
. Suffered from chronic illness
. Waited 20 years to publish his ground breaking theory.
Eva JC
17 September 2020
His name is Charles Darwin, famous around the globe for naturalism. He was born on the 12th of Feburary 1809, and his full name is Charles Robert Darwin.
In his school years he was condemned by his headmaster for science was then considered dehumanizing in English public schools, and for dabbling in chemistry and got a nickname, 'gas' by his school mates.
Sadly, Darwin's mother passed away when he was eight and he was looked after by his three older sisters. His father, considering the 16-year-old a wastrel interested only in game shooting, sent him to study medicine at Edinburgh University in 1825. Later in life, he gave the impression that he had learned little during his two years at Edinburgh. At the Edinburgh Museum he has been taught to stuff birds by John Edmonstone, (a freed South American slave).
Darwin invented a theory of biological evolution, stating that all species of life form develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and remake.
He ended up marrying his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood. They had ten wonderful children. Unfortunatley, three died before age ten due to infectious diseases (which were common in the victorian times)
Charles passed away in 19 April 1882
E W
17 September 2020
a biography all about Chris Bonington
Chris Bonington was born on 6th of august 1934 Hampstead ,London. His farther left the family when Chris was nine months old. To go to work in the army so his mother left to raise him by her self.Every now and then Chris would go and stay with his auntie in wales. When he was 16 years old him and his friend would climb mount Snowden then in 1961 he climbed Mont blanc witch was his first ascent.
1962 North Wall of the Eiger (First British ascent) with Ian Clough
1963 Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia (First ascent) with Don Whillans[9]
1965 Coronation Street, Cheddar Gorge (First ascent)
1966 Old Man of Hoy (First ascent) with Tom Patey
1973 Brammah (6411m) (First ascent) with Nick Estcourt
1974 Changabang, Garhwal Himalaya (6864m) (First ascent) with Don Whillans, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston
1975 Southwest face of Mount Everest (8848m) [7]
1977 Baintha Brakk (7285m) (First ascent) with Doug Scott
1981 Kongur Tagh (7719m) (First ascent) with Joe Tasker, Al Rouse and Pete Boardman
1983 West Summit of Shivling, Gangotri (6501m) (First Ascent)
1983 Vinson Massif (4897m) (First British ascent – solo)
1985 Mount Everest (8848m) as member of Norwegian Everest Expedition
1987 Menlungtse (7181m) attempted FA of main peak via South Buttress, to 6100m; w/ Odd Eliason, Bjorn Myrer-Lund, Torgeir Fosse, Helge Ringdal (all Norwegian) and Jim Fotheringham (UK).[10]
1988 Menlungtse West (7023m) FA via West Ridge, (expedition leader). Summit attained by Andy Fanshawe and Alan Hinkes (both UK), with David Breashears and Steve Shea (both USA) in support.[11]
2014 The Old Man of Hoy (137m) to mark his 80th birthday and to raise funds for motor neuron disease charities[12
SC
17 September 2020
Mary Anning
On may 21st 1799 Mary Anning was born.
She was one out of nine children her parents were Richard Anning and Mary Moore.Her dad was a carpenter and fossil collector he collected fossil for extra money because they were poor they need enough money to feed nine children and themselves.Sadly at age eleven Mary’s dad died and they had no money
When she reached adulthood she became a fossil collector like her father. Only her and her brother survived. She spent months uncovering her first fossil a marine reptile that swam in the times of the dinosaurs.
On March 9th 1847 Mary past away she was only 47 years old. Her story has spread around the world and she discovered many famous fossil that we still have today.
Grace Ford
19 September 2020
Biography about Mary Anning by Grace Ford
On the 21st of May 1799 Richard Anning (a carpenter and a cabinetmaker) and Mary Moore had a child called Mary Anning. She was one of 10 children which only two survived childhood. Mary was one and the other was her brother called Joseph Anning. They grew up in the small resort town called Lyme Regis , England.
At 15 months old Mary was being looked after by her parents friend at a horse show when a sudden rainstorm came down and everyone ran for shelter. Mary, her baby sitter and two other children took shelter under an elm tree. A lightning bolt struck the tree and killed them all except Mary. Her parents said that Mary's survival was a miracle.
As Mary grew up, her parents credited the lightning strike with her high intelligence, endless energy, and brave determination.
Mary’s parents belonged to a Congregational church that believed in educating everyone. She started at about eight and was taught to read and write at Sunday school. Mary Anning received not a lot of formal schooling and never attended college. She learned much from her dad , who was a dedicated fossil finder. As a little girl she found many fossils on the beach which she called curiosities. Because they were poor ,they sold them for money. A lady called Elizabeth Philpot gave Mary a book to study them because she knew a lot about them . When Mary got older, Elisabeth took Mary to some scientists to show them her fossils but they didn't take notice because she was a lady and in those days lady's were second class
Around 1811, when Mary was 12, Joseph Anning found a strange-looking fossilised skull. Mary then searched for more and dug the outline of its 5.2-metre-long skeleton. When she was done, several months later, everyone in her town knew she had discovered what was a Plesiosaurus, meaning 'near to reptiles .This was when she discovered her first fossil.
In 1829 she was next to discover a second Plesiosaurus fossil (her 2nd fossil)
she went on to finding many more fossils throughout her life and sadly died from breast cancer in 1847. When she was only 47 years old.
Jack Johnstone
19 September 2020
Mary Anning - A biography by Jack Johnstone
Mary Anning was born on the 9th March in 1799. She was born in a town called Lyme Regis , Dorset. Her parents were called Richard Anning and her mother was called Mary Moore. Mary's parents had ten children altogether however only Mary and her brother Joseph survived to adulthood. Mary Anning nearly didn't reach adulthood because when she was fifteen months old, three teenagers were struck by lighting, they all died but Mary Anning was revived by her parents.
Mary and her family were poor and she also went to Sunday school were she learned to read and write.
When Mary was eleven her dad died of Tuberculosis . Mary was twelve years old when her brother found a fossil of a skull. Mary spent several months digging up her first Ichthyosaur. This was a marine reptile that swam when the dinosaurs were alive.
Before she had turned thirty she had discovered and drawn a Plesiosaur and discovered a fossil fish. Mary Anning being a woman she was an outsider as women were not even allowed to vote.
Mary Anning became a famous English fossil hunter. Her job was called a palaeontologist.
She lost her savings three hundred pounds to a conman , who ran off with her money.
Mary Anning died on the 9th March 1847. Mary was buried on the 15th March in 1847 at St Michael the Archangel. Mary died of Breast Cancer.
In 2010, 163 years after her death, the Royal Society included Mary Anning in a list of the ten British women who have the most influenced History of Science. Her findings contributed to changes in Scientific thinking about Prehistoric life.
Scarlett :)
20 September 2020
Mary Anning
Mary Anning was a famous English fossil hunter. The cliffs where she lived in Dorset, are rich in fossils from the Jurassic Period.
Mary Anning was born on the 21st May 1799 in Lyme Regis in Dorset in England. Her parents where Mary Moore and Richard Anning. Richard was a carpenter who made furniture etc. but also collected fossils sometimes to sell for extra cash. Anning’s family was poor and had nine children, so they needed all the money they could get. Sadly, Richard Anning died when Mary was 11.When Mary was 10 - 12 she helped to discover the first specimen of Ichthyosaurus.
Mary achieved many great things in life. She is famous for discovering many important fossils, including the first complete Plesiosarus ever found. And the first pterosaur fossil found in the British Isles. Anning spent months discovering the body of her first fossil which was a marine reptile that swam in the time of the dinosaurs. Mary Anning has been credited for many more things other than these, but she is most well known for them.
Mary Anning was one of nine children, born to her parents, but only she and her brother Joseph would survive to adulthood. Anning nearly died in 1833 during a landslide that killed her dog, Tray.
So, we know lots about Mary Anning. But, there could still be things we don’t know! And, you never know, YOU could one day be like the famous, Mary Anning.
Daisy W
20 September 2020
Alfred Wallace - A biography
On the 8th of January 1823 Alfred Wallace was born, he was 8th of the 9 children. He was born in a small village called Llanbadoc in Wales, his full name is Alfred Russel Wallace. His father was called Thomas Vere Wallace and his mother was named Mary Anne Greenell. At the age of five he moved to Hertford with his family so he could study at Richard Hale school 1828-1835, he was forced to leave due to the remaining assets, the family fell on hard times so Alfred was moved to London lodge where he studied with his older brother who was a carpenter.
In the mid 1837 Alfred left London to join his eldest brother William in Bedfordshire. William owned a land surveying company he was there to learn the trade, they were roaming around the countryside of southern England and Wales.
In the mid autumn of 1841 Wallace and William moved to the neath area of Wales and this is when it all began. He wanted to to identify the plants all around him. He then started to collect books.
In 1843 William was forced to let his brother go, in this period of time Thomas Wallace Alfred's father died at the age of 72. Alfred applied for a position at Leicester's colligate school, he was hired for surveying, arithmatic and english. Leicester had a good library and was able to find and study several works on natural history. Henry Wallace gates got him studying bettles. he was amazed to find that there are so many creatures and species could be found within 10 miles of the town.
Alfred wanted to go to the Amazon so he could study all of the animals and plants. He set off on the 26th of April 1848 and arrived on the 28th of may 1848. the partner-ship was going well until they had a disagreement and the he split up with Bates. He decided to return back to England, however the ship was caught on fire and sunk all of the amazing notes he had taken for the past two years had all been ruined. Luckily, a cargo ship was returning to England and pick the up on the way back and from floating in the sea.
When Alfred got back he married Annie Mitten in 1862 he had two children his first son was born on the 22nd of January 1867 named Herbet Wallace, but sadly died in his early childhood he was only six, his second child was born on the 25 January 1869 named Violet Wallace. In 1868 Alfred mother sadly passed away. On the 7th of November 1913 Alfred Wallace Died.
Daisy Wilson.
M.E
20 September 2020
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist. He was known for his work on the science of evolution. This is about how plants and animals have developed over time.
Darwin was born on the 12th of February 1809 in Shrewsbury. He was interested in the natural world from about age eight. This interest carried on when he went to university to study to be a doctor. Instead of learning about medicine he spent more of his time learning about plants and animals which really annoyed his dad!
After he left university he went on a voyage to the Galapagos Islands on the HMS Beagle. When he got there he studied the animals that lived there. What he found was that the animals there were unique, or endemic, to these islands. Because the Galapagos Islands are so remote there is no way other animals could get there from other parts of the world. This led Darwin to work on his theory of evolution about how species developed over time.
When he first published his theory many didn't believe in it as it was against what people already thought was true. In time though his work has become accepted and is now well recognised. Charles Darwin died on April 19th 1882 and has since gone on to be thought of as one of the most important scientists that ever lived.
JP
20 September 2020
Charles Darwin was born on the 12th of February 1809 in Shrewsbury. He was the 5th of six children all sharing the same wealthy, well-connected parents. His parents were called Susannah and Robert.
In 1825, he then secured a place in Edinburgh university and he started to study medicine, however he thought that the brutal techniques of stomach surgery weren't for him. Darwin was reading a newspaper and found an interesting article about the theories of transmutation which is what we now call evolution.
In 1827, abandoning the chance that he could have been a medic, he decided that he wanted to study divinity at Cambridge. He wasn't very keen on it and knew his real passion was biology. He spent much of his time collecting beetles when he went for his walks.
Four years later, his tutor recommended him as a gentlemen’s naturalist on a voyage around the world and he grabbed the opportunity. Over the following five years, he visited four continents, although he did suffer bad sea sickness when he travelled.
In 1859, he published the origin of species. When he was writing, he described it as living in hell. In the year 1858, Darwin and Wallace rewrote the theory of evolution.
He sadly died on the 19th of April in 1882 of a fatal heart attack despite having survived numerous heart attacks in the previous years.
Darwin’s theories are still used by scientists around the world today.
AB (Amy Barrow)
20 September 2020
Biography on Mary Anning, the Famous Fossil Collector
Anning was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK, of the year 1799. Even if she was the sibling of 9, only her & Joseph, her brother, lived up until Adulthood. Mary was extremely lucky to stay alive, as the lady who held her was struck by lightning.. and she survived! How amazing?
Mary Anning's dad (father) didn't make much money from his job as a cabinet maker, so he enhanced the family's sort of 'earnings' from looking out for some fossils, which were known as curiosities back in the day. He would find and collect them at the beach nearby, and sold them to holidaymakers. Mary and Joseph had joined their father, and soon became attached to the deep love of fossil-hunting.
Later, after their father's death, which occurred in 1810, Joseph & Mary continued to hunt for fossils, to support the family. In 1811, they discovered an odd, 5.2 metre-long skeleton! At that very time, people had believed that all unrecognisable/never seen before "creatures" had made their journey from a far-off land area. And so, scientists trusted the idea of the skeleton simply belonging to a crocodile. Though, they soon realised from their studying, it was actually an ancient species which was called 'Ichthyosaurus', meaning fish lizard.
Mary continued to search the beach and cliffs of Lyme Regis with her pet dog 'Trey', and in 1823, she made another incredible and important discovery – the first ever Plesiosaur skeleton! The sea creature, which had a long neck, looked SO strange that most people assumed it was fake, and that it was not a real creature.
Anning had made hundreds of other exciting discoveries, such as a mysterious reptile which flew, later named the Pterodactyl - which we now call it, and coprolites – fossilised faeces – which helped her figure out what the dinosaurs ate/consumed! Having taught herself geology, anatomy and scientific illustration, she was SO skilful that she took many important scientists fossil-hunting with her, of which she had discussed amazing ideas and excellent theories with them.
Tragically, the inspiring Mary Anning passed away in 1847. Even if she was well-known for all of her exquisite discoveries, she was never once taken in a serious way as a scientist in her lifetime, because of her birth gender and her unstable background. This made some of the male scientists, that Anning had worked with, claim her findings as their own! Thankfully, today, she is well-known and recognised as a pioneer in the field of palaeontology, fossil-studying, and is now celebrated as the most incredible and the greatest fossil hunter ever to live!
Harry Drinkwater
20 September 2020
Alfred Wallace was born 8th January, 1823 in Llanbadoc , Wales. His father believed he was descended from William Wallace , the Scottish warrior in Braveheart.
Wallace never had any formal training as a biologist and did not got to University. In the beginning he worked as a land surveyor outside and this is when he grew interested in the natural world and began collecting insects.
For this reason in 1848 aged 25 he embarked on a voyage to Brazil. To make some money while he was there he collected specimens to sell back home. Wallace spent 6 years in Brazil before sailing back, unfortunately the ship caught fire and all his specimens and everything he had written and drawn were lost. After his visit he went on to write two books and spent time meeting with other naturalists.
In 1854 , aged 31 he set off to Malaysia, Singapore and New Guinea. He discovered thousands of new species of beetles, furthermore he observed how animal life was different between two islands which were separated by a short stretch of water. This is now called the Wallace line and marks were Asian wildlife meets Australia wildlife.
Alfred Wallace died , age 90 in 1913. He was the most famous biologist in the world and was one of the first people to express concern about the effects humans were having on the natural world.
Izzy Waite
20 September 2020
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury on the 12th February 1809. He was the second youngest of six children.
In October 1825, at the age of 16, Charles went to the University of Edinburgh to study Medicine. However the sight of blood made him sick and he was more interested in natural history. Charles then started studying natural history at Christ College Cambridge in 1827 and in 1831 graduated with a bachelor of arts degree.
Charles was then invited to go on a round the world 5 year trip with Captain FitzRoy on the HMS Beagle. Whilst on the trip they visited the Galapogos Islands where they researched botany, geology and zoology, and collected items like birds, plants and fossils.
On returning to England in 1836 Charles started writing in the 'Journal of Researches' which was later put in the 'Zoology of the voyage of the Beagle.'
In the meantime, Charles met Emma Wedgewood and they eventually married in 1839.
Charles theory of evolution was known as Darwinism. He publicly introduced his theory in a letter read at a meeting of the Linnean Society in 1858.
On November 24th 1859 his book the 'Origin of Species' was published.
Charles died on 19th April 1882 in his family home in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Oliver Norris 20/9/2020
20 September 2020
Charles Darwin
BIOGRAPHY
Oliver Norris | Year 6 | 21/09/20
Early Life:
Darwin was born on 12th February 1809 in Shrewsbury; his parent were Robert Waring Darwin and Susannah Wedgewood. His father was a physician and he had 5 siblings, 4 sisters and brother called Erasmus. In 1817 his mother died, leaving his 3 older sisters with the maternal responsibilities.
He attended a Unitarian day school (the religious orientation of his mother) where his interest in nature was first sparks – aged 8. He then attended the nearby Anglican school with his brother as a boarder. In 1825 he was an apprentice physician to his father, later attending Edinburgh University with his brother Erasmus to study medicine. He found out that surgery was not his calling and started studying to be a clergyman at Christ College, Cambridge. He obtained his degree in Theology in 1831.
Work on Evolution:
In 1831 Darwin’s ship was the HMS Beagle, which he used over a 5-year period in the 19th century, studying the variation in plants, animals and fossils around the world. Charles studied many living things such as finches, tortoises and mocking birds in the time of his 5 weeks visit in the Galapàgos Islands. He proceeded to work and develop his ideas once he had returned from his voyages.
Darwin did not publish his findings in the Galapàgos Islands for 29 years (until 1859), where they documented in his popular work, the Origin of Species. Contrary to popular belief Darwin had no issues with publishing his theory and had always intended to publish after completing more of his work. A paper written by Dr van Wyhe, a Darwin historian, suggests that “Darwin’s Delay” is a myth, and that he was simply busy writing more than 10 books, and combating deteriorating health. In 1836 Charles meets Lyell (a geologist) for the first time.
Papers/Books:
In 1837 Charles Darwin reads his first scientific paper “Observations…on the coast of Chile” at the Geological Society in London. In May 1839 the Beagle’s journey is published and is under the title “journals and remarks”, volume three of Darwin’s narrative of the voyage. 1841 Structure and distribution of Coral Reefs. 1842 Darwin writes a thirty-five-page draft of his evolutionary theory. 1843 Darwin writes Volcanic Islands. 1844 Darwin finishes earlier draft of evolutionary theory. 1846 Darwin’s last book Beagles voyages: Geological Observations on South America. 1851 books on barnacles is published. 1859 On the Origin of Species is written for the public. 1868 The variation of Animals and Plants under Domestications is published. 1871 The Descent of Man is published and The Origin of species is re written. 1872 Expression on the Emotions in Man and Animals is the final book in Darwin’s evolutionary writings.
Marriage:
In 1839 Charles marries Emma Wedgewood, his first cousin. Their first child was born on 27th of December 1839 and named William Erasmu.
Awards:
1853 The Royal Society awarded Darwin their Royal Medal for his work on barnacles.
1854 Darwin is elected to the Royal Society’s Philosophical Club.
1864 Copley Medal of the Royal Society
1877 Cambridge awards Darwin with an honorary doctorate in law.
10 April 1882
Darwin dies after suffering a heart attack earlier in the year. He is buried at Westminster Abbey.
lilly holt
20 September 2020
Alfred Wallace (1823-1913) was born 8th of January 1823 , he died 7th November 1913. His educational life was at the Richard Hale school (1828 - 1836) He was one of the greatest scientist in all of time. His college friend was Charles Darwin. Together Wallace and Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1958 and there prolific subsequent work laid the foundations of modern evolutionary biology and much more besides.
His pioneering work on what would become evolutionary biogeography (the science that seeks to explain the geography distribution of organism ) led to him becoming recognised as that subjects father. Before this, Wallace was regarded as the preeminent collector and field biologist of tropical regions of the 19th century.
Henry BLake
20 September 2020
Thursday 17th September
Charles Darwin- A biography by Henry Blake
Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12 September 1809 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. His parents names were Robert and Susannah Darwin.
He is best known for his his Scientific contributions in particular, Evolution. It is now widely accepted that his proposition that all species of life have descended from common ancestors.
Charles Darwin died on 19 April 1882 .
Charles was the fifth of six children of a wealthy society doctor and financier Robert and Susannah Darwin. His mother was from the Wedgwood family. Charles was baptised in the Anglican St chad’s church Shrewsbury but Charles and his siblings attended the Unitarian Chappell with there mother. As early as eight years old Charles had taste for natural history.
Darwin spent the summer 1825 as a trainee doctor helping his father treat the poor of Shropshire before going to university of Edinburgh medical school. Darwin neglect of medical studies annoyed his father who shrewdly sent him to Christ’s collage Cambridge, to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree as the first step towards becoming an Anglican country parson. He preferred riding and shooting to studying. During his first few months his second cousin William Darwin Fox impressed him with his butterfly collection influencing him to start collecting Beetles.
In 1831 he embarked on a voyage that lasted almost 5 years. Darwin spent most of that time on land investigating geology and making natural history collections. At intervals during the voyage specimens were sent to Cambridge together with letters including a copy of his journal for his family. Darwin experienced an earthquake in Chile and saw signs that the lan has been raised.
By the time he returned to England he was already a celebrity in scientific circles. In December 1836 Darwin took lodgings in Cambridge to organise work on his collections and rewrite his journal. He wrote his first paper showing that South America was rising.
By mid March 1937 barely six mouths after his return he was speculating on the possibility that one species does change into another. While developing this intensive study of transmutation Darwin became overworked and his health suffered he had uncomfortable palpitations of the heart so the doctors advised him to stop working for a few weeks. On returning to work Darwin made remarkable progress on transmutation
The strain took a toll and by June he had stomach problems, headaches and heart symptoms for the rest of his life he had several other allments. The cause of his illness remained unknown and treatments had only small success.
Darwin compiled his theory of evolution over two decades then finally decided to publish them in 1858 the book was found controversial because it went against the Christian belief of creationism and both Wallace and Darwin as Christians took a lot of criticism.
Darwin continued to publish books but a combination of heart problems and chronic illness lead to his demise in April 1882
Kyle Jolley
20 September 2020
Charles Darwin Biography
He was a naturalist and geologist.
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England on the 12th February 1809 to Robert Darwin and Susannah Darwin. His father was a doctor and financier by profession, and his mother was a physician. He was the fifth of six children.
He attended Anglican Shrewsbury School from 1818, before attending the University of Edinburgh Medical School. On March 27, 1827 at the Plinian he argued that the black spots in oysters shells were eggs of a skate leech. he wasn't interested in medicine so his father enrolled him at the Christ's College to gain a BA degree. He graduated with a distinction in 1831.
In 1831, Darwin set sail on the HMS Beagle, a naval survey ship for 5 years. He visited different Countries and Islands collecting plants and animal specimens. His favourite was the Galapagos Islands because these islands are home to plants and animals that can't be found anywhere else in the world. He noticed that each of the different Islands was home to a different type of tortoise.
Darwin married his first cousin Emma Wedgewood in the year 1839, at the age of 29. The couple had 10 children.
The Beagle returned to England. Darwin studied the specimens and realised that Finches of the Galapagos Islands followed a pattern like the tortoise. The finches were similar, but birds from other Islands had different beaks. Darwin started to piece his together his theory of natural selections, explaining how the population evolved. He didn't publish his finding until 1859 because he knew it would upset people. The book Origin of Species challenged the creation story in the bible.
Darwin appears on the £10 notes, and as a statue in the main hall of London Natural History Museum.
In 1858 he introduced revolutionary theory of evolution. He as more than 120 species named after him.
On April 19, 1882, in Down House, Downe Kent, England at the age of 73 he died, due to heart problems.
Abbygale
21 September 2020
Alfred Russel Wallace was born in 1823 in Usk (now in Monmouthshire) he worked at his brother's surveying firm when he left school. He was a man of many talents. Some of the talents he did was amazing for example: explorer, collector, naturalist, and a geographer.
He worked as a teacher in Leicester in 1844. That year he formed a friendship with a local man and keen naturalist . He was called Henry Bates.He used methods of collecting beetles and many fascinating creatures.
Em
21 September 2020
Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist.
He was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
He is famous for his work on the theory of evolution.
His book On the Origin of Species (1859) did two things.
First, it provided a great deal of evidence that evolution has taken place.
Second, it proposed a theory to explain how evolution works.
L.C
22 September 2020
On May 21st 1799 Mary Anning was born in a small town near the beach resort town of Lyme Regis ,England,UK. She has ten brothers and sisters all to gather. Her Father owned a carpentry business but it did not make much money. They would have storm she went to the beach and currled fossils and sell them. Mary Anning died of breast cancer in March 9th 1847.
Mrs Beesley
27 September 2020
A very good biography, with features of the genre RMu. Effective use of chronology. Prize Box!
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A very mature biography AF which highlights Darwin's contribution to science. An excellent biography with effective use of genre features. Prize Box!
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A short but effective summary of Anning’s life SC. 3DJs
Well done GF you have helped us to celebrate a great scientist who does not get a lot of recognition. An excellent biography. A great start to Y6 blogs. Prize Box!
A brief but effective biography LC. 3DJs
A very mature biography JJ which highlights Anning's contribution to science. An excellent biography with effective use of genre features. Prize Box!
Well done SM you have helped us to celebrate a great scientist who does not get a lot of recognition. A very good biography. Prize Box!
Great to see a well-researched blog on Alfred Wallace DW. Excellent use of genre features. Prize Box!
A very mature biography ME which highlights Darwin's contribution to science.
An excellent biography with effective use of genre features. Prize Box!
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I learnt a lot from your biography JP. Excellent use of chronology. 3DJs
Excellent effort AB. Lovely choice of verbs. A very interesting biography. Prize Box!
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A very mature biography ON. Excellent awareness of features of the genre and effective use of conjunctions. Prize Box!
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A brief but effective biography AA. 3DJs