When did Charles Darwin become a naturalist?

Answer 1

Charles Darwin developed his interest in natural history while he was studying at Edinburgh University. He was there to study medicine, but his developing passion for natural history caused him to neglect his medical studies. He then studied natural science at Cambridge University. He still had not completed a degree in natural history by the time he finished at University in June 1831 (at the age of 22), and when he journeyed on the Beagle on his famous voyage, he was considered an "unfinished gentleman naturalist". The journey lasted five years, and it was during this that Darwin developed his theory of natural selection, building his reputation as a naturalist, and drawing heavily on the theories of many other scientists.