On August 29, 1831, Charles Darwin returned home from a geology field trip in North Wales to find a letter waiting for him from his Cambridge professor and mentor, John Stevens Henslow. It contained an invitation to voyage around the world as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle, scheduled to leave a month later.
Although Darwin immediately accepted the offer, his father strongly opposed the idea, saying the plan was rushed, reckless, and detrimental to Darwin Jr.'s career prospects as a clergyman. The 22-year-old didn't take no for an answer, though. The next day, he rode some 50 kilometers from his home in Shrewsbury to Maer Hall to visit his uncle Josiah Wedgwood. If anyone could sway his father's heart, it was uncle "Jos," he figured. Darwin relayed his father's objections and pleaded his case.
Wedgwood sided with young Darwin. On August 31, Darwin wrote to his father begging him ...
