In the long history of religion, there have been many unusual pairs of friends and rivals. Think of David and Saul, Peter and Paul, Saints Dominic and Francis. This is also the case today, for example with the unusual pair of English gentlemen Robert FitzRoy and Charles Darwin.

FitzRoy was born into the aristocracy of early 19th century England. His grandfather was the Duke of Grafton and his mother the daughter of the Marquess of Londonderry. Several generations earlier, his ancestor was King Charles II. Such a family was expected to go into some sort of civil service in the early 19th century, and so young Robert was admitted to the Royal Naval College. He became an ensign and soon passed his lieutenant’s exam with an unexpected mark of 100%.

Early in his naval career, FitzRoy developed an interest in the sciences of hydrology and surveying. These skills, along with the relatively new Italian invention of the barometer, enabled him to predict the weather. He coined the word “forecast,” which means a prediction of how the weather might develop at sea. His predictions were often correct, and it is believed that he saved many sailors’ lives.

The Royal Navy had a problem at the time, namely the mental health and not uncommon suicides of its naval captains. These officers had the responsibility of commanding a ship in both war and peace. On a Royal Navy ship at that time, the captain was the absolute master of everything that happened on the ship and his judgements were swift and final. The slightest disrespect resulted in the whipping of crew and petty officers, and open insubordination could result in death by hanging. In those days, voyages could be very long and the captain was completely alone.

Many captains coped with these conditions, but others did not.

An example of this was the alleged instability of Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty, whose crew mutinied over real or imagined injustices. On a mission to Tierra del Fuego in 1828, a certain Captain Pringle Stokes was in command of HMS Beagle, who suffered severe depression and shot himself. FitzRoy was appointed deputy commander of the ship. On his return to England, Fitzroy stood for Parliament for the Tory Party, but lost. A few kind words to the Admiralty Board from his uncle, the Duke, resulted in him being given full command of the Beagle and sent on a five-year mission to explore the waters of South America and beyond.

It was suggested that it might be useful to send a male companion on such voyages, a man not military but of the upper class, with whom the all-powerful captain could speak as an equal. FitzRoy was well aware that his own uncle, Lord Castlereagh, had slit his own throat during his time as British Foreign Secretary, and agreed to this suggestion. Through mutual contacts he met a young amateur botanist named Charles Darwin and the two set sail together. It was not always a cozy relationship.

Darwin was the son of a doctor in Shropshire. Young Charles was terribly shy and more interested in nature than anything else. Dr. Robert Darwin wanted his son to follow his example in medicine and enrolled him at the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. He lasted only a week. Charles Darwin escaped from an operating theatre and vomited at the mere sight of blood. Very upset, the elder Darwin sent him to Cambridge to study Greek and Latin, with plans to make him an Anglican priest, a social position considered appropriate for an upper-class boy. But when Charles graduated at 21, he was three years too young to be ordained. His father’s suggestion of a world cruise as a captain’s gentleman’s companion was a welcome change.

FitzRoy had undergone a religious conversion of sorts and was a devout member of the Church of England when he met the young Darwin. Darwin, on the other hand, was liberal in his theology and more of a skeptic. Because of their aristocratic upbringing, such men felt it was inappropriate to discuss religion, but tensions arose. FitzRoy was also hot-tempered and prone to losing his temper. The crew privately called the captain “Old Coffeepot,” but they had the sense to do so quietly.

On one famous occasion off the coast of Brazil, Darwin was horrified to learn of the extremely miserable conditions endured by the African slaves. FitzRoy contradicted Darwin’s disgust, saying that he had personally spoken to one of the landowners who had assured him that the African population was willing to work and would refuse freedom if it was offered. Darwin replied that he doubted that the slaves would say the same if questioned separately from their masters. FitzRoy exploded with anger and threw Darwin out of his cabin. FitzRoy later apologized.

Although they had been living together for five years, the close relationship between the two men did not last.

FitzRoy went on to take on other naval commands and eventually became Governor of New Zealand, where he was a strong advocate for the protection of the indigenous Maori people. He later served as a Tory MP for the city of Durham in Parliament.

Darwin returned to Shropshire and married his cousin Emma, ​​the daughter of the pottery baron Josiah Wedgewood. He then retired and spent the next 29 years pondering his idea, which we now call the theory of evolution. He published his famous work, On the Origin of Species, in 1859 and it has never been out of print.

Darwin almost never spoke publicly about his theories, leaving the debate to his friends. The following year, a debate was held at Oxford University about Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin’s opponent was Samuel Wilberforce, the son of the famous abolitionist William Wilberforce. Darwin’s supporter was Thomas Henry Huxley, a fellow scientist and dynamic speaker.

The two men debated, but were loudly interrupted by FitzRoy, who held a huge Bible above his head and shouted at the audience that they must believe in God and not man. He was shouted down. FitzRoy blamed himself for Darwin’s shocking work. When he committed suicide five years later, a fundraiser was held for his family and Darwin personally donated £100, a considerable sum for the time.