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How did John Stevens Henslow help Charles Darwin join the HMS Beagle voyage?
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Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, carbon-print photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1868.
The Reverend John Stevens Henslow, a botany professor at the University of Cambridge and a mentor to Charles Darwin, played a pivotal role in facilitating Darwin's participation in the HMS Beagle voyage.123
Henslow suggested the expedition to Darwin, who was inspired by the travel accounts of Alexander von Humboldt and eagerly accepted the proposal. By recommending him, Henslow helped secure Darwin's position not as a lowly surgeon-naturalist, but as a self-financed gentleman companion to the ship's captain, Robert Fitzroy. This opportunity allowed Darwin to embark on the historic 1831 voyage, which ultimately provided the foundational evidence for his theory of natural selection.13