The Parents of Charles Darwin
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Robert
Waring Darwin: 1766 – 1848. Robert Darwin studied medicine at the
University of Leyden in Holland and completed his medical studies at
Edinburgh, England, in 1786. That autumas he
set up as a doctor in Shrewsbury, though he was only 20. His father,
Erasmus Darwin, had taken Robert to Shrewsbury and given him 20 pounds
to start a medical practice. Erasmus also wrote to friends in
Birmingham asking them to recommend Robert to their friends in the
Shrewsbury area.
Robert was very successful:
He was sympathetic and observant and had more than fifty patients
within six months. He remained financially successful during sixty
years of practice in Shrewsbury. He also served patients over a large
area, sometimes traveling by carriage across the border into Wales. He
increased his wealth further through real estate speculation, stock and
bond investments, and through lending money to the landed gentry.
Standing 6 foot 2 inches tall, and being very portly, “ He was an
enormous man both physically and in personality. Charles described him
as the largest man he had ever seen and compared his return to the
family home at the end of the day to the coming in of the tide.”

Dr. Robert Darwin
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Susannah
Wedgwood: 1765 – 1817. Susannah was the first child of Josiah Wedgwoood
I, who had started the highly successful Wedgwood pottery company.
Susannah married Robert Darwin in 1796, increasing his wealth by
bringing a large dowry. She attended the Unitarian Chapel in
Shrewsbury, and due to her influence Charles attended the Unitarian
school, operated by Reverend Case, for two years.
From about 1800, Robert and Susannah lived at The Mount, built by
Robert Darwin in an elevated position overlooking the town of
Shrewsbury:

The Mount
This picture probably represents the Mount much as Charles Darwin knew
it. Later photographs show a portico at the front door and, at
different periods, different types of greenhouse or conservatory.
Robert Darwin was said to enjoy the greenhouse which opened off the
morning room. See also the layout diagrams at Plan of the Mount, 1866
Charles Darwin’s mother Susannah died in 1817, when Charles was only 8
years old. He was subsequently raised by his three older sisters.
Sources and Further Reading:
Shrewsbury: Dr. Robert Darwin
King-Hele, Desmond. Doctor of Revolution: The Life and Genius of Erasmus Darwin. London, Faber & Faber, 1977.
Josiah Wedgwood I
Sara Wedgwood