A bronze statue of Charles Darwin is to be unveiled at Christ’s on the bicentenary of the naturalist’s birth.

The statue, to be unveiled on February 12th, was created by Anthony Smith, a former Christ’s student. The sculpture will form the centrepiece of a new Darwin garden in the College.

“The reason that I applied to Christ’s to read zoology in the first place was because I discovered a passion for natural history after reading The Origin of Species when I was sixteen,” Smith told Varsity. “Things have worked out quite nicely!”

Contrary to most depictions of Darwin as what Smith dubs “an old man with a beard”, the statue portrays Darwin as a young man in the summer of 1831.

Darwin was an undergraduate at the College between 1828 and 1831. The sculpture is of him in his final year as an undergraduate, a mere six months before he boarded HMS Beagle for the now famous journey to the Galapagos Islands. It was here that he made observations that later supported his theory of evolution.

Smith examined drawings of Darwin made in 1850 and 1853, as well as facial features of his descendents, in order to gauge how Darwin might have looked in his youth. “I would like people to think about Darwin afresh when they see the statue,” Smith said.

“The public perception of him is as an old man with a beard, but by all accounts he was in fact an energetic and life-loving student who did much of his great work in his early years.

“It was in Cambridge that many of his interests and fascinations, which eventually led to great discoveries, were nurtured.”
Most of Darwin’s work still resides in Cambridge, including extensive collections of specimens from his voyage on The Beagle, manuscripts, correspondences, working papers, notebooks and journals.

The unveiling of the statue will coincide with a festive fundraising dinner hosted by Professor Frank Kelly, Master of Christ’s, and attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, Sir David Attenborough, the Vice-Chancellor, and two of Darwin’s great great grandchildren.

The proceeds of the dinner will contribute to the establishment of an enduring research link between Christ’s College and the Galapagos Islands.

The University is hosting a year-long programme of events to celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth.

By Tim Leung