1. Darwin was born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln.

Both Darwin and Lincoln were born on February 12, 1809, but in much different settings. While America鈥檚 16th president was born in a rude log cabin in the Kentucky wilderness, Darwin was born in a grand Georgian house on an estate overlooking the River Severn and the medieval market town of Shrewsbury, England.

2. He waited more than 20 years to publish his groundbreaking theory on evolution.

Darwin鈥檚 five-year voyage around the world on HMS Beagle, which ended in 1836, provided him with invaluable research that contributed to the development of his theory of evolution and natural selection. Concerned, however, about the public and ecclesiastical acceptance of his deeply radical idea, he did not present his theory on evolution until 1858 when he made a joint announcement with British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who was about to go public with a similar concept to Darwin鈥檚. The next year, Darwin published his seminal work, 鈥淭he Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life."

3. Darwin suffered from chronic illnesses.

After returning from his trip around the world, Darwin began to suffer from exhaustion, eczema and chronic bouts of nausea, headaches and heart palpitations that would persist for the rest of his life. Some speculate that during his travels Darwin may have contracted a parasitic illness called Chagas disease that can eventually result in cardiac damage, which ultimately caused Darwin鈥檚 death.

Timothy Dickinson tells us about Charles Darwin and the depth of the human past.

4. He composed a pro/con list to decide on whether to marry.

Displaying a logical inclination even in matters of the heart, Darwin in 1838 composed a list with two columns delineating the upsides and downsides of marriage. In the 鈥淢arry鈥 column: 鈥渃hildren,鈥 鈥渃onstant companion (and friend in old age)鈥etter than a dog anyhow鈥 and 鈥渟omeone to take care of house.鈥 In the 鈥淣ot Marry鈥 ledger: 鈥渇reedom to go where one liked,鈥 鈥渃onversation of clever men at clubs鈥 and 鈥渓oss of time.鈥 Not on Darwin鈥檚 list, however, were family ties for he married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839.

5. He dropped out of medical school.

Darwin鈥檚 father was a successful doctor who groomed his son to follow in his footsteps. After spending the summer of 1825 serving as an apprentice in his father鈥檚 practice, he entered one of Britain鈥檚 top medical schools at the University of Edinburgh. Darwin, however, hated the sight of blood and was bored with the lectures. He left medical school and dashed his father鈥檚 dreams.

6. Darwin was a divinity student.

After leaving the University of Edinburgh, the man who would challenge the established religious dogma of creationism enrolled at Cambridge to study theology. 鈥淚 did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the Bible,鈥 he later wrote. However, Darwin鈥檚 faith began to waver after encountering the evils of slavery on his trip around the world and following the deaths of three of his children. Darwin, though, never characterized himself as an atheist. He instead referred to himself as an agnostic.

7. He dined on exotic animals.

Darwin not only studied an eclectic menagerie of animals from around the globe, he ate them as well. As a student at Cambridge, he formed the Gourmet Club, also known as the Glutton Club, for the purpose of dining on 鈥渂irds and beasts, which were before unknown to human palate.鈥 Darwin ate hawk and bittern but couldn鈥檛 choke down a brown owl that was served. While circumnavigating the globe on HMS Beagle, Darwin continued his adventurous eating by snacking on armadillo, ostrich and puma (鈥渞emarkably like veal in its taste,鈥 he described).

8. He didn鈥檛 coin the phrase 鈥渟urvival of the fittest.鈥

Although associated with Darwin鈥檚 theory of natural selection, the phrase 鈥渟urvival of the fittest鈥 was actually first used by English philosopher Herbert Spencer in his 1864 鈥淧rinciples of Biology鈥 to connect his economic and sociological theories with Darwin鈥檚 biological concepts. Darwin first adopted the phrase in his fifth edition of 鈥淭he Origin of Species,鈥 published in 1869, by writing of natural selection that 鈥渢he expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer of the survival of the fittest is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient.鈥

9. Darwin is buried inside Westminster Abbey.

After Darwin passed away on April 19, 1882, his family began preparations to bury him in the village where he had spent the last 40 years of his life. However, Darwin鈥檚 friends and colleagues began a lobbying campaign to give him the high honor of burial inside London鈥檚 Westminster Abbey. After newspapers and the public joined the chorus, the Dean of Westminster gave his approval. A week after his death, Darwin was laid to rest in England鈥檚 most revered church near fellow scientists John Herschel and Isaac Newton.

10. Darwin appeared on the 10-pound note for 18 years.

Beginning in 2000, a portrait of a bearded Darwin appeared on the back of the British 10-pound note along with an image of HMS Beagle, a magnifying lens and flora and fauna seen on his travels. The Bank of England discontinued his 拢10 note in 2018, however.