Christopher William Darwin (born 16 March 1961 in London) is an

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that s ...

and nature conservationist who lives in Australia and works on his goal of halting the global mass extinction of species. He is the ambassador of the charity Bush Heritage Australia. He is the great-great-grandson of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

Biography

Darwin was born in 1961 in London. He is the son of George Erasmus Darwin, a metallurgist, known as "Erasmus", and his wife Shuna (née Service). He has an older brother Robert George Darwin and a younger sister, Sarah Darwin Vogel, a evolutionary biologist. He is descended from Charles Darwin via Charles's son George Howard Darwin (1845-1912) a astronomer, his son William Robert Darwin (1894-1970), a stockbroker and brother of the physicist Charles Galton Darwin, and his wife Sarah Monica (née Slingsby) were the parents of George Erasmus Darwin (1927-). Ironically, given his famous ancestor, Darwin struggled with

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

in his school years, failing the

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

. He later graduated from Oxford Polytechnic (latterly

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...

) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Geography. In 1983 he started London’s first bicycle rickshaw taxi service, and in 1984 was official photographer and assistant organiser for the first Round Britain Windsurf Expedition. The book ''Round Britain Windsurf'' by Tim Batstone, features Darwin's photographs. He worked in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

production in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

before emigrating to Australia in 1986.Darwin descendant drops in for talks
/ref> In 1991, he co-authored (with John Amy) the book ''The Social Climbers''. In 1995, he co-edited (also with John Amy), ''The Ultimate Australian Adventure Guide''. Darwin is married to Jacqui and has three children, Ali, Erasmus (Ras), and Monty. They live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, where Chris works in nature conservation.

Charitable work

Darwin co-authored (with John Amy) the book ''The Social Climbers''. Written about a 1989 event in which Darwin and a group of seven other friends held a dinner party on top of

Mount Huascaran Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

in Peru, the book raised money for the

National Heart Foundation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland ...

. The dinner party itself set a world record for the "highest formal dinner party on Earth." In 2003, Darwin made a donation to the

Bush Heritage Australia Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It's vision is: Hea ...

charity to help purchase the Charles Darwin Reserve in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. The 65,000 hectare reserve is intended to preserve plant species. In 2009 he became an ambassador for Bush Heritage Australia.

Public appearances and opinions

In 2005 Chris, along with other descendants of Charles Darwin, including his father, sister, and various cousins, were involved in counting the flowers at

Down House Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London before moving to Down ...

. He was also the guest of honour at a dinner celebrating the Darwin bicentenary at

Melbourne Museum The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, o ...

. Darwin believes that teaching children

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism ...

is acceptable, despite his own lack of religious faith. He believes that it is "important that children think through what is told to them and come to their own conclusions."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Chris 1961 births Living people English emigrants to Australia

Biography

Charitable work

Public appearances and opinions

See also

References