Sir Ian Wilmut, the leader of the research group that in 1996 first cloned a mammal from an adult somatic cell (a Finnish Dorset lamb named Dolly), is also an alumnus of the college.

[7] A significant increase in the number of postgraduate students at Cambridge University in the post-war period led to a growing realisation that a graduate college was becoming a necessity.

He bought Newnham Grange, the oldest part of the college, in 1885, together with the adjacent building known as The Old Granary, and Small Island.

Following the death of George's son, Sir Charles Galton Darwin, in 1962, those concerned with the foundation of the new college learned that the property was to become available.

In the book Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin, Gwen Raverat describes how she grew up at Newnham Grange.

The centre is built on a narrow strip of land alongside the millpond in Cambridge, and uses a structure of green oak and lime mortar brickwork.

The college organises the annual prestigious Darwin Lecture Series, eight talks over eight weeks structured around a single theme (such as 'Power') examined from very different perspectives (scientific, humanities, arts), given by eminent speakers who are leading international authorities in their fields.

[10] Past speakers at the Darwin Lecture Series have included Sir Walter Bodmer, Rose George, Andrew Fabian, and historian David Olusoga.

[11] The college has a 24-hour library and study centre overlooking the River Cam and provides extensive punting for its students.

The college has regular formal dinners with students and fellows and also holds annual May Balls during Cambridge's May Week.

Darwinians have achieved great success in a wide variety of careers including as scientists, lawyers, politicians, academics, civil servants, diplomats, and representatives of international organisations.

Conservationists Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Brian Gibson, Seamus O'Regan and Sir Ian Wilmut, the leader of the research group that first cloned the sheep Dolly, a mammal from an adult somatic cell, are alumni/ae.

Paul Clement, the former United States Solicitor General, read for an MPhil in Politics and Economics at Darwin in 1988–89.

Eyimofe Atake, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) read for a PhD degree in Law from 1984-87 Paul Kalanithi, the Pulitzer Prize nominated Stanford neurosurgeon and author of the New York Times Best Seller 'When Breath Becomes Air', was an MPhil student at Darwin.

Sir Karl Popper and the Nobel Prize winner Max Perutz were Honorary Fellows, as are Amartya Sen and Martin Rees.