The Ultimate Charles Darwin Quiz

How much do you know about Charles Darwin? Answer these 31 questions to find out!

Source - Wikipedia

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Last updated: August 24, 2025

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First submitted	April 10, 2025
Times taken	13
Average score	32.3%
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Question	Answer
When was he born?	12 February 1809
Where was he born?	Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
What university did he attend in 1825?	University of Edinburgh (Medical School)
What did he discover in 1827 regarding black spores found in oyster shells?	they were the eggs of a skate leech
What museum did he learn of the classification of plants?	National Museum of Scotland
What university was Darwin sent to because of his neglect of medical studies?	University of Cambridge
Who was his second cousin, who introduced Darwin to entomology and influenced him to pursue beetle collecting?	William Darwin Fox
What year did Darwin pass his exams?	1831
What ship did Darwin famously sail in on his first voyage?	HMS Beagle
Who was the captain of the ship?	Robert FitzRoy
What was the ship's purpose?	chart the coastline of South America
What organism did he first write about in his zoology notes?	plankton
What issue did Darwin hate and dispute his captain over in Brazil?	slavery
What extinct slow moving animal with long claws did he famously identify while in Patagonia?	megatherium (ground sloth)
What did natural disaster did Darwin experience while in Chile?	an earthquake (1835 Concepción earthquake)
What archipelago is Darwin most famous for studying?	Galapagos islands
What animal did Darwin famously eat on this archipelago?	Galapagos tortoise
What indigenous people did he call, "good-humoured & pleasant"?	Indigenous Australians
When did Darwin return to England?	2 October 1836
What post did he take on in March 1838?	Secretary of the Geology Society
What famous institution was he elected into?	Royal Society
Who did Darwin marry in 1839?	Emma Wedgwood
How many children did he have with above that survived to adulthood?	7
What book was written by Darwin, published on 22 November 1859, that is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology?	On the Origin of Species
What was the theory Darwin proposed in above, which is what he is most famous for?	evolution
What book written by Darwin, published on 15 May 1862, gave his first detailed demonstration of the power of natural selection to explain complex ecological relationships?	Fertilisation of Orchids
What was the first part of his planned 'big book' published in 1868?	The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication
What 1868 book, was one of the first books to feature printed photographs, which discussed the evolution of human psychology and its continuity with the behaviour of animals?	The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
What was diagnosed of that led to his death?	"angina pectoris" (coronary thrombosis)
When did he die?	19 April 1882
Where was he buried?	Westminster Abbey

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2 Comments

Level 76

Aug 23, 2025

Hi, thanks for this quiz! I'm a professional Darwin scholar and even I ran out of time trying to guess the exact phrases you required.

Some suggestions:

Regarding his marine research in Edinburgh: rephrase so that the one-word answer can be "eggs" or "ova"

For the Beagle's purpose, the acceptable answers should be "surveying" and "hydrography"

Accept "Australians" and "Aborigin(als/es)"

For the book titles, you should accept the key words, e.g., "Orchids" "Variation" "Expression" -- it doesn't make any sense to make people to type elaborate names

For some questions there are way too many possible answers. Most importantly, there were many phenomena beyond plant carnivory that he made discoveries about late in life: e.g., the earthworms' role in turning soil; movement in plants.

He also discovered examples of more than one kind of fossil in Argentina.

His books weren't "written" in a single day. You're giving the dates of *publication.*

Etc etc.

Thanks again for the quiz!

Level 57

Aug 24, 2025

Hi, thanks for playing and reviewing the quiz!

I have taken everything you mentioned into consideration and have edited every question to be clearer.

I would love to hear any questions that could be added/removed to improve the quiz.

Thanks again for playing and commenting on this quiz :)