The second voyage of HMS Beagle sailed on the 27 December 1831 and was to return on the 2 October 1836. It was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide.
FitzRoy had already thought of the advantages of having an expert in geology on board, and sought a gentleman naturalist who could be his companion while the ship was at sea. He chose a young graduate Charles Darwin who had hoped to see the tropics before becoming a parson.
By the end of the expedition he had already made his name as a geologist and fossil collector, and the publication of his journal which became known as "The Voyage of the Beagle" gave him wide renown as a writer.
