On the origin of genius

An extract of a letter written by Charles Darwin.

A portrait of Darwin which hangs at Down House, Kent, his home in later life.

Millions see his face almost daily. We’re always handing pictures of him to one another and many of us wish we owned a few more. You guessed it . . . I’m on about Charles Darwin, whose image adorns the £10 note.

Now a new £2 coin is being issued bearing his likeness. I know the pound has plummeted but how’s that for depreciation, Chaz? A tenner down to a coin that won’t even buy you The Shropshire Magazine, bargain that it is.

Darwin, fear not, will continue to feature on the banknote (which, of course, buys you four copies of The Shropshire Magazine).

The new coin is part of the 200th anniversary of the great man’s birth this month. It shows an image of Darwin facing an ape surrounded by the inscription ‘1809 DARWIN 2009’, with the edge inscription ‘On the Origin of Species 1859’.

The Royal Mail has also released special commemorative stamps to mark the bicentenary.

The bicentenary will be celebrated around the world, where Darwin has all sorts of things named after him, including a capital city, a mountain, a stretch of water and several seats of learning. Statues are here, there and everywhere. Blimey, we’ve even got a shopping centre named after him.

According to the New Testament, Jesus told the people of Nazareth, when they rejected his teaching, dismissing him as merely the village carpenter: “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country.” Well, Charles Darwin couldn’t come back and say the same to the people of Shrewsbury. We’re going Darwin daft. Here in Shropshire a host of events has been organised under the banner of the Darwin Festival.

On February 12, Shrewsbury will say ‘Happy Birthday’ with the unveiling of new Royal Mail-sponsored waymarkers in the town to highlight Darwin points of interest. Venue for the launch is outside the library at 10am.

Darwin Festival director Jon King will lead a themed walking tour, with a toast to Darwin at noon.

At 2pm in The Square a giant birthday cake with 200 candles will be unveiled with free slices handed out as part of the celebrations.

The programme continues throughout the year with a series of events featuring celebrity guest speakers including Johnny Ball, Adam Hart Davies, Professor Heinz Wolff and Chris Addison, as well as plays, entertainments and a Darwin costumed ball – yes, we’ll all be dancing with Darwin.

Darwin’s statue, situated outside what is now the library in Shrewsbury. Picture coutesy of Shrewsbury Museums Service. See also www.darwincountry.org

The new Darwin sculpture Quantum Leap, beside the River Severn in Shrewsbury, will be unveiled in the spring.

And a new viral campaign has been developed to encourage you to join the world in saying “Happy Birthday Charles Darwin”.

The campaign, which has been developed by Shropshire Tourism, involves the undertaking of a global email inviting as many people as possible to pass on their own birthday wishes and special message to Charles Darwin.

To join in the worldwide campaign, visit www.discoverdarwin.co.uk/happybirthday and add your own Darwin birthday message.

Each individual entry will get a unique ID and will be given a location pin on a Google map of the world highlighting where the birthday messages are coming from, with an option to upload a photo of yourself.

Sarah Whittall, senior marketing officer at Shropshire Tourism, says: “This is a very exciting campaign as its success relies on people passing on the email to colleagues, friends and family from all over the world, to encourage them to pass on their birthday wish to Charles Darwin. Initial recipients of the email included ‘Darwinites’ and members of overseas universities and education establishments connected with Darwin and his work.”

The viral campaign is one of a number of social networking campaigns which include a Charles Darwin presence on the websites of Bebo, Facebook and Myspace, which all encourage fans to chat and share comments about Shrewsbury’s most famous son.

For further information on the celebrations that will be taking place in Shrewsbury throughout the year, visit www.discover-darwin.co.uk

We’ve tried to do our bit to honour the great man, attempting the difficult task of blowing the dust off the history books to give a flavour of a full and colourful life in the pages of the print edition of The Shropshire Magazine.

Oh yes, and in case I don’t get the chance again, happy 200th birthday Mr Darwin. Shropshire’s proud of you.

Neil Thomas, Editor

• Email Neil here.