Chris Darwin
Encyclopedia
Christopher William Darwin (born 1961 in London) lives in Australia and works for High and Wild and the Australian School of Mountaineering, guiding canyoning, rock climbing, mountaineering, abseiling and nature walks. He is the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin
.
, Darwin struggled with biology
in his school years, failing the biology
A-level. He later graduated from Oxford Polytechnic (latterly Oxford Brookes University) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Geography. In 1983 he started London’s first bicycle rickshaw taxi service, and in 1984 was official photographer and assistant organiser for the first Round Britain Windsurf Expedition. He worked in advertising
and television commercial production in the United Kingdom
before emigrating to Australia
in 1986. In 1991, he co-authored (with John Amy) the book The Social Climbers. In 1995, he co-edited (also with John Amy), The Ultimate Australian Adventure Guide. Darwin is married to Jacqui and has three children, Ali, Erasmus (Ras), and Monty. They live in the Blue Mountains north of Sydney
, New South Wales
, where Chris works as a nature tour guide.
. The dinner party itself set a world record for the "highest formal dinner party on Earth."
In 2003, Darwin made a donation to the Bush Heritage Australia
charity to help purchase the Charles Darwin Reserve
in Western Australia
. The 65,000 hectare reserve is intended to preserve plant species.
In 2009 he became an ambassador for Bush Heritage Australia.
. He was also the guest of honour at a dinner celebrating the Darwin bicentenary at Melbourne Museum
.
Darwin believes that teaching children creationism
is acceptable, despite his own lack of religious faith. He believes that it is "important that children think through what is told to them and come to their own conclusions."
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
.
Biography
Darwin was born in 1961 in London. He is the son of George Erasmus Darwin, a metallurgist, known as "Erasmus", and his wife Shuna (née Service). He has an older brother Robert George Darwin and a younger sister, Sarah Vogel. He is descended from Charles Darwin via Charles's son George Howard Darwin (1845-1912); his son William Robert Darwin (1894-1970), a stockbroker, and his wife Sarah Monica (née Slingsby) were the parents of George Erasmus Darwin (1927-). Ironically, given his famous ancestorCharles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, Darwin struggled with biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
in his school years, failing the biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
A-level. He later graduated from Oxford Polytechnic (latterly Oxford Brookes University) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Geography. In 1983 he started London’s first bicycle rickshaw taxi service, and in 1984 was official photographer and assistant organiser for the first Round Britain Windsurf Expedition. He worked in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and television commercial production in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
before emigrating to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1986. In 1991, he co-authored (with John Amy) the book The Social Climbers. In 1995, he co-edited (also with John Amy), The Ultimate Australian Adventure Guide. Darwin is married to Jacqui and has three children, Ali, Erasmus (Ras), and Monty. They live in the Blue Mountains north of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, where Chris works as a nature tour guide.
Charitable work
Darwin co-authored (with John Amy) the book The Social Climbers. Written about a 1989 event in which Darwin and a group of seven other friends held a dinner party on top of Mount Huascaran in Peru, the book raised money for the National Heart FoundationNational Heart Foundation of Australia
The National Heart Foundation of Australia is an independent charity established in 1959. Its vision is for Australians to have the best cardiovascular health in the world and its mission is to reduce suffering and death from heart, stroke and blood vessel disease in Australia.Over the past five...
. The dinner party itself set a world record for the "highest formal dinner party on Earth."
In 2003, Darwin made a donation to the Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It purchases land, assessed as being of outstanding conservation value, from...
charity to help purchase the Charles Darwin Reserve
Charles Darwin Reserve
Charles Darwin Reserve is a 686 km2 nature reserve in Western Australia. Formerly Whitewells Station, it is 90 km from Wubin and 355 km north of Perth. It lies within the South West Botanical Province on the northern edge of the Wheatbelt, and is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia , by...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The 65,000 hectare reserve is intended to preserve plant species.
In 2009 he became an ambassador for Bush Heritage Australia.
Public appearances and opinions
In 2005 Chris, along with other descendants of Charles Darwin, including his father, sister, and various cousins, were involved in counting the flowers at Down HouseDown House
Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theories of evolution by natural selection which he had conceived in London before moving to Downe....
. He was also the guest of honour at a dinner celebrating the Darwin bicentenary at Melbourne Museum
Melbourne Museum
Melbourne Museum is located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, adjacent the Royal Exhibition Building.It is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, and is a venue of Museum Victoria, which also operates the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum.The museum has seven main...
.
Darwin believes that teaching children creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
is acceptable, despite his own lack of religious faith. He believes that it is "important that children think through what is told to them and come to their own conclusions."