This is what happened to Darwin...Was he cursed?

The professional and personal trauma Charles Darwin endured
the year before the publication of On the Origin of Species. Darwin's
life's work, what he called "his abominable volume," is in danger of
being scooped by Alfred Wallace; at the same time, one of his children
is stricken by scarlet fever and one with diphtheria. His wife, Emma,
is his rock--helping him through the turmoil even though his work
challenges her deep Christian faith. We flash back with Charles to his
journey as he figures out what he called "the mystery of mysteries"
and come to understand why a letter from Wallace is such a bombshell.
In the end, it is the remarkable, erudite Emma who will see Charles
through this nightmare, even as one of her children dies of fever.
Darwin's Darkest Hour brings to life the compelling human story behind
the publication of one of history's most influential theories.

The scary thing is he himself called it "THE ABOMINABLE VOLUME"!!