What Darwin’s family tree reveals about his chronic illness

By John Hayman

Proposed diagnoses for this illness date back to Darwin’s lifetime and are even more numerous than were his symptoms.

The nature of Charles Darwin’s illness is explored more thoroughly in a book by two authors – myself and Adam Wilkins. The book, entitled Darwin’s Chronic Illness: Solving a 19th-Century Medical Mystery, has been published by Oxford University Press.

All in all, more than 40 different, very differing diagnoses have been proposed. What has not been considered by all these diagnosticians is the family history, particularly the maternal family history. It is this family history which may be the clue to the real nature of Darwin’s illness.

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