Dr. Tim M. Berra, Professor Emeritus of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University at Mansfield and University Professorial Fellow at Charles Darwin University in Australia, will discuss his new book, Darwin and His Children: His Other Legacy, on WOSU’s All Sides with Ann Fisher the morning of Tuesday, September 17.
While much has been written about the life and works of Charles Darwin, the lives of his 10 children remain largely unexamined. Most “Darwin books” consider his children as footnotes to the life of their famous father and close with the death of Charles Darwin.
This is the only book that deals substantially with the lives of his children from their birth to their death, each in his or her own chapter. Tim Berra’s Darwin and His Children: His Other Legacy explores Darwin’s marriage to his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood, a devout Unitarian, who worried that her husband’s lack of faith would keep them apart in eternity, and describes the early death of three children of this consanguineous marriage. Many of the other children rose to prominence in their own fields. William Darwin became a banker and tended the Darwin family’s substantial wealth. Henrietta Darwin edited Charles’ books and wrote a biography of her mother. Three of Darwin’s sons were knighted and elected Fellows of the Royal Society: Sir George Darwin was the world’s expert on tides, Sir Francis Darwin developed the new field of plant physiology, and Sir Horace Darwin founded the world-class Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company. Major Leonard Darwin was a military man, Member of Parliament, and patron of early genetic research. This book, richly illustrated with photographs of the Darwin family, demonstrates the intellectual atmosphere whirling about the Darwin household, portrays loving family relationships, and explores entertaining vignettes from their lives.
“Through the scholarship and insight so eloquently proffered by leading Darwin scholar Tim Berra, this fine volume introduces us to Darwin the family man. This endearing portrait of a man whom many think of as a cold and calculating evolutionist will surprise the reader by showing the intimacy, love, and care Darwin gave so freely to his children,” says Donald Johanson, Virginia M. Ullman Chair in Human Origins and Founding Director of the Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University.
Dr. Berra has been a faculty member at OSU-M since 1972 and is the author of over 80 scientific papers and six previous books on evolution and biology, including Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man. He is a three-time recipient of Fulbright Fellowships to Australia. He maintains an active research program on fishes in northern Australia. He received the Ph.D. in biology from Tulane University in 1969.
All Sides with Ann Fisher is a live, public affairs talk show on WOSU public radio with listener comments and questions via telephone, email, Facebook and Twitter. All Sides is streamed live and podcasted at www.wosu.org/allsides/.
