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Darwin Correspondence Project

From Henry Woodward   8 April 1880

129. LATE 117 Beaufort Street, | Chelsea, | London. S.W.

8 April 1880.

Dear Mr Darwin,

My chief Mr Waterhouse, under whom I have served in the Department of Geology & Palæontology for 22 years, has just tendered his resignation & in so doing has expressed his conviction of my fitness as his successor, & in this Prof. Owen concurs heartily.1 Nevertheless the matter has to be referred first to the Treasury & then to the three Principal Trustees with whom the Appointment rests: (The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Lord Chancellor & the Speaker.)2

I shall have presently to apply to these august persons, & to accompany my letter by suitable Testimonials. May I venture to ask the great favor of a few lines of commendation from you?

Since my Brother’s death, in 1865, the management of the Department has mainly rested upon me, & I have tried hard to carry out my official duties, & to contribute also my share to the Scientific work of the day. My Mon: on the Merostomata in the Pal. Soc. my numerous papers in the Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. in the Geol. Mag., & elsewhere show what I have done.3

I was elected to the Royl. Socy in 1873., & made an Hon. LL.D. of St Andrews in 1878.,

If I am appointed I shall aim to make the Palæontological Collections in the New Museum the best arranged & most instructive series to be seen anywhere.

With kindest regards, | Believe me, Dear Mr Darwin | yours very sincerely | Henry Woodward

Footnotes

George Robert Waterhouse was keeper of the geology department of the British Museum from 1857; Richard Owen was the superintendent of the natural history departments of the museum.
Woodward’s brother, Samuel Pickworth Woodward, had been an assistant in the department of geology and mineralogy at the British Museum from 1848. Henry Woodward’s monograph on the crustacean order Merostomata (Woodward 1866–78) was published by the Palaeontographical Society; Merostomata is now considered to be a class of the subphylum Chelicerata. Woodward was a co-founder and the editor of the Geological Magazine as well as a frequent contributor to it and to the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London.

Bibliography

Woodward, Henry. 1866–78. A monograph of the British fossil Crustacea, belonging to the order Merostomata. London: Palaeontographical Society.

Summary

Seeks testimonial, as he is applying for the Keepership of Geology at the British Museum.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-12568
From
Henry Woodward
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Chelsea
Source of text
DAR 181: 151
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12568,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12568.xml

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