Darwin Goes Digital

How did Darwin come up with the theory of evolution by natural selection? Get an amazing glimpse inside the thought process that gave rise to the foundation of modern biology. Discover never-before-seen manuscripts that illuminate how the theory took shape in Darwin’s mind, from his voyage on the Beagle to shortly before his death. The revolutionary Darwin Manuscripts Project is the world's first and only large collection of full color, high-resolution documents that trace the development of Darwin as a thinker, an observer, and a determined experimenter. Explore a treasure trove of thousands of primary source materials, digitized and publicly available for the first time at The Darwin Manuscripts Project website.

On February 10, 2015, the lecture—Darwin Goes Digital—was a roundtable discussion about special highlights tour of the manuscripts. At the discussion were Randal Keynes—Darwin’s great, great grandson, field biologist and historian of evolution—James Costa, and David Kohn—Director of the Museum's Darwin Manuscripts Project. The talk was moderated by Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch. Attendees also received an exclusive after-hours viewing of a rare manuscript page from Darwin’s handwritten draft of On the Origin of Species and a first edition of the 1859 work, one of the most influential scientific books of all time. 

Learn more about the Museum's Darwin Manuscripts Project.