Charles Darwin shares a birthday with 16th US President, Abraham Lincoln (was born on February 12th 1809 ).

Darwin’s mother died when he was eight years old.

In 1825, Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh University to study medicine. He wasn’t cut out to be a doctor: he hated the sight of blood.

Unlike most scientists, Darwin never had a lab.

Darwin was a prolific letter writer and sent around 14,500 during his lifetime.

Today there are more than 120 species (and 9 genera) named after Darwin.

For Darwin’s 25th birthday on February 12, 1834, Captain FitzRoy named a mountain after him.

Darwin married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and she was a devout Christian. They had a happy and successful marriage and yielded 10 children.