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Charles
Robert Darwin, naturalist, is buried in the north aisle of the
nave of Westminster Abbey, not far from Sir Isaac Newton. He
was born in Shrewsbury on 12th February 1809, son of Robert
Waring Darwin (1766-1848) and Susannah, daughter of Josiah
Wedgwood. He studied with his brother Erasmus at Edinburgh
University but disliked the idea of following in his father's
footsteps as a doctor. At Cambridge University he became very
much interested in natural history and sailed on the ship HMS
Beagle in 1831 to South America and the Galapagos islands. In
1839 he married his cousin Emma Wedgwood and they went to live
at Downe, a small village in Kent. His famous work "The Origin
of Species by natural selection" was published in 1859 and he
continued working although his health was often poor. He died
at Down House on 19th April 1882.
Burial
The Dean of Westminster, George Granville Bradley, was away in
France when he received a telegram forwarded from the
President of the Royal Society in London saying "…it would be
acceptable to a very large number of our fellow-countrymen of
all classes and opinions that our illustrious countryman, Mr
Darwin, should be buried in Westminster Abbey". The Dean
recalled "I did not hesitate as to my answer and telegraphed
direct…that my assent would be cheerfully given". The body lay
overnight in the Abbey, in the small chapel of St Faith, and
on the morning of 26 April the coffin was escorted by the
family and eminent mourners into the Abbey. The pall-bearers
included Sir Joseph Hooker, Alfred Russel Wallace, James
Russell Lowell (U.S. Ambassador), and William Spottiswoode
(President of the Royal Society). The burial service was held
in the Lantern, conducted by Canon Prothero, with anthems sung
by the choir. The chief mourners then followed the coffin into
the north aisle of the Nave where Darwin was buried next to
the eminent scientist Sir John Herschel, and a few feet away
from Newton.
Although an agnostic, Darwin was greatly respected by his
contemporaries and the Bishop of Carlisle, Harvey Goodwin, in
a memorial sermon preached in the Abbey on the Sunday
following the funeral, said:
"I think that the interment of the remains
of Mr Darwin in Westminster Abbey is in accordance with the
judgment of the wisest of his countrymen…It would have been
unfortunate if anything had occurred to give weight and
currency to the foolish notion which some have diligently
propagated, but for which Mr Darwin was not responsible, that
there is a necessary conflict between a knowledge of Nature
and a belief in God…"
A later, widely believed, rumour of a "deathbed conversion" to
Christianity was denied by his daughter, who was actually
present at his death.
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