About the author

Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802) was an English physician, natural philosopher and poet, and a central figure of the Midlands Enlightenment. Born in Nottinghamshire, he studied at the University of Cambridge and later at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, and died in Derbyshire in 1802. His works span medicine, natural history and poetry, with representative titles including the two-volume Zoonomia; or, the Laws of Organic Life, and the long poems The Botanic Garden and The Temple of Nature; or, the Origin of Society. In these works he set out early evolutionary ideas, combining scientific observation with poetic imagination in a style both speculative and literary. He was the grandfather of Charles Darwin, and his ideas had some influence on later evolutionary thought. Five of his works are held in this collection.

Written (5)

Publishers

Project Gutenberg