Places and Things Named After Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was a brilliant, though controversial, naturalist. His life's work revolved around evolution, the transmutation of species and natural selection. Today, he is both celebrated and hated. Creationists - people who believe that the universe was made by a supernatural being - see Darwin as a man who went against god. People who believe that Darwin was correct, or at least largely so, uphold him as an able scientist, who published what he knew, despite the far-reaching social repercussions. The latter portion of people and people knew Darwin during his life that have applied his name to places and things in respect for him and his work.

Schools

Darwin College

Darwin College is one of the schools at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It is a school for post-graduate studies, meaning students go there to go higher degrees. Roughly 600 students attend Darwin College. About 300 of those students are foreign students.

Charles Darwin University

Charles Darwin University is located in Northern Territory, Australia. It was established in 2004, when two Northern Territory schools merged. It is both a vocational and academic university.

Places

Charles Darwin National Park

Charles Darwin National Park is located on Frances Bay in Port Darwin in Northern Territory, Australia. The park is home to natural woodland and wetland scenery. It is also home to World War II sites, as Australia had built bunkers and shelters in the park during World War II, in case of an invasion. There is a World War II display there giving a description of Darwin, Northern Territory's role in the war.

Darwin, Falkland Islands

There is a small settlement on the Lafonia Peninsula in the Falkland Islands named after Charles Darwin. The islands are in the south Atlantic off the coast of South America. The settlement itself does not have much to offer tourists apart from some natural scenery and the Charles Darwin House. The Charles Darwin House is an inn that has never housed the naturalist for whom it is named.

Darwin City, Northern Territory, Australia

Darwin is the capital city of Northern Territory. Port Darwin was named after Charles Darwin in 1839, by the then captain of the HMS Beagle. This was on a different journey than the one that changed Darwin's life. The name was in respect for the naturalist who had traveled with him on his previous journey. Thirty years later, the first settlement was built there and named Palmerston. In 1911, it became known as Darwin.

Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands

Darwin Island is one of the Galapagos Islands. It is popular among divers because the outlying ocean is teeming with ocean creatures. Diving is also the only way to get near the island, as coming onto the island is forbidden. There is a large natural stone archway in the ocean off the coast of the island that is also named for the naturalist - Darwin's Arch.

The Darwin Sounds, Canada and Chile

There is a sound named after Charles Darwin in Tierra del Fuego, Chile. It was named by yet another captain of the HMS Beagle. This time, Darwin was on board the ship when the honor was bestowed upon him. Darwin Sound in Canada was named for the naturalist by a Canadian geographer by the name of George M. Dawson.

Awards

The Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards are pseudo-awards given to people who have died as the result of their own irresponsible actions. The awards are thus named because of Darwin's theory of natural selection or survival of the fittest. The idea is that these people were successfully eliminated from the gene pool because they were not fit to procreate.

Darwin Medal

The Darwin Medal is an award that comes with a medal and a prize of 1,000 pounds. They are given by the Royal Society for distinction in the field of biology. The first Darwin Medal was given in 1890. The most recent was given in 2010 to Professor Bryan Clarke.

Animals

There are more than 120 species named for Charles Darwin, so it would be impossible to list them here. However, one is worth noting because it reportedly helped lead to Darwin's theories. That animal is the Darwin finches from the Galapagos.

The sheer number of things named in honor of Charles Darwin is a testament to the respect the man garnered in his lifetime and beyond. He helped pave the way for an enlightened future, where not all of the answers have to come from one book. Of course, he was not the only such person.

Sources

Charles Darwin University, University Profile, retrieved 5/21/11, cdu.edu.au/about/university-profile

About Darwin, retrieved 5/21/11, darwin.com/toplevel/about.shtml

Charles Darwin National Park, retrieved 5/21/11, nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/charlesdarwin.html

Falkland Islands, Darwin, retrieved 5/21/11, ladatco.com/fk-Darwin.htm