Did you know?
Darwin’s mystery illness
Did you know that for about the last 45 years of Charles Darwin’s life, after
returning from his voyage on HMS Beagle, he suffered a mysterious illness which
lasted until his death of a heart attack at the age of 73?
Many have speculated that an exotic parasitic disease contracted overseas was the
cause of Darwin’s problem. Others have pointed to the strong predominance
of apparently psychosomatic features.
A more recent proposal by David Rutherford in the Australian Natural History journal
concludes that Darwin’s problem was most likely agoraphobia, a pathological
fear of being in open places.1
Rutherford gives the example that at the age of 33 Darwin retired to a secluded
village and constantly declined to chair meetings or attend conferences. Such social
‘demands’ led to symptoms which made these events intolerable for him,
such as sweating, dizziness, palpitations, headaches and limb weakness.
Others have suggested, perhaps less charitably, that his knowledge of the enormity
of what he had done to mankind contributed substantially to his psychological problems.
Reference
The Australian, September 24, 1990, p. 5.
| Ken E. wrote: “I just wanted to drop a note to express my gratitude for the kind of information you supply at the CMI web-site. I love science and find it thrilling to see how it may be used to glorify God and build faith in Him.” Glorify God in His creation.  | | |
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