Darwin Biography

gordon brown (gbrown@euclid.Colorado.EDU)
Wed, 19 Mar 1997 12:19:55 -0700 (MST)

I have received the following information request from a missionary in Russia.
"Does anyone have access to a biography of Charles Darwin, or other account
that might give the cause of his death? The question is, `Did Darwin's mind
fail before his death, so that any recanting of his evolutionary hypothesis
may therefore be dismissed as the irrelevant ravings of a failing mind?'
Any comments or information, annotated as to source if possible, would be
much appreciated."

Is anyone out there knowledgeable about this?

I have an additional question of my own: The missionary's question apparently
presupposes that Darwin `recanted'. What is the basis for this story?

Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309