To W. B. Dawkins 3 February 1873
Down, Beckenham, Kent.
February 3, 1873.
My dear Sir,
I have great pleasure in expressing my opinion that you are very well fitted to fill the Woodwardian Chair in Cambridge, now vacant by the death of its former venerated occupier.1 You have paid close attention to the geological history of the more recent periods, and I think every one will admit that these present an extraordinary amount of difficulty; so that your success in this line of research offers an excellent test of your ability.2 It will also, I think, be admitted that the study of the more recent periods is not only very difficult, but of the highest importance. Therefore I earnestly hope that you may be successful in your application, and if so, I do not doubt that you will be the means of encouraging the study of geology in the University.
Believe me, my dear Sir, | Yours sincerely, | Ch. Darwin.
To W. Boyd Dawkins, Esq., F.R.S.
Footnotes
Bibliography
ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Summary
A letter of recommendation for W. B. Dawkins in his application for the Woodwardian professorship of geology in the university of Cambridge.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8757F
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Boyd Dawkins
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Cambridge University Archives (GEOL 9/*1 2b)
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8757F,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8757F.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 21
