Charles Darwin's books facts for kids

Charles Darwin wrote about twenty books, including the most famous book in biology, the Origin of Species. The books covered the natural history sciences, now called geology, palaeontology, zoology, botany, anthropology, psychology and evolutionary biology.

The Origin of Species is the most important single book in the biological sciences, and its main ideas are well-supported by modern research.

The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) and The Descent of Man (1871) are also highly important.

Several of the other books were also ground-breaking.

List of books

• 1838-43: Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle: published between 1839 and 1843 in five Parts (and nineteen numbers) by various authors, edited and superintended by Charles Darwin, who contributed sections to two of the Parts:
  • 1838: Part 1 No. 1 Fossil Mammalia, by Richard Owen (Preface and Geological introduction by Darwin)
  • 1838: Part 2 No. 1 Mammalia, by George Robert Waterhouse (Geographical introduction and A notice of their habits and ranges by Darwin)
• 1839: Journal and Remarks (The Voyage of the Beagle)
• 1842: The structure and distribution of Coral Reefs
• 1844: Geological observations of volcanic islands
• 1846: Geological observations on South America
• 1849: Geology from A manual of scientific enquiry; prepared for the use of Her Majesty's Navy: and adapted for travellers in general. ed. John Herschel.
• 1851: A Monograph of the Sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Lepadidae; or, Pedunculated Cirripedes. Living barnacles.
  • 1854: A Monograph of the Sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Balanidae (or Sessile Cirripedes); the Verrucidae, etc.
• 1851: A Monograph on the Fossil Lepadidae, or, Pedunculated Cirripedes of Great Britain. Fossil barnacles.
  • 1854: A Monograph on the Fossil Balanidæ and Verrucidæ of Great Britain
• 1859: On the Origin of Species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life
• 1862: On the various contrivances by which British and foreign Orchids are fertilised by insects (Fertilisation of Orchids)
• 1865: On the movements and habits of climbing plants (Linnean Society paper, published in book form in 1875)
• 1868: The variation of animals and plants under domestication
• 1871: The Descent of Man
• 1872: The expression of emotions in Man and animals
• 1875: Insectivorous plants
• 1876: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom
• 1877: The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species
• 1880: The power of movement in plants
• 1881: The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms