Friday, 14 January 2011

Erasmus Darwin

Yesterday we dropped our son off at university, and on the way back we stopped at Lichfield and explored Erasmus Darwin's House. Darwin (grandfather of Charles Darwin) was a very interesting character and deserves more widespread recognition for his contributions to science and literature. Darwin was a doctor with a busy practice, a member of the Lunar Society, , a philosopher, inventor and best-selling poet. His poems were an inspiration to the Romantics such as Coleridge and Shelley. He was also married twice, kept a mistress, and sired at least fourteen children over the years. One wonders how he ever found time to compose poetry!

Image: Erasmus Darwin’s house and garden © Sue Wilkes
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2 comments:

  1. TONY14 January 2011 at 20:30

    Thank you for this Sue. I think your enthusiasm for what you do is fantastic.

    I love all this family history, the connections and local history.
    My local history, coming from Southampton and now living in South London includes some very famous people.
    To tell you the truth, just my own family connections could keep me going for a lifetime.

    All the best,
    Tony

    PS I dropped off my daughter, Alice at university last weekend. We are going through that period in life, Sue.

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  2. Sue Wilkes17 January 2011 at 08:35

    Dear Tony,
    Sounds as if you have a very interesting family history! Great to hear you enjoy looking at my blog, too.
    Best wishes,
    Sue.

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