What Illness Did Charles Darwin Die From?

Examining the death of Charles Darwin brings up some interesting observations.

Charles Darwin suffered a fatal heart attack on April 19, 1882. Before his fatal heart attack, Darwin had suffered a few heart attacks in the years leading up to his death. He also had problems with his stomach and often had bouts of nausea during that time. Of course, we know that these are symptoms related to heart problems.

Although there is no certainty of what illness Charles Darwin died from, some believe that Darwin was suffering from Chagas disease. This statement has not actually been proven, seeing as Charles Darwin was never actually tested for the disease.

What Is Chagas Disease?

Chagas disease is an illness spread by insects particularly in South and Central America. It is believed that Darwin contracted the disease while he was doing research on plant and animal life on one of the islands.

Symptoms of the disease do match up to the state that Darwin was in at the end of his life. These symptoms can take up to 20 years to manifest themselves, so he very well might have gotten bit by a bug while he was doing research when he was younger.

Symptoms of Chagas include:

• Constipation
• Digestive issues
• Problems with swallowing
• Pain in the abdomen
• Cardiomyopathy
• Irregular heartbeat
• Rapid heartbeat
• Enlarged liver
• Enlarged spleen
• Enlarged lymph nodes

How Did Charles Darwin Die?

Allegedly, the last words he spoke were to his wife Emma and they began with "I am not the least afraid to die." Some people will cite this as evidence for his conversion to Christianity at the end of his life, which is a topic of at least moderate controversy. However, we will examine that more later on.

Although his family initially wanted him to be buried in the family burial grounds, he was actually one of only five non-royal individuals in the United Kingdom to have a state funeral. He was buried in Westminister Abbey with other renowned scientists such as Isaac Newton and John Herschel.

End of Darwin's Life

A little bit earlier, we touched on the fact that Darwin's death brought up some controversy about his religion. Darwin originally studied to become an Anglican clergyman. As he went through life, he did not believe that the world was created in seven days as Genesis states, but he did believe that God and Darwin's theory of evolution could coexist.

He attended Church on a weekly basis with his family until 1849. Three years before his death, he said "I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of God. I think that generally...an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind."

Some pop culture, particularly "The Lady Hope" story of 1915 said that Darwin converted back to Christianity while he was dying. Historians and his family refute those claims. In either case though, just as the work of Darwin's life brought up some controversy between religion and science, his death did exactly the same.