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. In July of that year she took part in a
fleet review celebrating the coronation of King
George IV of the United Kingdom, and for that occasion is said to have been the first ship to sail completely under the old
London Bridge. There was no immediate need for
Beagle so she "
lay in ordinary", moored afloat but without masts or rigging. She was then adapted as a survey
barque and took part in three expeditions. On the second survey voyage the young naturalist
Charles Darwin was on board, and his work made
Beagle one of the most famous ships in history.