Portrait of Charles Galton Darwin

Charles Galton Darwin

Physicist
December 19, 1887 – December 31, 1962

Charles Galton Darwin was a British physicist, administrator, and writer whose work bridged cutting-edge science and sweeping social commentary. A grandson of Charles Darwin and son of mathematician George Howard Darwin, he made his mark in theoretical physics, contributing to quantum theory, statistical mechanics, and X-ray crystallography in the early twentieth century. During World War II, he played a pivotal role in Britain’s scientific war effort, particularly in radar research, and later became director of the National Physical Laboratory, where he guided postwar scientific development in the UK.

Beyond his technical achievements, Darwin became widely known for his provocative reflections on the long-term fate of humanity. In his influential book The Next Million Years, he argued that human instincts, rooted in evolution, would remain largely unchanged even in the face of technological progress, shaping civilization’s trajectory over immense timescales. This mix of scientific rigor and speculative philosophy made him both a respected and controversial figure. A thinker who combined the precision of physics with the sweep of evolutionary perspective, Darwin left behind a legacy not just of equations and experiments, but of daring attempts to situate human destiny in cosmic context.

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