Charles Darwin's Iconic Notebook Found After 20 Years Lost

A view of one of the notebooks from the book "Tree of Life" by naturalist Charles Darwin. (ANTARA/HO/Cambridge University)

JAKARTA - The iconic notebook from naturalist Charles Darwin, entitled "Tree of Life" has finally been found after being stolen 20 years ago.

The book returned to its home in the University of Cambridge Library in England after being declared missing 20 years ago.

Launching Live Science, Sunday, April 14, the book was originally stored along with journals, manuscripts, and letters written by Darwin in a special room for the special collections of the Cambridge library.

The results of Charles Darwin's thoughts were taken out for a photo shoot in November 2000 and it was considered that everything had returned to its original place.

However, during a routine audit in 2001, apparently this "Tree of Life" notebook was not found and was declared missing.

Initially the officers thought there was a misplacement so the book was not searched for, but in 2020 a thorough audit was again carried out and the book was still nowhere to be found so it was declared the book had been stolen.

A miracle suddenly happened on March 9, 2022 when one of the librarian suddenly found the book "Tree of Life" lying in front of the library door on the fourth floor.

The book was tightly wrapped in plastic and left in a box wrapped in a pink gift bag along with a message that read "Happy Easter librarian".

"It is with great relief to me that this book has returned safely and has such a profound message that it is almost impossible to adequately express," said Cambridge University Librarian Jessica Gardner.

The notebook which had a leather cover came back in excellent condition.

Experts argue that the journal has not been altered, and a special analysis of the ink has confirmed that the notebook is almost certainly authentic, according to the BBC.

The notebook was part of the "Transmutation Notebook," Darwin's first collection of journals setting forth his ideas about how animals transmuted, or changed, over time, which we now know as a result of adaptations caused by genetic mutations in DNA.

The recently discovered books are the second and third installments of the Transmutation Notebook and are labeled "B" and "C."

Darwin wrote "Transmutation Notebooks" in 1837, when he was 28 years old, shortly after returning from a five-year voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle.

A standout feature of this notebook is the rudimentary sketch of the tree of life in notebook B showing how species diverged from a common ancestor over time, above which Darwin simply wrote, "I think."

This was more than 20 years before Darwin published his theory of evolution in the book "On the Origin of Species" in 1859.

"They may be small, only the size of a postcard, but the notebook's impact on the history of science cannot be overstated," Gardner said.

The library will reunite the lost notebook with the other Darwin Archives at the Cambridge University Library, as well as the archives of other famous scientists, such as Sir Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking.

The three scientists are also buried right next to each other at Westminster Abbey in London.

The public can see the notebooks on display as part of the "Darwin in Conversation" exhibition featuring Darwin's letters and notebooks at the Cambridge University Library in July.

The exhibit will also be moved to the New York Public Library in 2023. Digital copies of the two notebooks, B and C, can be viewed online.

Police are continuing to investigate the disappearance of the notebooks, but currently, there are no clues as to who stole the notebooks or where they have been for the past 20 years.