Release of Darwin’s papers includes first draft of Theory of Evolution

The first draft of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is among thousands of his private papers made accessible online for the very first time.

For decades these were only available to scholars at Cambridge University Library.

But they can now be seen free of charge by anyone around the globe at Darwin Online (http://darwin-online.org.uk/).

The publication of Darwin’s private papers is the largest in history, totalling about 20,000 items in nearly 90,000 images.

As well as the first draft of his theory of evolution, the vast collection of Darwin-related items includes thousands of notes and drafts of his scientific writings, notes from the voyage of the Beagle - with his musings on Galapagos birds - and his first recorded doubts about the permanence of species. It also contains photographs of Darwin and his family, newspaper clippings, reviews of his books and much more.

On a less scientific note, there is material revealing Victorian family life such as Emma Darwin’s recipe book. Contained within are delicacies such as 'Ilkley pudding'; and a rudimentary recipe for boiling rice, scrawled in Darwin’s own handwriting.

Dr John van Wyhe, Director of The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online at Cambridge University, said: “Charles Darwin is one of the most influential scientists in history. The collection of his papers now online is extremely important and therefore very exciting.

“This release makes his private papers, mountains of notes, experiments, and research behind his world-changing publications available to the world for free.

“His publications have always been available in the public sphere - but these papers have until now only been accessible to scholars.”

The immensity of the collection means even if you viewed one image per minute, it would still take more than two months to see all of the material made available today.

Covering Darwin’s life from childhood, the papers also feature his boyhood notes on birds, proofs of his Origin of Species, as well as caricatures and obituaries and much more.

Dr van Wyhe added: “Darwin changed our understanding of nature forever. His papers reveal how immensely detailed his researches were. The release of his papers online marks a revolution in the public's access to - and hopefully appreciation of - one of the most important collections of primary materials in the history of science.”