Darwin Papers Go Online

The draft notes for Origin of Species are now available for all to read online.

Charles Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species, helped changed our views about the world, and was one of the revolutionary texts of the 19^th century.   Until now, though, all the papers he’d put together during his voyage on the Beagle and the first draft of the book could only be seen at the Cambridge University library. But they’ve become part of the 20,000 items now available in the Darwin Online archive, a vast resource not only for scholars but all those interested.   Dr. John van Whye, a Darwin scholar at Cambridge, told the BBC,   "The fact that everyone around the world can now see them on the web is simply fantastic. Charles Darwin is one of the most influential scientists in history. The collection of his papers now online is extremely important and therefore very exciting. This release makes his private papers, mountains of notes, experiments and research behind his world-changing publications available to the world for free."