On This Day: 200th anniversary since the launch of HMS Beagle

11th May 1820 marks the 200th anniversary since the launch of HMS Beagle from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames.

This moment was the beginning of a remarkable legacy of HMS Beagle, that would later carry a 22-year old naturalist, Charles Darwin.

In 1931, Darwin ventured on a 5-year voyage of discovery, to survey the South American coast and the Galapagos Islands.

The results of his research led to his theories of evolution by natural selection.