The HMS Beagle Project: Darwin 200
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2009 is one of the most significant anniversaries in science: it marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin (12 February 1809), and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

In common with many others in the field of science and education, we feel that the anniversary for this great and gentle man deserves a significant celebration and a lasting legacy.

Our contribution to this will be to build a sailing modernized seagoing HMS Beagle, the ship on which Darwin circumnavigated the globe between 1831 and 1836. It was during the shore expeditions he made from the Beagle that he collected the specimens which would later inspire the theory of Natural Selection and the Origin of Species.

In the UK the Darwin200 celebrations are being coordinated by the Natural History Museum. In 2009 the NHM will also stage a Darwin exhibition which is currently touring museums in the USA.

In the USA, the Darwin Day website lists the annual 12 February events which mark Darwin's birthday, and plethora of great scientific anniversaries have led the Committee for the Public Understanding of Science to declare 2009 the Year of Science.
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The HMS Beagle Trust is a UK registered charity (No. 1126192).

Patrons:
Lord Julian Hunt CB MA PhD FIMA FRS, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston CBE RD, Lord Richard Livsey CBE, DL
Banner: Beagle off the Galapagos by John Chancellor. © Dr Gordon Chancellor and reproduced with his kind permission.