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Henrietta Huxley
Summary
A colourful and insightful exchange occurred in 1865 in a light-hearted conversation between Darwin and Henrietta Huxley, the wife of Darwin’s friend and colleague, Thomas Henry Huxley. Like her husband, Henrietta was a close friend and great champion of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … a light-hearted conversation between Darwin and Henrietta Huxley , the wife of Darwin’s friend …
- … Here, Henrietta makes reference to an 1860 debate between T. H. Huxley and the Bishop of Oxford in …
- … Though reports of the confrontation between the Bishop and Huxley were mixed at the time, the …
- … suggests that, while it evidently still loomed large in Huxley and Darwin’s imagination, it was at …
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: 21 hits
- … by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August 1874] ). …
- … researcher Frederick William Henry Myers, and Thomas Henry Huxley, who sent a long report to Darwin …
- … Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin …
- … that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874] ). This …
- … allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). Back …
- … and disease in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and …
- … additions to Descent was an eight-page note written by Huxley with the aim of ending a dispute …
- … ape and human brains, he asked for a clarifying note from Huxley (Desmond and Moore 2004, pp. xxxv …
- … anatomists; and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). The …
- … published views. In December, he sought advice from Huxley and Hooker, sending them a draft …
- … review ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1874 ). Huxley stepped in, shunning Mivart at an …
- … Catholic priest and friend of Mivart’s, who was attending Huxley’s lectures. Father Roberts’s manner …
- … of Hooker’s and Huxley’s representations ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December [1874] ). Huxley …
- … the offender & give him the cold shoulder’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 23 December 1874 ). He …
- … to Darwin’s satisfaction. Assisted in the wording by his wife, Emma, and daughter Henrietta, he …
- … that had been attacked by her canaries ( letter from T. M. Story-Maskelyne, 4 May 1874 ). In a …
- … with extracts from a dog’s stomach ( letter from T. L. Brunton, 28 February 1874 ), and Edward …
- … to D. F. Nevill, 18 September [1874] ).Francis’s new wife, Amy, drew the plant ( letter to Francis …
- … details of an Australian variety of sundew ( letter from T. C. Copland, 23 June 1874 ). …
- … 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 …
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: 13 hits
- … Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin thanks Mary Whitby …
- … J. L to Darwin, [8 & 9 May 1869] Jane Loring Gray, wife of American naturalist Asa Gray …
- … pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., [30 January 1868] …
- … to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] Anne Jane Cupples, wife of the Scottish scientist George …
- … Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, [1873] Ellen Lubbock, wife of naturalist John Lubbock, …
- … Letter 9426 - Story-Maskelyne , T. M. to Darwin, [23 April 1874] Thereza …
- … buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] …
- … in a tin box. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] …
- … Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [2 September 1847] Darwin questions Mrs. …
- … improvement. He is particularly concerned that Hooker’s wife found the content obscure, even after …
- … can understand it. Letter 3896 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H, [before 25 February 1863] …
- … daughter, Henrietta. Letter 4010 - Huxley, T. H. to Darwin, [25 February 1863] …
- … Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [2 September 1847] Darwin asks Mrs. Whitby …
Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics
Summary
On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…
Matches: 10 hits
- … some of those whose support he most wanted: Thomas Henry Huxley, William Benjamin Carpenter, and …
- … would have been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A chronological …
- … yet understand the concept of natural selection. Even Huxley, an avowed supporter, proved a …
- … inter se ,’ Darwin’s theory would remain unproven (T. H. Huxley 1860a). Darwin had long …
- … animal groups could give rise to new species, Darwin found Huxley’s lecture irritating and …
- … the geographical distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 ). But Baer …
- … earlier sessions, including the Thursday meeting at which Huxley and Owen ‘had a furious battle over …
- … ‘for half an hour’, ridiculing Darwin ‘badly & Huxley savagely’. Huxley rose in response and …
- … tried to answer the Bishop in such an assembly,’ he told Huxley; nonetheless he believed that ‘this …
- … his theory. ‘I can pretty plainly see’, he commented to Huxley on 2 December, ‘that if my view is …
The "wicked book": Origin at 157
Summary
Origin is 157 years old. (Probably) the most famous book in science was published on 24 November 1859. To celebrate we have uploaded hundreds of new images of letters, bringing the total number you can look at here to over 9000 representing more than…
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 15 hits
- … intended for publication in Variation , to Thomas Henry Huxley for evaluation, and persuaded his …
- … the improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] ). It was not until …
- … of species; for if he is correct, we certainly have what Huxley calls new physiological species …
- … health had been particularly bad, Darwin sent Thomas Henry Huxley a fair copy of a manuscript in …
- … hypothesis of pangenesis’, as it later became, to Huxley’s judgment with some trepidation. ‘It is a …
- … can hang on it a good many groups of facts.’ ( Letter to T. H. Huxley, 27 May [1865] .) The …
- … to Darwin of this hypothesis is obvious from his letter to Huxley, despite his apparent modesty, and …
- … was to all appearances his usual method of working. He asked Huxley not for detailed criticism, but …
- … from Darwin’s letter to him of 12 July [1865] . Huxley had evidently pointed out some similarity …
- … just & I will try to persuade myself not to publish.’ Huxley swiftly qualified what Darwin had …
- … anticipation of our modern Theories—and that stupid ass, Huxley, prevented his publishing them”… I …
- … of the only clue at present accessible—and don’t give the Philistines more chances of blaspheming …
- … work of reconciliation seems in the end to have been done by Huxley. In fact, Darwin’s immediate …
- … from F. H. Hooker, [27 January 1865] ); before June his wife, Frances, had a miscarriage, from …
- … on the affair, to her mother, ends, ‘I wish people weren’t so foolish’;. In November, Darwin and …
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: 6 hits
- … enclosed a copy of an article replying to Thomas Henry Huxley’s scathing review of Genesis of …
- … for myself it is dreadful doing nothing’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 October [1872] ). He was far …
- … muscles when attending women in labour ( letter from J. T. Rothrock, 25 November 1872 ); others …
- … ). Plants that move and eat `Now, pray don’t run off on some other track till you have …
- … 23 December 1872, CD note ), and he exclaimed to Thomas Huxley that he would like a society formed, …
- … of ill health to one correspondent that Emma protested: `My wife commands me to say, & I can say …
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: 7 hits
- … 1 February 1880 ). Even the great controversialist Thomas Huxley recommended silence: ‘take no …
- … in the worm’s gizzard.’ While on honeymoon with his new wife, Ida, in the Alps, Horace spotted worms …
- … to Emma Darwin, 2 September 1880 ). In April, Thomas Huxley had delivered an address at the Royal …
- … thought that you meant the maturity of the subject, until my wife one day remarked, “yes it is about …
- … claim is not that he is in need, so much as that he can’t find employment’ ( Correspondence vol. …
- … In October, Darwin had discussions with John Lubbock and Huxley and was encouraged about Wallace’s …
- … be a very great relief to me and if such men as Darwin & Huxley think I may accept it I …
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: 12 hits
- … would no doubt do if we had proper data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter …
- … to see Thomson’s work challenged by both Thomas Henry Huxley and Wallace. He confided to Huxley, ‘I …
- … been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
- … in India and Africa. The American botanist Asa Gray and his wife, Jane Loring Gray , who spent …
- … and fossil discoveries in Patagonia and Wales ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 May 1869 , letter …
- … part at Darwin’s most outspoken British supporter, Thomas Huxley, whose address ‘The physical basis …
- … “punctum saliens” of the whole meeting was decidedly Huxley’s answer to D r M c Cann. He …
- … man’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 7 September 1869 ). Huxley playfully groused that as usual …
- … greater fools of themselves than they did’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 28 September 1869 ). …
- … into which … I do not care to follow him’ ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 9 October 1869 ). Farrer …
- … Freedom and Will and High Design—’ (letter from T. H. Farrer, 13 October 1869). …
- … to set foot on summit of a mountain.—’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 9 July [1869] ). Earlier …
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: 10 hits
- … letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). Thomas Henry Huxley marvelled that Darwin had been …
- … th . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). Asa Gray …
- … was circulated within the family and commented upon by his wife and children. William offered his …
- … Mivart. An expert on primates and a former protegé of Huxley’s, Mivart had written several articles …
- … Agassiz, Abraham Dee Bartlett, Albert Günther, George Busk, T. H. Huxley, Osbert Salvin, and William …
- … , published the following year. Darwin was also pleased that Huxley took up the defence in an …
- … and misquoting of both Darwin and Catholic theology (T. H. Huxley 1871). Huxley judged Mivart to be …
- … ‘accursed Popery and fear for his soul’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley and H. A. Huxley, 20 September …
- … from Napoleon de la Fleurière, 8 April [1871] ); while Huxley looked forward two thousand years, …
- … themselves with the reflection that ‘Truth doesn’t die’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 28 September …
What did Darwin believe?
Summary
What did Darwin really believe about God? the Christian revelation? the implications of his theory of evolution for religious faith? These questions were asked again and again in the years following the publication of Origin of species (1859). They are…
Matches: 14 hits
- … presented Emma as playing the traditional role of Victorian wife, supportive of her husband. Her …
- … Erasmus, and of Emma’s brother, Hensleigh Wedgwood and his wife Fanny. In the early years of …
- … ongoing discussion and mutual concern for many years. Huxley, Wallace, and Haeckel The …
- … be asserted by one of Darwin’s leading proponents, Thomas Huxley. We can see Huxley pleading his …
- … … the first fashionable view. Letter from T. H. Huxley to H. A. Heathorn, October 1847. …
- … Kingsley, who had written to him following the death of Huxley’s first son, Noel, aged 5. Kingsley …
- … many years. ‘The most sacred act of a man’s life,’ Huxley wrote, ‘is to say and to feel, “I believe …
- … and follow the facts without rest or regard for risk.’ Huxley compared this to ‘the Christian …
- … so honest and fair the candid expression of his doubts.” Huxley urged that Darwin’s readers adopt …
- … by unjustified belief.” In support of his claim, Huxley referred to the many passages in …
- … calling attention to the difficulties of his theory. Indeed, Huxley’s own style of debate, often …
- … scientific and social controversy, allowing others like Huxley, Wallace, and Haeckel to battle on …
- … no good, only causes pain. I feel sure that our good friend Huxley, though he has much influence, w …
- … German zoologist. Heathorn, Henrietta. Married Thomas Huxley in 1855. Huxley, Thomas …
Climbing Plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment A monograph by which to work After the publication of On the Origin of Species, Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, The Descent of Man, and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals in…
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Matches: 12 hits
- … W. as having a definite physical effect on her. She cdn’t hear him speak without burying her face in …
- … who attempted it was to be turned out—& fits they didn’t attempt—but otherwise it must have m. …
- … any effect on their lives! & on the other hand if it hasn’t mustn’t it come instead of other …
- … yr. feelings reflected in large bodies, even if one didn’t sympathise I can perfectly understand …
- … been a wretch & they have loved me so. If I cannot be a good wife I have indeed neglected my 10 …
- … ½ hour after the 2nd. post came in seemed so long—I don’t think the next 21 hours w d ever have …
- … Lushingtons. 12 I think he must care—it can’t be only that he thinks I shd be a nice sort …
- … match which is to kindle me. The fire is laid but I can’t set it alight. Could I bear to rake it out …
- … late now. I think it is for better for worse. I can’t help grudging that all the bloom has …
- … is serious—especially as they are very poor—but don’t let me dread so much. I have taught myself …
- … are loved—but tho’ he does not think me good I don’t believe he knows how far off I am— I do think I …
- … 1 Edmund Langton was Henrietta’s cousin; his wife, Emily Caroline , was nicknamed Lena. …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 14 hits
- … witlings of the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice looked to …
- … earnings (the rest going for drinks & supply of pipe) to his wife; who, early & late, with …
- … for him, as he has allied himself to so dreadful a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 …
- … person’. The two men also agreed on the deficiencies of Huxley’s argument that animals were …
- … ( letter from John Collier, 22 February 1882 ; T. H. Huxley 1881, pp. 199–245). Huxley used …
- … to William Jenner, 20 March [1882] ; see also letter from T. L Brunton, 12 February 1882 , and …
- … 4 February 1882 ). Horace had settled in Cambridge with his wife, Ida, and continued to build up …
- … to G. H. Darwin, [ c . 28 March 1882] (DAR 210.3: 45)). Huxley urged Darwin to consult another …
- … can be placed to look after your machinery (I daren’t say automaton ) critically’ ( letter from …
- … were more automata in the world like you’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 27 March 1882 ). Darwin …
- … a few letters shortly after the publication of Origin . Huxley had written a number of glowing …
- … circle; I cannot tell how or where to begin’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 21 [January 1860] ). Darwin …
- … years following Origin, a number of Darwin’s friends, Huxley, John Lubbock, and Charles Lyell, …
- … thinking of the many conversations I have had with the dear wife I have lost, and of the late Mr. …
Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest
Summary
The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…
Matches: 15 hits
- … vigour into scientific work, remarking to Fox, ‘I don’t believe in your theory of moderate mental …
- … submitted a preliminary sketch of pangenesis to Thomas Henry Huxley in 1865 (see Correspondence vol. …
- … hybridisers had been a subject of debate between Darwin and Huxley, who had asserted the importance …
- … Shortly after the new edition was published, Darwin wrote to Huxley, ‘do read the Chapt. on …
- … I think, & have come to more definite views’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December [1866] ). …
- … heard of Agassiz’s views through a letter to Lyell’s wife, Mary Elizabeth Lyell, from Elizabeth …
- … A London holiday In April Darwin went with his wife, Emma, and daughter Henrietta, to London, …
- … interview with Mogg’, she wrote in May, ‘He didn’t scold me at all about fusca & lutea & we …
- … come & pay a morning call but that most likely you wdn’t see him & he said he shd be …
- … It is rather horrible to have another self fertiliser, isn’t it?’), as well as the role that she and …
- … clearly admired parts of the book, but he expressed to Huxley and others certain reservations and …
- … weak in his Greek, is something dreadful’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December [1866] ). …
- … who was sympathetic to Darwin and had previously translated Huxley’s Man’s place in nature , was …
- … prosecution on 2 November 1866. Spencer enclosed a letter by Huxley to the Pall Mall Gazette , …
- … like the bitterness of such a loss,—unless indeed the wife herself’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [9 …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. 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…
Matches: 7 hits
- … codes of conduct and communication in scientific society. Huxley chose journalism, depicting the …
- … Instead of supporting her, he worked closely with Huxley and John Burdon Sanderson to draft an …
- … appoint a Royal Commission to advise on future legislation. Huxley served on the commission, which …
- … , p. 183). Darwin learned of Klein’s testimony from Huxley on 30 October 1875 : ‘I declare to you …
- … at what you say about Klein,’ Darwin replied to Huxley on 1 November . ‘I am very glad he is a …
- … society had been established by a Down solicitor and his wife: ‘Both these undertakings are thorns …
- … career, having studied under George Rolleston at Oxford and Huxley at South Kensington, with …
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: 9 hits
- … roles in creating a private memorial fund for Thomas Henry Huxley, and in efforts to alleviate the …
- … flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August 1873 ). …
- … could be transmitted to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February 1873 ). …
- … a large sum in his own name. Together with Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin drafted an appeal to …
- … it would offend his father ( enclosure to letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 December 1873 ). In …
- … conversation with Emma Darwin, and Darwin began to sound out Huxley’s friends on the matter. The …
- … from J. D. Hooker, [7 April 1873] ). A group of Huxley’s close friends, including Hooker, …
- … happiness to us to the last day of our lives” ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 23 April 1873 ). Huxley …
- … In Darwin’s case, it was his “despotic wife” who forced him to take periodic breaks from work ( …
Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies
Summary
The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…
Matches: 6 hits
- … with the controversy between Richard Owen and Thomas Henry Huxley concerning the anatomical …
- … that their brain structures were strikingly dissimilar. Huxley pointed out, publicly and acerbicly …
- … vol. 9, Appendix VIII).) For his part, Darwin enjoyed Huxley’s sparring with Owen, though …
- … he had nursed a growing animosity toward the man; as he told Huxley at the beginning of the year, he …
- … Owen would ‘never be friends again’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 January [1861] ). Friends …
- … expertise. His old and established friends—Hooker, Gray, Huxley, and Lyell—continued to support his …
Origin
Summary
Darwin’s most famous work, Origin, had an inauspicious beginning. It grew out of his wish to establish priority for the species theory he had spent over twenty years researching. Darwin never intended to write Origin, and had resisted suggestions in 1856…
Matches: 6 hits
- … large-sized pamphlet. ’ On the 4 October, in a letter to T. C. Eyton explaining his change of plans …
- … from trusted readers like Hooker, Lyell, and Thomas Henry Huxley. He chided himself for having asked …
- … ’ By April 1859, he was able to tell Wallace that ‘ Huxley is changed & believes in mutation of …
- … were accidentally placed in the drawer in which Hooker’s wife kept paper for the children to draw on …
- … if they had my materials; but that is no help. ’ Even Huxley’s pointing to a flaw in Darwin’s …
- … in reply, ‘ that if ever I lived to see Lyell, yourself & Huxley come round, partly by my Book …
Darwin and vivisection
Summary
Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…
Matches: 5 hits
- … He reiterated these concerns in a letter to Thomas Henry Huxley ten days later, urging him to work …
- … regular subscriber to the RSPCA, he had campaigned with his wife Emma against the use of steel traps …
- … In drafting the bill on vivisection, he consulted with Huxley and Burdon Sanderson, with legal …
- … was prepared, and printed on 24 April. Burdon Sanderson and Huxley suggested approaching Lyon …
- … Commission on vivisection , Appendix III, p. 338) Huxley and Burdon Sanderson both expressed …
