Darwin was born in 1731 at Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, near Newark-on-Trent, England, the youngest of seven children of Robert Darwin of Elston (1682–1754), a lawyer and physician, and his wife Elizabeth Hill (1702–97).
The name Erasmus had been used by a number of his family and derives from his ancestor Erasmus Earle, Common Sergent of England under Oliver Cromwell.
His siblings were:
Robert Darwin (17 October 1724 – 4 November 1816)
Elizabeth Darwin (15 September 1725 – 8 April 1800)
William Alvey Darwin (3 October 1726 – 7 October 1783)
Anne Darwin (12 November 1727 – 3 August 1813)
Susannah Darwin (10 April 1729 – 29 September 1789)
John Darwin, rector of Elston (28 September 1730 – 24 May 1805)
He was educated at Chesterfield Grammar School, then later at St John's College, Cambridge.
He obtained his medical education at the University of Edinburgh Medical School; whether he ever obtained the formal degree of MD is not known.

Darwin settled in 1756 as a physician at Nottingham, but met with little success and so moved the following year to Lichfield to try to establish a practice there.
A few weeks after his arrival, using a novel course of treatment, he restored the health of a young fisherman whose death seemed inevitable.
This ensured his success in the new locale.
Darwin was a highly successful physician for more than fifty years in the Midlands.
George III invited him to be Royal Physician, but Darwin declined.

In Lichfield, Darwin wrote "didactic poetry, developed his system of evolution, and invented amongst other things, a carriage steering mechanism, a manuscript copier and a speaking machine.
Darwin was born in 1731 at Elston Hall, Nottinghamshire, near Newark-on-Trent, England, the youngest of seven children of Robert Darwin of Elston (1682–1754), a lawyer and physician, and his wife Elizabeth Hill (1702–97). The name Erasmus had been used by a number of his family and derives from his ancestor Erasmus Earle, Common Sergent of England under Oliver Cromwell. His siblings were:
Robert Darwin (17 October 1724 – 4 November 1816)
Elizabeth Darwin (15 September 1725 – 8 April 1800)
William Alvey Darwin (3 October 1726 – 7 October 1783)
Anne Darwin (12 November 1727 – 3 August 1813)
Susannah Darwin (10 April 1729 – 29 September 1789)
John Darwin, rector of Elston (28 September 1730 – 24 May 1805)
He was educated at Chesterfield Grammar School, then later at St John's College, Cambridge. He obtained his medical education at the University of Edinburgh Medical School; whether he ever obtained the formal degree of MD is not known.
Darwin settled in 1756 as a physician at Nottingham, but met with little success and so moved the following year to Lichfield to try to establish a practice there. A few weeks after his arrival, using a novel course of treatment, he restored the health of a young fisherman whose death seemed inevitable. This ensured his success in the new locale. Darwin was a highly successful physician for more than fifty years in the Midlands. George III invited him to be Royal Physician, but Darwin declined.
In Lichfield, Darwin wrote "didactic poetry, developed his system of evolution, and invented amongst other things, a carriage steering mechanism, a manuscript copier and a speaking machine.
Erasmus Darwin