Editing Erasmus Darwin (section)

== Lunar Society ==
These dates indicate the year in which Darwin became friends with these people, who, in turn, became members of the [[Lunar Society of Birmingham|Lunar Society]]. The Lunar Society existed from 1765 to 1813.

Before 1765:
* [[Matthew Boulton]], originally a buckle maker in Birmingham
* [[John Whitehurst]] of Derby, maker of clocks and scientific instruments, pioneer of geology
After 1765:
* [[Josiah Wedgwood]], potter 1765
* Dr. [[William Small]], 1765, man of science, formerly Professor of Natural Philosophy at the [[College of William and Mary]], where [[Thomas Jefferson]] was an appreciative pupil
* [[Richard Lovell Edgeworth]], 1766, inventor
* [[James Watt]], 1767, improver of steam engine
* [[James Keir]], 1767, pioneer of the chemical industry
* [[Thomas Day (writer)|Thomas Day]], 1768, eccentric and author
* Dr. [[William Withering]], 1775, the death of Dr. Small left an opening for a physician in the group.
* [[Joseph Priestley]], 1780, experimental chemist and discoverer of many substances.
* [[Samuel Galton, Jr.|Samuel Galton]], 1782, a Quaker gunmaker with a taste for science, took Darwin's place after Darwin moved to Derby.

Darwin also established a lifelong friendship with [[Benjamin Franklin]], who shared Darwin's support for the American and French revolutions. The Lunar Society was instrumental as an intellectual driving force behind England's [[Industrial Revolution]].

The members of the Lunar Society, and especially Darwin, [[abolitionism|opposed the slave trade]].<ref name="SEAST">{{Cite book |last=Graves |first=Joseph L |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXv7KfkomI8C&pg=PA57 |title=The Emperor's New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8135-3302-5 |page=57 |access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> He attacked it in ''The Botanic Garden'' (1789–1791), and in ''The Loves of Plants'' (1789), ''The Economy of Vegetation'' (1791), and the ''Phytologia'' (1800).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Darwin |first1=Erasmus |title=Phytologia, or the philosophy of agriculture and gardening |url=https://archive.org/details/b22014597 |date=1800 |publisher=J. Johnson |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/b22014597/page/77 77] |edition=1st}}</ref>