Erasmus Darwin He was an 18th century physician, inventor, poet, physiologist, and naturalistic philosopher. He was the first person to investigate and explain how clouds are born; This he did in a letter in 1784. In this way, he laid the foundations for later studies of the atmospheric layers..
In addition, he produced a systematic description of the hot and cold fronts, and how they influence the climate. His extensive research work and his scientific capacity led him to design temporary map layouts. Furthermore, Erasmus was the first person to sketch out a complete theory of special evolution..
He argued that living beings are descendants of some microscopic organism of marine origin. These ideas were captured in his two most famous books: Zoonomy and El botanical garden. After its publication, it made a great impression on his grandson Charles; These ideas inspired much of the statements of the Theory of the evolution of species.
Erasmus Darwin formulated new treatments for diseases and carried out studies that determined the importance of heredity in pathologies. His ideas for the treatment of the mentally ill were progressive and his conscience as a servant made him interested in public health.
He permanently proposed the improvement of ventilation systems for homes and systems for the elimination of sewage; was always in favor of building cemeteries in the vicinity of cities.
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Erasmus Darwin was born in Elston, neighboring Newark, England, on December 12, 1731..
Medicine was the career he chose to study at Cambridge and Edinburgh; There he graduated in 1756. That same year he moved to the city of Lichfield, where he became famous when he treated a man who had been evicted by the local doctors. Erasmus cured him of his condition.
In addition, he was reputed for his willingness to serve poor people for free while treating the rich at home, from where he earned income..
What made Dr. Erasmus famous was his rejection of King George III's offer to attend to his medical issues in a personal way..
He preferred to stay as a rural doctor, allowing himself to be carried away by a higher vocation, contact, observation and experimentation with nature in the fields..
In 1757 he married Miss Mary Howard, with whom he had five children. The youngest of them, Robert, was the progenitor of Charles Darwin. Mary Howard died in 1770, Mary Parker became his new partner; with her he had two daughters.
After separating from that governess, on March 7, 1781, he married the widow Isabel Polo, thirty-three years old..
Erasmus Darwin made a living from medicine, but was passionate about two activities that he enjoyed in the company of friends: poetry and mechanics.
He was the founder of the Birmingham Lunar Society. This consisted of a group of friends who met to discuss in an affable way about scientific advances as factors of change from an agrarian society towards an industrialized society..
Many topics were discussed in no predetermined order. Sitting comfortably in their seats, they discussed politics, economics, art, machinery, scientific advances and mainly, about the futuristic world..
They were called the Lunar Society because they used to hold their meetings every full moon Sunday, since the full brightness of the moon illuminated their way back in the middle of the night..
From this society and other similar groups, it is clear as the main contribution to humanity that the Industrial Revolution was fostered..
In 1751 Erasmus published the poetic work The death of Prince Frederick, poem with which he emerged in the world of noble letters, demonstrating in that work a quality in writing and in the feelings embodied very well received in the literate world.
In 1791 he published The Botanical Garden, consisting of two poems: "The loves of plants" and "The economy of vegetation".
"The loves of plants" is a kind of poetic song that promotes and illustrates the classification for plants.
"The Vegetation Economy" is an ode to technological innovation, the discoveries of science and proposes ideas on scientific matters relating to the cosmos.
The Botanical Garden it was one of the first science books made in popular language. With this, he provoked in common readers a particular interest in science. The language of the poem anthropomorphized the plants and made it more interesting to inquire about the botanical theme.
So celebrated was his poetic book that he was recognized as England's leading poet, and he was congratulated by the poet Lord Byron..
Erasmus Darwin died on April 18, 1802 at the age of 70 from pneumonia, his body was buried in the church of Breadsal next to his son Erasmus, the second son of what was his first marriage, who drowned..
Between 1794 and 1800 Erasmus Darwin published the books Zoonomy, or the laws of organic life Y Phytology, known as "the philosophy of agriculture and livestock". This proposal was a systematization of agriculture and gardening to form a common science.
The work unveiled the physiology and nutrition of plants, and explained photosynthesis by showing the vital role of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon in plant nutrition. With this Darwin laid the foundations for scientifically planned agriculture.
With his work he proposed the afforestation of the British mountains, the timber cultivation and the use of the land to sow wheat not to produce beer, but bread.
- Erasmus' inventive and entrepreneurial abilities led him to design a steering system for his own carriage, which was later used in automobiles. He devised a "fire car" that had two cylinders, three wheels and, in addition, the additional innovation of having a steam-based engine, which had an individual boiler.
- He invented a horizontally arranged windmill. With this, the pigment of the ceramic could be achieved.
- He built a device with which he was able to synthesize the voice. This device impressed your guests. Physically it looked like a mechanical larynx made of different materials, such as silk, rope, and wood..
- In his house he had copy machines to reproduce documents.
- He built a tube that served as an intercom between his study and the kitchen.
- Designed telescopic candlesticks.
- He invented devices that allowed both automatic closing and opening of windows.
- He was the first English citizen who managed to be his own pilot and fly in a balloon inflated with hydrogen.
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