skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

Search: contains ""

400 Bad Request

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.


Apache Server at dcp-public.lib.cam.ac.uk Port 443
Search:
in keywords
36 Items
Page:  1 2  Next

Francis Galton

Summary

Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…

Matches: 10 hits

  • Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a
  • from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at Kings College
  • completing a natural historical narrative of the journey (Galton 1853). Darwin enjoyed and admired
  • animals in Africa. On receiving a copy of Origin , Galton remarked that reading the book was like
  • hypothesis of pangenesis in Variation (1868), Galton began a series of experiments on rabbits to
  • he wrote on 26 April 1870 . In the following year, Galton delivered a paper to the Royal Society
  • hereditary material to be transmitted through the blood. Galton resumed his experiments with
  • organs, isolated from the effects of environment or habit. Galton shared his views in several
  • sought help from his mathematician son George, who shared Galtons more statistical approach to
  • in human achievement. In response to a questionnaire that Galton prepared for his book English men

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

  • alongside a botanical interest in roots, as he and his son Francis carried out their latest
  • alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June 1879] ). Even
  • with Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Kosmos was, as Francis Darwin reported from Germany that
  • the children correctly’, mentioning in particular that Francis Galton was the son of one of Erasmus
  • to contradict false statements that had been published by Francis Galtons aunt, Mary Anne
  • for Captain Robert FitzRoy on the Beagle voyage, Francis Beaufort of the Admiralty described the
  • and poet’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter from Francis Beaufort to Robert FitzRoy, 1 September
  • … ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the Galton side of the family, Elizabeth Anne
  • perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was
  • in plants. Over the previous two years, he and his son Francis had worked together on the
  • of radicles, the embryonic roots of seedlings ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 June [1879] ). …
  • to continue experiments on the sensitivity of radicles. Francis experienced obstacles from the start
  • views on heliotropism to such an extent that he implied that Franciss experiments werehardly
  • that it came from a specific gland in the leaf. This struck Francis asbosh’, but, he complained to
  • up and go because Sachs didnt.’ Moreover, Sachs admired Franciss little spectroscope so much that
  • rooms in a house that wasdisreputable’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 16 June 1879] ). …
  • not think that plants weremere machines’, reminding Francis on 2 June that he had long thought
  • he found he wasgetting to hate the work’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 25 June [1879] ). Although
  • the book, the response from readers was gratifying. Francis Galton read the book with the greatest

List of correspondents

Summary

Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent.    "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…

Matches: 13 hits

  • … G. E. (1) Beaufort, Francis (5) …
  • … Boole, M. E. (3) Boott, Francis (7) …
  • … Darwin, Emma (191) Darwin, Francis (287) …
  • … Everest, Robert (1) Ewbank, Francis (1) …
  • … Fox, W. D. (225) Francis, George (1) …
  • … Galton, Erasmus (1) Galton, Francis (118) …
  • … Archibald (1) Lloyd, Francis (1) …
  • … Parker, Charles (2) Parker, Francis (1) …
  • … Walford, Edward (2) Walker, Francis (6) …
  • … George (2) Warner, Francis (1) …
  • … F. M. (2) Wedgwood, Francis (4) …
  • … (2) Wemyss-Charteris-Douglas, Francis (1) …
  • … White, Adam (2) White, Francis Buchanan (3) …

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: 5 hits

  • … more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 November [1872] ), and the …
  • … drawings shortly afterwards ( letter from Samuel Butler to Francis Darwin, [before 30 May 1872] , …
  • … the claims of spiritualists, and Darwin, through his cousin Francis Galton, had with some interest …
  • … however, incorporated in the second edition, produced by Francis Darwin after his father’s death. …
  • … new name on the list of volunteers: by the beginning of May, Francis Darwin, the Darwins’ third son, …

Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers

Summary

In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…

Matches: 24 hits

  • … of the false accusation’. Other friends rallied round. Francis Balfour translated Krause’s account …
  • … had been a major undertaking for both Darwin and his son Francis, who assisted in the many …
  • … of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] ). Although results …
  • … July, sending the pages to Germany for further checks by Francis Darwin, who was spending the summer …
  • … Ruskin, who lived there. Sending the last two chapters to Francis on 27 May , Darwin wrote, …
  • … to begin any new subject requiring much work’, he told Francis Darwin on 30 May . ‘I have been …
  • … case.’ An additional motivation may have been to support Francis Darwin’s published research on …
  • … Darwin tried a variety of plants and reagents, telling Francis on 17 October , ‘I have wasted …
  • … up the job; but I cannot endure to do this’, Darwin told Francis on 9 November ,  and writing …
  • … Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company led Darwin to chide Francis for giving a klinostat designed …
  • … supporters, and rejoiced in his election. Promoting Francis’s own botanical research was as …
  • … on 27 January for not commending papers presented by Francis at the Linnean Society the previous …
  • … realised was ‘incumbent’ upon him), Darwin, certain that Francis had not been offended, stated, ‘I …
  • … letter to Asa Gray, 29 January 1881 ). While Francis was working in de Bary’s …
  • … him contained not only botanical matters but also news about Francis’s 5-year-old son, Bernard. Just …
  • … say “Mr. Dada you must go home at once”’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 May 1881 ). Francis tried …
  • … be marching if they were put in her pocket’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 25 May [1881] ). Two days …
  • … had different concerns about Bernard’s soul because Francis sent a message saying that she could …
  • … also listened and ‘gaped tremendously’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [after 27 May 1881] ). His …
  • … book were from those who had received presentation copies. Galton wrote on 9 October , ‘I wish …
  • … frantic by the number of letters about worms’, he told Francis Darwin on 9 November , ‘but amidst …
  • … the collaborative experimental work he had undertaken with Francis Darwin, to whom he broke the …
  • … the careful way Darwin used plural and singular when he told Francis that Wiesner found most of ‘our …
  • … before he reached that part of the book ( letter from Francis Darwin, [21 October 1881] ). …

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: 15 hits

  • Cross and self fertilisation  (1876). Darwins son Francis became increasingly involved in this
  • from within the family, and he was clearly delighted by Franciss decision. A large portion
  • in animals. The subject was brought closer to home by Francis Galtons work on inherited talent, …
  • Poisons and electrocution . . . His son Francis was assisting the histologist Edward Emanuel
  • of medical research in London. On the advice of Klein, Francis obtained a new microscope for his
  • on botany, he drew more on assistance from his son Francis. While visiting his fiancée, Amy Ruck, in
  • notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ). …
  • … [1873] ).  Shortly afterwards, it was arranged for Francis to rent a house in the village (Down
  • to H. E. Litchfield, 20 February 1873 ). The surgeon Francis Stephen Bennet Francois de Chaumont, …
  • of instinct and inheritance when he was asked by his cousin Francis Galton to participate in a study
  • to encourage interbreeding among thenaturally gifted” (Galton 1873a). Darwin was sympathetic to
  • and investing money very well” ( letter to Francis Galton, 28 May 1873 ). Among character traits, …
  • his own character, he asked his sons to complete the list. Francis added to his fathers virtues: …
  • and difficulties”. Later in the year, Darwin learned from Francis Maitland Balfour that Dohrn had
  • of one of these longish breaks, Darwin wrote to his son Francis, “I am in an idiotic state of

Animals, ethics, and the progress of science

Summary

Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…

Matches: 8 hits

  • encounter with vivisection came in 1870-71 when his cousin Francis Galton undertook a long series of
  • particles (‘gemmules’) dispersed throughout the body. Galton acquired different breeds of rabbits
  • surgically joining the bodies of different breeds together. Galton reported regularly to Darwin on
  • his theory to apply to plants. He added, however that Galtons experiments wereextremely curious’, …
  • … ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] ). When Galton could no longer look after the
  • the poor creatures a home at Down, only to return them to Galton as required for further cross
  • however, and he advised against repeating the procedures of Galton: With respect to your
  • To bring more solidarity to the field, Darwins son Francis, and a number of his close colleagues

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: 21 hits

  • … organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments …
  • … of most advanced plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in …
  • … (see Movement in plants , pp. 112–13). He explained to Francis on 2 July : ‘I go on maundering …
  • … out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] ). …
  • … the bassoon & apparently more by a high than a low note.’ Francis apparently played the musical …
  • … on plant movement were intensely collaborative, with Francis playing a more active role than ever. …
  • … exchanged when they were apart. At the start of June, Francis left to work at Sach’s laboratory in …
  • … ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June [1878] ). While Francis was away, Darwin sent regular …
  • … to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] ). Two …
  • … is horrid not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). …
  • … topics and dictating experimental method and design. Francis seems to have been allowed to work more …
  • … cells of oats to determine whether they had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis
  • … that could not easily be obtained at Down House, but Francis thought Horace’s abilities were a match …
  • … well made.’ (Jemmy or Jim was Horace’s nickname.) Francis was occasionally struck by Sachs’s …
  • … every day & never the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ). …
  • … to dismiss work that contradicted his own. Darwin asked Francis to test the results of the Polish …
  • … borrowed Cieselski & read him,’ he reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878] ). …
  • … style, Sachs seems to have been a very supportive mentor to Francis and even extended a kind of …
  • … which is here the cure for all evils’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [24 and 25 July 1878] ). …
  • … the family are here & all adoring Bernard’, he wrote to Francis on 7 July . ‘Bernard is very …
  • … the right’ and referred him to recent work by Francis Galton on selective breeding. He still thought …

Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts

Summary

At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of  Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … of concern were received for months afterwards. Francis Galton: Hereditary genius and …
  • … Emma read aloud from a new book by Darwin’s half-cousin, Francis Galton. The work,  Hereditary …
  • … is an eminently  important difference’ ( letter to Francis Galton,  23 December [1869] ). …
  • … of inheritance through experiments on rabbits ( letter from Francis Galton, 11 December 1869 ). …
  • … the first to give me freedom of thought’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 24 December 1869 ). …

All Darwin's letters from 1873 go online for the anniversary of Origin

Summary

To celebrate the 158th anniversary of the publication of Origin of species on 24 November, the full transcripts and footnotes of over 500 letters from and to Charles Darwin in 1873 are now available online. Read about Darwin's life in 1873 through his…

Matches: 3 hits

  • … When he jokingly mentioned his need for staff, his son Francis proposed that he give up his medical …
  • … some love of the new and marvellous  ( Letter to Francis Galton, 28 May 1873 ) …
  • … investing money very well; very methodical in my habits.' Francis added to his father's …

3.1 Antoine Claudet, daguerreotype

Summary

< Back to Introduction This daguerreotype of Darwin with his firstborn child, William, was, according to a label on the glass, taken on 23 August 1842, just before the family moved from London to Down. It is generally attributed to the French…

Matches: 4 hits

  • … When it was reproduced in Karl Pearson’s Life of Francis Galton in 1930, its owner was still …
  • … the Darwin archive, it was inherited by her son Sir Charles Galton Darwin. It has subsequently …
  • … notes on the reverses indicating provenance of the original. Francis Darwin (ed.), The Life and …
  • … 58–59. Karl Pearson, The Life, Letters and Labours of Francis Galton , 4 vols (Cambridge: …

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: 22 hits

  • … 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). Francis Darwin, happily established in Down …
  • … the first member of the next generation of the family, with Francis and Amy’s child expected in …
  • … beloved daughter-in-law and relief from his anxiety about Francis. By the end of the year there was …
  • … Darwin reassured his close friend Joseph Hooker that he and Francis would attend the meeting. Darwin …
  • … subject takes an opposite line’. Although he conceded that Francis had the best of an argument with …
  • … to propose the young rising star of Cambridge morphology, Francis Maitland Balfour, for fellowship …
  • … of the earliest available commercial models of typewriter. Francis Darwin and his wife, Amy, …
  • … point, and he was reliant on his son George and cousin Francis Galton for the calculations. ‘I have …
  • … in their research. He revelled in the praise heaped on Francis by George Henry Lewes for an article …
  • … chemical pycrotoxine in vivisection experiments ( letter to Francis Darwin, [1 May 1876] ). Darwin …
  • … 2 May [1876] ). Darwin even cautioned the otherwise healthy Francis, ‘Take care and do not overwork …
  • … first time to a large and healthy boy, the son of Amy and Francis. Just four days later, Darwin had …
  • … son William sought comfort. He expressed his anxiety that Francis was too young to care for the baby …
  • … a practical stoicism in the face of death, and it was Francis’s mother-in-law, Mary Anne Ruck, who …
  • … (DAR 219.9: 138)). But Mary Anne Ruck’s ability to console Francis after Amy’s death gained Emma’s …
  • … equal ‘for goodness & kindness of heart’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 September [1876] ). …
  • … absorbing would soon be required, but feared that Francis would be unable to resume his …
  • … Darwin received Hooker’s condolences on 13 September , Francis had left Down. Amy was buried in …
  • … plans were set in motion to extend the house to accommodate Francis, and Darwin continued his own …
  • … Hackels bellowing at us yesterday very well’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 27 [September 1876] ). …
  • … Darwin on 29 September (DAR 239.23: 151). By the time Francis returned to Down in late October, Emma …
  • … as contributions to an ongoing botanical conversation. Francis’s ability to read German had given …

Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution

Summary

The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’.  Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…

Matches: 6 hits

  • … furrows radiating on the side of the neck of his son Francis when he was playing the flute. …
  • … Darwin received a string of letters from his cousin Francis Galton, reporting on his efforts to …
  • … by breaking adjacent veins into one’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 25 June 1870 ). Occasionally …
  • … the latest litters has a white forefoot’  ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 May 1870 ). But in …
  • … an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you Francis completed his studies at Cambridge, …
  • … an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 18 October [1870] ). …

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: 8 hits

  • … by people wanting copies’, Darwin wrote to his son Francis on 28 February . Demand continued …
  • … liberal or orthodox. The American philosopher and journalist Francis Ellingwood Abbot incorporated …
  • … man & we were the best of friends’, he wrote to his son Francis on 28 February . However, …
  • … Darwin had been receiving regular reports from his cousin Francis Galton on the progress of …
  • … in order to facilitate cross-circulation ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
  • … science ( letter to Horace Darwin, [15 December 1871] ). Francis was now studying medicine at St …
  • … of Trinity College, planned a trip to America, and invited Francis and two Cambridge friends. Darwin …
  • …  be almost superhuman virtue to give it up’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 May [1871] ). Darwin …

Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms

Summary

‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … Mr Butler whatever.’ Power of movement With Francis’s assistance, the last of Darwin’s …
  • … of the nervous system, and the nature of ‘sensitivity’. Francis Balfour described Movement in …
  • … the intake of stones and flints to aid digestion. He asked Francis to check for castings on old …
  • … rightly thought the ‘queer subject’ of interest to Francis Galton, who had already taken thumb …
  • … William’s interest in geology, and longed to see Francis elected fellow of the Royal Society. He …

Cross and self fertilisation

Summary

The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … 8 January 1876] ). It was his cousin, the statistician Francis Galton, who provided a statistical …
  • … to publish the report in the introduction to the book ( To Francis Galton, 13 January [1876] ). …
  • … 6 June 1876] ). The project proved to be too complex and Francis Darwin later recalled, ‘the …
  • … birth of Darwin’s first grandchild, a son born to Amy and Francis Darwin on 7 September, suddenly …
  • … if, as I expect, you find it too much for you’ ( To Francis Darwin, 16 September [1876] ). Francis
  • … have accepted all, though some slightly modified’ ( To Francis Darwin, 20 September [1876] ). …
  • … ‘Your corrections are very good & very useful’ ( To Francis Darwin   25 September [1876] ). …

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: 1 hits

  • … luncheon fare. Letter 8296 —Darwin to Francis Galton, 21 April [1872] In this …

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: 2 hits

  • … in Darwinismus '; ' It piles up the glory and would please Francis '. Darwin' …
  • … Erasmus's character and restored his good reputation. Francis Galton was pleased to have been …

3.3 Maull and Polyblank photo 2

Summary

< Back to Introduction Despite the difficulties that arose in relation to Maull and Polyblank’s first photograph of Darwin, another one was produced, this time showing him in three-quarter view. It was evidently not taken at the same session as the…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … the dating of Darwin portraits, claimed in his Life of Francis Galton that the photograph was …
  • … The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (1887), edited by Francis Darwin (with a caption querying …
  • … to illustrate an article on Darwin’s botanical work by Francis Darwin. It was adapted for a …
  • … ‘A reminiscence of Mr. Darwin’ [by James Hague]. Francis Darwin, ‘The botanical work of Darwin’, in …
  • … p. 1, B3. Karl Pearson, The Life, Letters and Labours of Francis Galton , 3 vols (Cambridge: …

3.8 Leonard Darwin, interior photo

Summary

< Back to Introduction Leonard Darwin, who created the distinctive image of his father sitting on the verandah at Down House, also portrayed him as a melancholy philosopher. His head, brightly lit from above, emerges from the enveloping darkness; he…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … in the Illustrirte Zeitung of Leipzig in 1882 . Francis Darwin lent the woodburytype of …
  • … 2010), pp. 6-83, fig. 22. A copy of the photograph in the Galton archive, University College London, …
Page:  1 2  Next
letter