The Fitzroy collection has been designed to honour the man who made the famous voyage between 1831 and 1836 with celebrated British scientist and naturalist Charles Darwin as his companion. Together they set off on a survey expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to the southern coasts of South America, then via Tahiti and Australia back to England. This voyage was to inspire Charles Darwin’s famous book Origin of the Species.
Captain Fitzroy spared no expense fitting his ship out and so included no less than 22 chronometers on board to aid navigation and help make the accurate measurement of time that was needed then to determine the lines of longitude.