HMS Beagle reaches the Galápagos Islands

Background. The second survey expedition of HMS Beagle began in December 1831. Robert FitzRoy sought a naturalist to investigate geology, and Charles Darwin, a 22-year-old graduate, accepted the role as a supernumerary. Darwin was a novice in most areas of natural history, having primarily collected beetles at Cambridge. The expedition had reached the port of Valdivia on 8 February 1835, and Beagle arrived at the Galápagos Islands in September 1835.

Arrival and Survey. Beagle reached the Galápagos Islands on 15 September 1835, a week out of Lima. While surveying the islands, channels, and bays, the captain and crew observed the geology, plants, and wildlife on Floreana, Isabela, and Santiago. The ship continued its round-the-world expedition, departing for Tahiti on 20 October 1835.

Legacy Correction. The legacy row lists an arrival date of 7 September 1835. Supplied passages explicitly state that Beagle reached the Galápagos Islands on 15 September 1835. The legacy entry is corrected to reflect the sourced date, preserving the lineage mapping to the corrected episode.