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Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots
Summary
Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…
Matches: 19 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
- … 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge …
- … to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an …
- … the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his …
- … 1879 ). He was also unsatisfied with his account of Erasmus Darwin, declaring, ‘My little biography …
- … a holiday in the Lake District in August did little to raise Darwin’s spirits. ‘I wish that my …
- … W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] ). From July, Darwin had an additional worry: the …
- … that his grandfather had felt the same way. In 1792, Erasmus Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I …
- … contained a warmer note and the promise of future happiness: Darwin learned he was to be visited by …
- … Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 …
- … the veteran of Modern Zoology’, but it was in Germany that Darwin was most fêted. A German …
- … ). The masters of Greiz College in Thuringia venerated Darwin as ‘the deep thinker’, while …
- … accepted in Germany. ‘On this festive day’, Haeckel told Darwin, ‘you can look back, with justified …
- … Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and serene evening of life’. This …
- … on the theory of development in connection with Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Kosmos was, as …
- … views on heliotropism to such an extent that he implied that Francis’s experiments were ‘hardly …
- … up and go because Sachs didn’t.’ Moreover, Sachs admired Francis’s little spectroscope so much that …
- … however, continued to focus on the scientific benefits of Francis’s being in Sachs’s laboratory, in …
- … and the ‘great sorrow and anxiety’ caused by his wife’s illness and breast amputation. The reason …
Darwn's letters from 1878 online
Summary
Investigating the movements and 'sleep' of plants, being entertained by the mental faculties of his young grandson Bernard, finally elected a corresponding member of the French Académie des sciences, trying to secure a government grant to support…
Matches: 12 hits
- … and footnotes of over 550 letters written to and from Darwin in 1878 are now online. Read more …
- … the circumnutating Movements of plants & bloom . Darwin summed up his work in 1878 …
- … long and detailed letters about their work, enabling Darwin to tap into, and critique, the latest …
- … 2 years is inferior in intellect to a monkey . Darwin missed having Francis to talk to …
- … a monkey that he had once seen. my wife is going to take me for 17 days …
- … Staffordshire, to see Emma’s brother Frank and his family. Darwin deplored the loss of time from his …
- … of a single natural order! In August, Darwin was elected a corresponding member of …
- … and was in the botany section rather than in zoology, where Darwin’s work was more controversial. In …
- … squabbles that they will do nothing. Darwin spent some time trying to secure a …
- … potato. His efforts came to nothing, and in the end Darwin sent Torbitt a cheque for £100 on his own …
- … the prospect of war, first in Turkey, then in Afghanistan; Darwin signed two anti-war petitions in …
- … discover the truth. At the end of the year, Darwin was surprised to hear that a …
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 28 hits
- … lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to …
- … in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments to …
- … plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in his role as …
- … from botanical research was provided by potatoes, as Darwin took up the cause of an Irish …
- … would rid Ireland of famine. Several correspondents pressed Darwin for his views on religion, …
- … closed with remarkable news of a large legacy bequeathed to Darwin by a stranger as a reward for his …
- … birthday ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 February [1878] ), Darwin reflected that it was ‘more …
- … Expression ), and the final revision of Origin (1872), Darwin had turned almost exclusively to …
- … Movement in plants In the spring of 1878, Darwin started to focus on the first shoots and …
- … were enrolled as researchers, as were family members. Darwin asked his niece Sophy to observe …
- … ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). While Darwin was studying the function of …
- … on one side, then another, to produce movement in the stalk. Darwin compared adult and young leaves …
- … after growth has ceased or nearly ceased.’ Finally, Darwin turned to plant motion below the …
- … precision the lines of least resistance in the ground.’ Darwin would devote a whole chapter to the …
- … that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] ). Having …
- … moisture, and various chemical and nutritive substances, Darwin next considered sound. He explained …
- … instrument to various plants. To confirm the results, Darwin borrowed a siren from Tyndall, who had …
- … ill-luck to them, are not sensitive to aerial vibrations’, Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my …
- … 8 August. ‘Alas Frank is off tomorrow to Wurzburg,’ Darwin wrote to Thiselton-Dyer on 2 June , ‘ …
- … Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June [1878] ). While Francis was away, Darwin sent regular reports about their …
- … to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] ). Two weeks later …
- … not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). It is …
- … had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ): ‘The oats …
- … we must have’, Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July 1878] ), ‘a strong …
- … me to jump to conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] ). One day …
- … day & never the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ). Sachs’s …
- … several weeks in Southampton with William and his wife Sara, and visits to the Wedgwoods at Leith …
- … complained about these periods of enforced idleness. ‘My wife is going to take me for 17 days …
Dipsacus and Drosera: Frank’s favourite carnivores
Summary
In Autumn of 1875, Francis Darwin was busy researching aggregation in the tentacles of Drosera rotundifolia (F. Darwin 1876). This phenomenon occurs when coloured particles within either protoplasm or the fluid in the cell vacuole (the cell sap) cluster…
Matches: 28 hits
- … By John Schaefer, Harvard University* Charles Darwin’s enthusiasm for carnivorous plants -- …
- … than the origin of all the species in the world. ’ Darwin’s rigorous experimentation with these …
- … plants in the scientific and public imagination. Darwin’s son, Francis, carried on his father …
- … edition was published. In Autumn of 1875, Francis Darwin was busy researching aggregation in …
- … fluid in the cell vacuole (the cell sap) cluster together. Darwin senior had theorized in …
- … The Loves of the Plants (1789) his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, wrote that each dew-filled cup …
- … I were you, to the point of death. ’ At this time, Darwin senior was responding to critiques …
- … ‘Seed-bearing’ experiments with Dipsacus . While Darwin was ‘curious if the movements of the …
- … After witnessing this ‘ grand discovery ’ himself, Darwin excitedly described the protoplasmic …
- … William Thiselton-Dyer at Kew Gardens by early July, and Darwin wrote to his second son, George …
- … Darwins' first grandchild. However, tragedy soon struck the Darwin household. Francis’ wife, …
- … would weaken his will to pursue scientific endeavours, Darwin gently yet consistently encouraged …
- … Wales. Having suffered through the deaths of two children, Darwin deeply believed in the value of …
- … home, authoring the Dipsacus paper and proofreading Darwin’s second edition of Orchids (1877 …
- … year, the paper was nearly ready for publication, and Darwin senior submitted his son’s discovery to …
- … research papers, and Francis was not a fellow. Personally, Darwin had high hopes that ‘ its being …
- … sylvestris )’ at the Royal Society on 1 March 1877 (F. Darwin 1877a). His address was received with …
- … pitcher plant genus Nepenthes at Kew Gardens. To this Darwin responded with equal enthusiasm, …
- … in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science (F. Darwin 1877b). Francis presented …
- … adapted to consume drowned nitrogenous insect matter (F. Darwin 1877a, pp. 5-8). In his full paper, …
- … on the growth and reproduction of Drosera (F. Darwin 1877b, p. 270). There is no record of …
- … receptive to the ‘ extraordinary discovery ’ and at Darwin’s request successfully replicated …
- … Royal Society’s decision not to publish the full paper, Darwin responded ‘ I can declare that I …
- … statements, & this has mortified me not a little. ’ At Darwin’s request, Cohn agreed to allow …
- … the month ( Nature , 23 August 1877, p. 339). Although, as Darwin pointed out in a letter to G.J. …
- … Eve Cohn revisited his initial reservations and wrote to Darwin that ‘ after maturer reflection, I …
- … of the acid ’. While Cohn was mostly aligned with Darwin on the digestive properties of the …
- … of protoplasm, rather than condensations of cell-sap (F. Darwin 1876, p. 312). Cohn’s comments on …
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Summary
George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Lewes was already married but living separately from his wife and unable to obtain a divorce. He and …
- … novels, under her pen name, achieved great acclaim. Darwin and his family were keen readers …
- … Allen, [26 March 1873], DAR 219.11: 14). A few days later Darwin asked if his daughter and son-in …
- … to lunch but there is no evidence that this happened (Emma Darwin to Horace Darwin, [14 October 1873 …
- … started ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] ). Darwin took Emma to a Sunday afternoon at …
Francis Darwin
Summary
Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished scientist. He was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, initially studying mathematics, but then transferring to natural sciences. Francis completed…
Matches: 7 hits
- … Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished …
- … into debt and had kept the matter secret for some months. Darwin was very stern in his advice: ‘I …
- … fellow as I daresay I appear to you’ (letter to Francis Darwin, 18 October [1870] ). …
- … had been employed as his father's secretary and assistant. Darwin had been concerned about his …
- … run by Julius von Sachs in Wurzburg. Francis Darwin was elected to the Royal Society in 1882 …
- … marriage (his first two wives having died, and his third wife predeceased him). It is noteworthy, of …
- … The Power of Movement in Plants, 1880). Perhaps Francis Darwin, whom the family regarded as a …
Insectivorous plants
Summary
Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants began by accident. While on holiday in the summer of 1860, staying with his wife’s relatives in Hartfield, Sussex, he went for long walks on the heathland and became curious about the large number of insects caught by…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants began by accident. While on holiday in the summer of 1860, …
- … illness, probably typhoid fever. While caring for Etty, Darwin’s wife Emma wrote to a friend: …
- … he hopes to end in proving it to be an animal.’ ( Emma Darwin 2: 177) By the end of August …
- … In this song the lyrics are based on Darwin's statements about insectivorous plants in his …
- … exchanging over twenty letters in the autumn of 1860 alone. Darwin started by asking Oliver to …
- … as the Australian Drosera , and tried to reproduce Darwin’s results on the reaction of …
- … certain nitrogenous compounds is marvellous. ’ Darwin turned his attention to the mechanism …
- … viscid, dark red fluid. ’ By the end of November Darwin wrote to Charles Lyell: ‘ I will …
- … of the Royal Society in February 1861 (Bonney 1919, p. 154), Darwin decided not to publish his …
- … in September 1862 for the sake of his son Leonard’s and wife’s recovery from scarlet fever , …
- … analogous in constitution & function to nervous matter. ’ Darwin wrote to the surveyor Edward …
- … plants for 10 years. Early in 1872, Asa Gray reminded Darwin ‘ pray don’t run off on some …
- … about Drosera & Dionæa ’. By August and September, Darwin was ordering essential oils and …
- … New Jersey with these remarkable observations and Darwin asked her to observe the North …
- … sundew) . As part of his medical training, Darwin’s son Francis studied histology at the …
- … performing comparative experiments on animals. After Darwin had sent Burdon Sanderson an abstract of …
- … was so pleased with his results he excitedly telegraphed Darwin and presented them in paper to …
- … Brown Institution’s staff, Thomas Lauder Brunton, assisted Darwin with the digestibility of chondrin …
- … of Chemistry Edward Frankland supplied pure chemicals for Darwin’s study of digestion and …
- … substance . After many careful experiments, in May 1874 Darwin proudly reported to his cousin …
- … (the genus of tropical pitcher-plants) in parallel with Darwin’s study of Drosera and Dionaea …
- … as your finger nail in 48 hours to lovely jelly ’, while Darwin could only reply: ‘ Poor Drosera …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 11 hits
- … for plants to flourish can be traced back to the last book Darwin wrote, snappily-titled The …
- … on their habits, which was published in 1881. Despite Darwin’s fears that a book on earthworms might …
- … out in his Natural History of Selborne of 1789 (a book Darwin claimed had ‘much influence on my …
- … a new field in natural history, and almost a century later Darwin argued that all fields had passed …
- … variety of strange things he persuaded people to do. Darwin concluded that worms had no sense …
- … a metal whistle and to being shouted at, but also to Francis Darwin playing the bassoon, and to Emma …
- … furrows through the action of worms. Meanwhile Amy Ruck, Francis’s future wife, was in despair at …
- … existence of worms at that altitude. By the 1870s, Darwin was also drawing on the work of …
- … him. Soon worm excrement was trusted to postal services, and Darwin acquired casts from India and …
- … observations he had gathered to write a book on the subject. Darwin brought to the topic the …
- … bigger souls than anyone wd suppose’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] (CUL DAR 210.6: …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 23 hits
- … The year 1876 started out sedately enough with Darwin working on the first draft of his book on the …
- … games. ‘I have won, hurrah, hurrah, 2795 games’, Darwin boasted; ‘my wife … poor creature, has won …
- … regarding the ailments that were so much a feature of Darwin family life. But the calm was not to …
- … four days later. ‘I cannot bear to think of the future’, Darwin confessed to William on 11 …
- … once, the labour of checking proofs proved a blessing, as Darwin sought solace for the loss of his …
- … and his baby son Bernard now part of the household, and Darwin recasting his work on dimorphic and …
- … had involved much time and effort the previous year, and Darwin clearly wanted to focus his …
- … When Smith, Elder and Company proposed reissuing two of Darwin’s three volumes of the geology of …
- … single-volume edition titled Geological observations , Darwin resisted making any revisions at …
- … volume, Coral reefs , already in its second edition. Darwin was nevertheless ‘firmly resolved not …
- … meticulous correction of errors in the German editions made Darwin less anxious about correcting the …
- … to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. ) Darwin focused instead on the second …
- … concentrated on the ‘means of crossing’, was seen by Darwin as the companion to Cross and self …
- … return to old work than part of the future work outlined by Darwin in his ‘little Autobiography’ ( …
- … holiday after finishing Cross and self fertilisation , Darwin took up the suggestion made by a …
- … for his family only. Writing for an hour every afternoon, Darwin finished his account on 3 August …
- … dimittis.”’ (‘Recollections’, pp. 418–19). Darwin remained firm in his resolution to …
- … commercial models of typewriter. Francis Darwin and his wife, Amy, carefully prepared for its …
- … a practical stoicism in the face of death, and it was Francis’s mother-in-law, Mary Anne Ruck, who …
- … Haeckel on the 26 September, and then Ferdinand Cohn, his wife Pauline, and Ferdinand Romer two days …
- … to noise generated when ‘Professor Cohn (quite deaf) & his wife (very pleasing) & a Prof. …
- … as contributions to an ongoing botanical conversation. Francis’s ability to read German had given …
- … translation of Darwin’s books into German, together with Francis’s linguistic skills, had also …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 10 hits
- … | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
- … community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
- … Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin …
- … peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October …
- … garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] Darwin’s …
- … . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867] Mary Barber …
- … Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. to Darwin, H. E., [after 14 October 1869] …
- … Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] Anne Jane Cupples, …
- … Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, [1873] Ellen Lubbock, wife of naturalist John Lubbock, …
- … improvement. He is particularly concerned that Hooker’s wife found the content obscure, even after …
Emma Darwin
Summary
Emma Darwin, Charles Darwin's wife and first cousin, was born Emma Wedgwood, the eighth and youngest child of Josiah Wedgwood II and Bessy Allen. Her father was the eldest son of the famous pottery manufacturer, Josiah Wedgwood I. Her mother was one…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Emma Darwin, Charles Darwin's wife and first cousin, was born Emma Wedgwood, the eighth and …
- … father's eldest sister, Susannah, had married Robert Waring Darwin of Shrewsbury, and had six …
- … 10. Charles and Emma also cared for their grandson Bernard, Francis's son: his mother, Amy, …
- … home. A great deal of her correspondence survives in the Darwin Archive–CUL, along with her …
Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
Matches: 24 hits
- … results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but throughout these …
- … species and varieties. In contrast to the received image of Darwin as a recluse in Down, the letters …
- … Down House was altered and extended to accommodate Darwin’s growing family and the many relatives …
- … The geological publications In these years, Darwin published two books on geology, Volcanic …
- … papers for all these organisations. Between 1844 and 1846 Darwin himself wrote ten papers, six of …
- … 2, letter to A. Y. Spearman, 9 October 1843, n. 1). Darwin's inner circle: first …
- … not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable Darwin’s earlier scientific friendships …
- … friends, with the addition of Hooker, were important to Darwin for—among other things—they were the …
- … scientific issues that arose out of his work on species. Darwin discussed his ideas on species …
- … Only two months after their first exchange, early in 1844, Darwin told Hooker that he was engaged in …
- … correspondence that his close friends were not outraged by Darwin’s heterodox opinions and later in …
- … But although eager for the views of informed colleagues, Darwin was naturally protective of his …
- … vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 [February 1847]). Darwin can be seen as a cautious strategist, …
- … candidate, known to be working on species and varieties, was Darwin himself: as he told his cousin …
- … the book to him. But, as his letters to Hooker show, Darwin carefully considered and then rejected …
- … Perhaps the most interesting letter relating to Darwin’s species theory, which also bears on his …
- … who would undertake to see the work through the press. Darwin also listed possible editors: at first …
- … on the work. But the list was subsequently altered after Darwin’s second, and possibly third, …
- … Hooker’s was added. Much later, by the autumn of 1854 when Darwin began sorting out his notes in …
- … the cover to that effect. The full consideration that Darwin gave to the future editing and …
- … he was for much of the time too ill even to write letters, Darwin felt that his life was only too …
- … in his health. Volcanoes, rocks, and fossils Darwin’s published work during this …
- … elevation of extensive tracts of land relative to the sea. Darwin put forward a new explanation of …
- … whose subsequent work led to the general acceptance of Darwin’s views. South America drew …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 26 hits
- … evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost …
- … (1875) and Cross and self fertilisation (1876). Darwin’s son Francis became increasingly …
- … career to become his father’s scientific secretary. Darwin had always relied on assistance from …
- … the previous year. As was typical, readers wrote to Darwin personally to offer suggestions, …
- … some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed to discussions in the …
- … Francis Galton’s work on inherited talent, which prompted Darwin to reflect on the traits and …
- … Station at Naples. Plants that eat and feel? Darwin had resumed experiments on the …
- … 12 January [1873] ). Drosera was the main focus of Darwin’s study of insectivorous plants, a …
- … and alkaloids, and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous …
- … ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ). Darwin found that the glandular hairs on the …
- … to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this transmission of …
- … plants , p. 63). The plants secreted a viscid fluid, which Darwin suspected attracted insects by …
- … ., p. 17). Through a series of painstaking experiments, Darwin determined that the secretions …
- … botanist Mary Treat, who performed experiments suggested by Darwin on the North American species …
- … . He began to perform experiments modelled on those of Darwin, feeding the plant egg and raw meat, …
- … guide to animal experimentation that Klein had co-authored. Darwin contacted two of the Handbook …
- … London, and director of the Brown Institution. Darwin sent an abstract of his preliminary …
- … muscle and nerve tissue of animals. Burdon Sanderson visited Darwin at Down in July and was drawn …
- … To test whether the plants had a nerve-like structure, Darwin suggested electrical experiments on …
- … coil. He was so impressed by the results that he sent Darwin the news by telegraph in September, and …
- … the Advancement of Science later that month. Finally, Darwin enlisted the chemist Edward …
- … enzyme. Cross- and self-fertilisation Darwin’s other main focus of botanical …
- … work that had been going on for many years. Darwin resumed these studies in February. He received …
- … ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August 1873 ). Darwin worried, however, that his own …
- … in May to request permission to translate it into German. Darwin was vexed, and begged his publisher …
- … In Darwin’s case, it was his “despotic wife” who forced him to take periodic breaks from work ( …
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 27 hits
- … Ever since the publication of Expression , Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The …
- … of these projects would culminate in a major publication. Darwin’s botany was increasingly a …
- … The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. Darwin received two elaborate photograph albums …
- … from Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Closer to home, Darwin received an honorary Doctorate of …
- … sites for possible earthworm activity. Now in his 69th year, Darwin remained remarkably productive, …
- … no controversy. In his autobiographical reflections, Darwin remarked: ‘no little discovery of …
- … (‘Recollections’, p. 419). During the winter and spring, Darwin was busy preparing the manuscript of …
- … and presented to the Linnean Society of London. In the book, Darwin adopted the more recent term …
- … as dimorphic without comparing pollen-grains & stigmas’, Darwin remarked to Joseph Dalton …
- … measurements of the size and number of pollen-grains, Darwin compared the fertility of individual …
- … primrose and purple loosestrife. In the course of his work, Darwin found a number of other …
- … dreadful work making out anything about dried flowers’, Darwin complained to Asa Gray on 8 March …
- … which include heterstyled species. This pleases me.’. Darwin dedicated the book to Gray, ‘as a small …
- … separate publications together into a larger whole enabled Darwin to advance more speculative views …
- … both pollen and seeds’ ( Forms of flowers , p. 344). Darwin was typically pessimistic about the …
- … be sold’. His publisher knew from previous experience that Darwin was a poor judge of sales, and …
- … after completing his manuscript of Forms of flowers , Darwin took up the problem of ‘bloom’ in …
- … characteristic whose purpose was little understood. Darwin had begun studying bloom in August 1873, …
- … exchanged between Down and Kew over the next six months. Darwin corresponded most often with the …
- … been for your kindness, we sh d . have broken down’, Darwin wrote back on 5 September . ‘As it …
- … injury from pure water resting on leaves’. In the end, Darwin did not publish on the subject, but …
- … on leaves and the distribution of the stomata’ (F. Darwin 1886). Alongside his work on bloom, …
- … closely to the leaves and required a tolerable shake’. Darwin gained another valuable observer in …
- … T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August 1877 ). At Down House, Darwin and Francis devised a method of …
- … eminent German botanist Ferdinand Julius Cohn, who confirmed Francis’s observations: ‘the most …
- … Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). Francis’s paper eventually appeared in the …
- … of Theodore Sedgwick, an American legal theorist, and his wife, Sara. Her sister and brother-in-law, …
Dining at Down House
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…
Matches: 14 hits
- … Questions | Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life …
- … chance for what share of happiness this world affords." ( Darwin to H.W. Bates , 26 …
- … and they partook in his scientific endeavours. One of Darwin's defining characteristics …
- … through his correspondence. Letters written to and from Darwin, as well as those exchanged between …
- … provides into the bright and engaging personalities of the Darwin children and of family life in the …
- … SOURCES Book Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species . 1859. London: John …
- … Dining at Down House Letter 259 —Charles Darwin to Caroline Darwin, 13 October …
- … South American cities, cultures, geography, flora and fauna) Darwin complains to his sister Caroline …
- … while ill. Letter 465 —Emma Wedgwood (Emma Darwin) to Charles Darwin, [30 December 1838] …
- … agreeable” for her sake. Letter 3626 —Emma Darwin to T. G. Appleton, 28 June [1862] …
- … behalf to his American publisher, T. G. Appleton. Darwin, who is too ill to write himself, wishes to …
- … cod liver oil and moderate work, among other things, for Darwin’s complaints. Emma Darwin …
- … suffers a bout of “rocking & giddiness”. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [5 September …
- … very food that Darwin ate, using authentic recipes from his wife Emma Darwin’s cookbook. Our menu …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 30 hits
- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little …
- … of On the origin of species , intended to be Darwin’s last, and of Expression of the …
- … books brought a strong if deceptive sense of a job now done: Darwin intended, he declared to Alfred …
- … 27 July [1872] ). By the end of the year Darwin was immersed in two of the studies that …
- … of books and papers, and the latter formed the subject of Darwin’s last book, The formation of …
- … worms , published in the year before his death. Despite Darwin’s declared intention to take up new …
- … begun many years before. In his private life also, Darwin was in a nostalgic frame of mind, …
- … The last word on Origin The year opened with Darwin, helped by his eldest son William, …
- … on 30 January , shortly after correcting the proofs, and Darwin’s concern for the consolidation of …
- … and sixth editions were costly to incorporate, and despite Darwin’s best efforts, set the final …
- … closely involved in every stage of publication of his books, Darwin was keen to ensure that this …
- … to bring out the new edition in the United States, Darwin arranged with Murray to have it …
- … had to be reset. The investment in stereotype reinforced Darwin’s intention to make no further …
- … A worsening breach The criticisms against which Darwin had taken the greatest trouble to …
- … objections to the theory of natural selection’, Darwin refuted point by point assertions published …
- … Although Mivart was among those who wrote in January to wish Darwin a happy new year, before the …
- … critical and anonymously published review of Descent . Darwin’s supporters had rallied to his …
- … The republication of Wright’s paper had been arranged by Darwin himself (see Correspondence vol. …
- … so bigotted a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 5 …
- … that he would willingly acknowledge himself at fault if only Darwin would renounce `fundamental …
- … letter to St G. J. Mivart, 8 January [1872] ). Despite Darwin’s request that he drop the …
- … ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 10 January 1872 ). Darwin, determined to have the last word in …
- … 11 January [1872] ). 'I hate controversy,’ Darwin wrote later in the year, possibly with this …
- … ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 3 August [1872] ). Darwin's theories under siege …
- … sexual selection in human evolution, continued to trouble Darwin. ‘At present natural selection is …
- … about the level of support for his theories abroad and Darwin, directing operations from the safe …
- … 13 December 1872 ). 'Here is a bee' Darwin discussed the reception of his …
- … selection to bees (H. Müller 1872), and with his reply Darwin enclosed an account of research he had …
- … By the time Origin was published in February, Darwin was in London, making the first of several …
- … of ill health to one correspondent that Emma protested: `My wife commands me to say, & I can say …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
Matches: 26 hits
- … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the publication of his …
- … book out of my head’. But a large proportion of Darwin’s time for the rest of the year was devoted …
- … way, and the initial reception of the book in the press. Darwin fielded numerous letters from …
- … offered sharp criticism or even condemnation. Darwin had expected controversy. ‘I shall be …
- … a bare-faced manner.”‘ The most lively debate centred on Darwin’s evolutionary account of the …
- … taste. Correspondence with his readers and critics helped Darwin to clarify, and in some cases …
- … year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression. Darwin continued to investigate the …
- … also brought a significant milestone for the family, as Darwin’s eldest daughter Henrietta was …
- … during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working fairly continuously …
- … work on species theory in the late 1830s. In recent years, Darwin had collected a wealth of material …
- … to human evolution was comparatively small, reflecting Darwin’s aim of showing kinship with animals …
- … he is “torn to pieces” by people wanting copies’, Darwin wrote to his son Francis on 28 February …
- … letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ). The profits for Darwin were considerable. After …
- … man.’ Promoting the book As usual, Darwin did his best to obtain a wide and favourable …
- … (see Correspondence vol. 19, Appendix IV). Four of Darwin’s five sons received a copy, and his …
- … received a special acknowledgment in the form of a gift. Darwin credited her for whatever he had …
- … ‘to keep in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). Reaction …
- … 1871). The geologist William Boyd Dawkins remarked on Darwin’s books’ reception amongst ‘artisans …
- … 23 February 1871 ). Thomas Henry Huxley marvelled that Darwin had been able to link the periodicity …
- … Variation , Descent inspired many to write to Darwin with small corrections or contributions. …
- … foetus ( letter from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871 ). Darwin thought he might use the photographs …
- … friends A number of correspondents took issue with Darwin’s evolutionary explanation of the …
- … butterflies and beetles to Descent , could not extend Darwin’s evolutionary theory beyond man’s …
- … disagreement regarding human ancestry was expressed by Darwin’s old friend, the former vicar of Down …
- … was circulated within the family and commented upon by his wife and children. William offered his …
- … Francis and two Cambridge friends. Darwin agreed to pay Francis’s expenses, after being reassured …
Life of Erasmus Darwin
Summary
The Life of Erasmus Darwin (1879) was a curious departure for Darwin. It was intended as a biographical note to accompany an essay on Erasmus's scientific work by the German writer Ernst Krause. But Darwin became immersed in his grandfather's…
Matches: 17 hits
- … scientific work by the German writer Ernst Krause. But Darwin became immersed in his grandfather& …
- … his grandfather's mind and character. To compose the work, Darwin gathered materials and …
- … book into grist for controversy. In February 1879, Darwin received an unusual birthday …
- … an essay by Ernst Krause on the evolutionary ideas of Darwin's grandfather. Darwin was familiar …
- … poems, The Botanic Garden and Temple of Nature . But Darwin had never known his grandfather, …
- … '; ' It piles up the glory and would please Francis '. Darwin's cousin, …
- … 'men of science'. The biographical sketch was thus a way for Darwin to trace his own …
- … character. Once a celebrated poet and philosopher, Erasmus Darwin's fame had declined sharply …
- … wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life ', Darwin wrote to Krause on 14 March …
- … storehouse of private thoughts and experiences. Reading it, Darwin said, was like ' having …
- … Priory where he resided at his death, both appeared in Darwin's Life . & …
- … word “benevolent” has always been associated with Dr. Darwin by his friends '. She recalled an …
- … bedside & made him a sign to be silent. He then said “Dr. Darwin I am the Jockey who is to ride …
- … just at the last, & come in third or fourth'. Darwin tried to verify such tales …
- … in the Life , pp. 63–5. One of Darwin's aims in assembling these episodes …
- … which had been tarnished by previous biographies. Many of Darwin's relations had expressed …
- … Schimmelpenigs account of his greediness '. While Darwin was writing his lengthy notice …
Interview with Randal Keynes
Summary
Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and the author of Annie’s Box (Fourth Estate, 2001), which discusses Darwin’s home life, his relationship with his wife and children, and the ways in which these influenced his feelings about…
Matches: 18 hits
- … Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and the author of Annie’s Box (Fourth …
- … University Library - in the Keynes Room! - visiting the Darwin Correspondence Project. Randal is a …
- … Your book seems to counter prevailing popular portraits of Darwin as the solitary genius, and of …
- … any historian of science, that the great achievements, like Darwin's, and many others, are not …
- … [of] all the scientist's colleagues. 6. Darwin's poetic sensibility …
- … had declined through the years, he was persuaded by his wife and daughter to take a holiday in the …
- … Yes. 7. How, and what, do we know of Darwin's opinions about religion? …
- … to conclude with any certainty. You, and Jim Moore [another Darwin biographer] as well, talk about …
- … ?the tatters of belief in a moral, just universe?, and that Darwin now took his stand as an …
- … that he read, which are very important - and in general, Darwin's reading is a fascinating …
- … important, fundamental act. That was important for her. Darwin just didn't have that in him, …
- … ? and look there for the explanation of the difficulties Darwin and Emma had with each other's …
- … I'm struck by, also, this moral dimension to Christianity. Darwin, several times, comes back to …
- … of liberal theologians and unitarians that were part of Darwin's circle would not necessarily …
- … Dr White: Right. 9. Emma Darwin's influence and struggle with faith …
- … him. She's not, she's just not, the subordinate, subservient wife. She was highly …
- … White: Right. 10. Parallels between Darwin's occupation and Emma's …
- … for that was a struggle - and I'm thinking also about Darwin's humility as a man of …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 24 hits
- … 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working …
- … dispute over an anonymous review that attacked the work of Darwin’s son George dominated the second …
- … and traveller Alexander von Humboldt’s 105th birthday, Darwin obliged with a reflection on his debt …
- … ). The death of a Cambridge friend, Albert Way, caused Darwin’s cousin, William Darwin Fox, to …
- … from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to the self-assessment, ‘as for one …
- … I feel very old & helpless The year started for Darwin with a week’s visit to …
- … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
- … ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor health so frequently in …
- … 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and sceptics Darwin excused himself for reasons of …
- … by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George Eliot), but Darwin excused himself, finding it too …
- … the month, another Williams séance was held at the home of Darwin’s cousin Hensleigh Wedgwood. Those …
- … imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin agreed that it was ‘all imposture’ …
- … stop word getting to America of the ‘strange news’ that Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his …
- … the first three months of the year and, like many of Darwin’s enterprises in the 1870s, were family …
- … 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 December [1873] ). Darwin himself had some trouble in …
- … and letter to Charles Lyell, [13 January 1874] ). Darwin blamed his illness for the …
- … . In his preface ( Coral reefs 2d ed., pp. v–vii), Darwin reasserted the priority of his work. …
- … for the absence of coral-reefs in certain locations. Darwin countered with the facts that low …
- … whole coastline of a large island. Dana also thought that Darwin had seen fringing reefs as proof of …
- … presentation copy, Dana sent an apology for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D …
- … to Darwin’s satisfaction. Assisted in the wording by his wife, Emma, and daughter Henrietta, he …
- … work’ ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 18 September [1874] ).Francis’s new wife, Amy, drew the plant ( …
- … criticisms he received on recent publications. After his wife read Expression , the military …
- … of his close friend Hooker, who stayed at Down after his wife Frances Harriet died suddenly on 13 …
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