born Dec. 12, 1731, Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, Eng.
died April 18, 1802, Derby, Derbyshire
British physician, grandfather of Charles Darwin and Francis Galton .
A freethinker and radical, Darwin often wrote his opinions and scientific treatises in verse. In Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life (179496), he advanced a theory of evolution similar to that of Lamarck , suggesting that species modified themselves by adapting to their environment in an intentional way. His conclusions, drawn from simple observation, were rejected by the more sophisticated 19th-century scientists, including his grandson Charles.
Erasmus Darwin, detail of an oil painting by Joseph Wright, 1770; in the National Portrait Gallery, ...
By courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London