12 December: Erasmus Darwin

This date in 1731 was the birthdate of Erasmus Darwin, scientist and genius and the grandfather of Charles. 10 facts about him:

1. Darwin was born at Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, near Newark-on-Trent, England, the youngest of seven children of Robert Darwin of Elston, a lawyer and physician, and his wife Elizabeth Hill. He was named Erasmus after his ancestor Erasmus Earle, Common Sergent of England under Oliver Cromwell.

2. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. From there he went to Nottingham to set up a practice but it didn’t do well. He moved the following year to Lichfield to try and establish a practice there. A few weeks after his arrival, he saved a fisherman’s life with a new treatment, which earned him a place as a popular doctor in the area where he remained for the rest of his career, even turning down the opportunity to become the personal physician of King George III.

3. He had two wives and a mistress in between. In 1757 he married Mary (Polly) Howard, who died in 1770. He had an affair with the governess he engaged to look after his son, Mary Parker. He had two illegitimate daughters with her, who went on to establish a girls’ boarding school. In 1775, Darwin met Elizabeth Pole, who was already married, so he wrote poetry about her until her husband died and they could marry.

4. He was not a handsome man, according to contemporary descriptions. One article about his describes him thus: “Of middle stature, in person gross and corpulent; his features were coarse, and his countenance heavy; if not wholly void of animation, it certainly was by no means expressive. In his gait and dress he was rather clumsy and slovenly, and frequently walked with his tongue hanging out of his mouth."

5. He made up for it with his personality, though. He was described as being friendly, generous, sociable, full of teasing humour and with little regard for authority. He liked to eat, and later in life grew so fat that a semi-circle had to be cut out of his dining-table to accommodate him.

6. He was Charles Darwin’s grandfather and even came up with a theory of evolution himself – the survival of the fittest. He wrote that all creatures have "three great objects of desire" namely "lust, hunger, and security." He believed that if the best and strongest specimens were the ones to reproduce, a species would improve. He even wrote a poem, The Temple of Nature, which traced the progression of life from micro-organisms to civilised society, and includes a passage about the struggle for existence. His family coat of arms consisted of three scallop shells with the motto E conchis omnia, or “everything from shells” which has been taken to represent a rudimentary comment on evolution.

7. He was a lifelong Freemason and also a member of a group called the Lunar Society which became the main intellectual powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution in England. The Lunar Society, and especially Darwin, opposed the slave trade. Other members included Matthew Boulton, Josiah Wedgewood, and James Watt. He was also a member of a botanical society which undertook to translate the works of Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus from Latin into English over seven years.

8. He had a wide range of interests including the use of air and gases to alleviate infections and cancers and the formation of clouds. He was also a prolific inventor. He didn’t patent any of his ideas, because he thought it would tarnish his reputation as a doctor, but he encouraged others to improve his ideas and then patent them. His inventions include: A horizontal windmill, which he designed for Josiah Wedgwood; a steering mechanism for his carriage, known today as the Ackermann linkage, which, over a century later would be used in cars; a minute artificial bird; a copying machine; a variety of weather monitoring machines; a speaking machine, which was a mechanical larynx made of wood, silk, and leather and pronounced several sounds so well 'as to deceive all who heard it unseen'; a canal lift for barges; and even a simple rocket engine.

9. He died suddenly in 1802 at the age of 70. Doctors disagreed on whether he died of angina or an inflammatory fever. “Whatever was the disease,” an article said at the time, “it is not improbable, surely, that the fatal event was hastened by the violent fit of passion with which he was seized in the morning."

10. His poetry inspired others, including Anna Seward, with whom, incidentally, he shares a birthday. William Wordsworth was a fan, but Coleridge was not, writing, "I absolutely nauseate Darwin's poem". He also inspired a famous novel: Mary Shelley wrote in her introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein that she got the idea for the novel when she overheard her husband talking about Darwin's experiments with Lord Byron.

Christmas is coming! 

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

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