HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.

HMS Beagle

10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy; notably carried Charles Darwin

HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. Later reports say the ship took part in…