Author: Darwin, Erasmus
Biography:
Darwin, Erasmus (1731-1802: ODNB)
A formative influence in one way or another on most of the major Romantic poets, Erasmus Darwin was born near Nottingham to Robert and Elizabeth (Hill) Darwin, and lived almost all of his life in the north of England. After studying mathematics and classics at Cambridge and medicine at Edinburgh, he established a successful medical practice in Lichfield and married a Lichfield woman, Mary Howard, in 1757. From his first wife, who died in 1770, he had three surviving children; from a later relationship, he had two daughters; and from his second marriage in 1781 to a widow, Elizabeth Pole, he had six more children who survived infancy. Both in Lichfield and then in Derby, where he lived after the second marriage, he was very active in scientific and industrial circles: he was a prominent member of the Botanical Society of Lichfield, the Lunar Society of Birmingham, and the Derby Philosophical Society. He conducted experiments and published extensively on scientific and medical subjects in professional journals and general-interest magazines. Besides the long, annotated didactic poems for which he was famous, he translated Linnaeus, developed comprehensive theories about biology and agriculture, and advocated moderate reforms in the education of women. Charles Darwin was his grandson. (ODNB 5 July 2018)
Other Names:
- Darwin
- Dr. Darwin