Illnesses and death of Charles Darwin
Abstract
Charles Darwin was born on February 12th in Shrewsbury in the English Midlands. He was in excellent and healthy condition until his return to England on the HMS Beagle in 1836. A few months later he started with headaches, palpitations, trembling, caries and pyorrhea, respiratory catarrhs, arthritis, boils, dark spots on his vision, abdominal pains, nauseounsness, vomiting, flatulence, sleeplessness, rage fits, depressive conditions and long periods of exhaustion.
In spite of all this background of suffering, Darwin managed to publish fourteen books in fortyfive years , among these the first edition of “On the Origin of Species” on November 1859.
Poor nervous heredity, a bipolar neurosis (formerly depressive obsessional anxiety), and Chagas Disease are the most probable causes of these extended and continued sicknesses.
Arteriosclerotic pathology of coronary and brain arteries were most certainly the cause of his death, happened on April 19th, 1882.
He now rests in Westminster Abbey next to Isaac Newton.
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