Darwin Correspondence Project

Meet the correspondents

GRAY-A-01-01957.jpg Asa Gray CUL DAR 257:109 Cambridge University Library Asa Gray	TREAT-M-L-A-01-04796.jpg http://www.vinelandhistory1864.org/ Mary Treat Courtesy of the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society © Mary Treat	FOX-W-D-01-01730.jpg William Darwin Fox CUL DAR 250: 22 Cambridge University Library William Darwin Fox	HOOKER-J-D-01-02357.jpg Joseph Dalton Hooker CUL DAR 257: 114 Cambridge University Library Joseph Dalton Hooker
SIMMS-J-01-04359.jpg Joseph Simms CUL 8300.c.57 Cambridge University Library Joseph Simms	HUMBOLDT-F-W-H-A-von-01-02443.jpg http://biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/34393#/summary Alexander von Humboldt Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Digitised by the University of Pittsburgh Alexander von Humboldt	HUXLEY-H-A-01-02478.jpg Henrietta Anne Huxley CUL 456.c.93.570 Cambridge University Library Henrietta Huxley	READE-W-W-01-03950.jpg William Winwood Reade CUL Misc.7.91.18 Cambridge University Library William Winwood Reade

'I hear that Ladies think it delightful reading, but that it does not do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale.' For the first time online you can now read the full texts of nearly 800 letters Darwin wrote and received during 1871, the year in which his controversial first public statement on human evolution was published. The extraordinary number of letters reflects the excitement the book – Descent of man and selection in relation to sex – caused. All 2500 copies of the first printing sold immediately, and 5000 more copies were published during the year.

Anne Elizabeth (Annie) Darwin

CUL DAR 225: 165

Cambridge University Library

The death of Anne Elizabeth Darwin

Charles and Emma Darwin’s eldest daughter, Annie, died at the age of ten in 1851. Emma was heavily pregnant with their fifth son, Horace, at the time and could not go with Charles when he took Annie to Malvern to consult the hydrotherapist, Dr Gully. Darwin wrote a memorial of his daughter just one week after her death, and Emma Darwin kept a poignant set of notes about the reaction to her death of Annie’s younger sister, Henrietta.

Lifecycle of a letter film

Darwin Correpondence Project staff discuss their work on the project and some of the challenges of finding, transcribing, translating and editing letters.

William Winwood Reade

CUL Misc.7.91.18

Cambridge University Library

Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings

‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’ Darwin confessed in January1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months. January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute with the zoologist St George Jackson Mivart. In April and early May, Darwin was occupied with a heated debate over vivisection, and at the end of the year, he campaigned vigorously on behalf of a young zoologist, whose blackballing by the Linnean Society infuriated him: ‘I have not felt so angry for years.’

Tweets by @MyDearDarwin

Read and search the full texts of more than 8,500 of Charles Darwin’s letters, and ﬁnd information on 6,500 more. Discover complete transcripts of all known letters Darwin wrote and received up to the year 1871.

Darwin for Schools

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Discover our new schools resources for 7-11 year olds.

Visit the schools section

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Some of the Darwin’s relaxing at Down House
CUL DAR 219.12: 9
Cambridge University Library

Home and family
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http://wellcomeimages.org/
6 editions of 'The Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin
L0051092
Wellcome Library, London
CC BY 4.0

Origin
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http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-DAR-00053-00001
Darwin and human nature - Expression photos
after CUL DAR 53.1: C38r, C52r, C72r & C74r
Cambridge University Library

Human nature
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http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-07984/31
The Adventure and Beagle at Point Punta Arenas and Isla de Cochinos, Chiloé, by Conrad Martens
CUL Add. 7984: 19
Cambridge University Library

Voyage of HMS Beagle
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Some of Darwin's geological drawings
after CUL DAR 44: 13 & 33
Cambridge University Library

Geology
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Darwin's Tree of Life sketch from his “B” notebook on Transmutation of Species
CUL DAR 121, page 36
Cambridge University Library

Evolution