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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: 24 hits
- … Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas by the German science writer Ernst Krause. Darwin’s preoccupation with …
- … his publishers, he warned that it was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
- … turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June …
- … home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26 …
- … many blessings, was finding old age ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
- … wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
- … itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
- … office to complete Horace’s marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
- … but they were ‘as nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
- … Darwin as ‘the deep thinker’, while friends such as Ernst Haeckel, who had rebutted the physician …
- … now widely accepted in Germany. ‘On this festive day’, Haeckel told Darwin, ‘you can look back, with …
- … on your life’s work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
- … to wish Darwin a ‘long and serene evening of life’. This letter crossed with one from Darwin, …
- … the statement ‘In the beginning was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). …
- … theory of development in connection with Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Kosmos was, as …
- … as the ‘organ of “uncultivated materialism”’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). …
- … up the glory & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 …
- … wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879 …
- … might end up ‘interfering with each other’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 27 March 1879 ). Darwin’s aim …
- … an introduction ‘almost indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin welcomed …
- … into ridicule. He hates scientific men’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 May 1879 ). From the …
- … the views of the other botanists. He was glad to know that Ernst Stahl and Albert Bernhard Frank did …
- … 6 March [1879] ). When Darwin’s staunch German defender Ernst Haeckel was in England, he was …
- … to Darwin about ‘Darwinism in Germany’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 30 August 1879 ). However, the …
Photograph album of German and Austrian scientists
Summary
The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade, and contained 165 portraits of German and Austrian scientists. The work was lavishly produced and bound in blue velvet with metal embossing. Its ornate…
Matches: 8 hits
- … in larger portraits at the centre or the top of the page. Ernst Haeckel was given special prominence …
- … is by far the greatest honour which I have ever received ( Letter to Ernst Haeckel, 16 February …
- … to them when first laid before the scientific world.— ( Letter from Leonard Blomefield, 12 March …
- … in Germany. Despite being the instigator, it appears that Haeckel was not satisfied with the final …
- … on mutual adaptation. Also featured was the science writer Ernst Krause, who edited Kosmos , a …
- … which I don’t feel myself worth to give you ( Letter from J. V. Carus, 22 March 1877 ) …
- … man is to my understanding his scientific work. ( Letter from C. G. Semper, 26 April 1877 ) …
- … Sir, will kindly incorporate it in the German album ( Letter from Carl Kraus , 10 February 1878 …
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
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
- … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
- … Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). …
- … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
- … Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January …
- … to take so sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March …
- … sent an apology for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); …
- … numbers and sex ratios among the Pitcairn islanders ( letter from William Dealtry, 16 January 1874 …
- … will say that I have pounded the enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). …
- … by none but anatomists; and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). …
- … the return on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 …
- … by the conciseness & clearness of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). …
- … legal action over the ‘scurrilous libel’ on his son ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [27 July 1874] ). …
- … ), preferring to attack Mivart in print, as in his review of Ernst Haeckel’s Anthropogenie in …
- … of Darwin’s work. His controversial German admirer, Ernst Haeckel, sent the fifth edition of his …
- … educated persons here in Germany’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 20 December 1874 ). …
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: 25 hits
- … Hooker, ‘or as far as I know any scientific man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December [1878] ). …
- … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
- … when he finds out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] …
- … Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). …
- … accursed German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June …
- … have nobody to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] …
- … but it is horrid not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). …
- … determine whether they had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 …
- … ‘There is one machine we must have’, Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July …
- … ‘He seems to me to jump to conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] …
- … the pot-plant every day & never the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July …
- … ‘I have borrowed Cieselski & read him,’ he reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878 …
- … books & red-wine which is here the cure for all evils’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [24 and 25 …
- … is very sweet & pretty,’ he added a week later ( letter to Francis Darwin, 14 July [1878] ). …
- … in a booboo, whereas I ought to have said a gee-gee’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 17 July [1878] ). …
- … close down on the object, but he will always do so’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 August [1878] ). …
- … idiot, a deaf-mute, a monkey & a baby in your house!’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 2 September …
- … that I want to play the part of a thieving wasp’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 21 June 1878 ). …
- … than zoology, where his work had been more controversial ( letter from J.-B. Dumas and Joseph …
- … me Dr Darwin, the title seems to me quite ridiculous’ ( letter to John Price, 2 April [1878] ). …
- … of the “imperfection of the Geological Record”’ ( letter from Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár, 28 …
- … science our atlas would not have come together’ ( letter from Arnold Dodel-Port, 18 June 1878 ). …
- … or religious prejudice. An engineer in Bohemia addressed his letter to ‘the inspired hermit of Down’ …
- … in September 1877, Darwin’s outspoken supporter Ernst Haeckel championed the teaching of evolution …
- … in Germany, as if they had been school-boys’ ( letter to Karl von Scherzer, 1 April 1878 ). …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 27 hits
- … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
- … of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
- … book would take the form of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But …
- … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
- … would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from Dallas to …
- … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
- … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
- … reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from the Isle of Wight on the formation …
- … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
- … ignorant article… . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] …
- … ‘he is a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] …
- … wrote of the colour of duck claws on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d C. …
- … proved very fruitful. On 1 May , Darwin received a letter from George Cupples, who was encouraged …
- … with the enthusiastic breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous …
- … of science On 27 February , Darwin sent a letter of thanks to the naturalist and …
- … he later added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). …
- … to various classes, a dim ray of light may be gained’ ( letter to H. T. Stainton, 21 February [1868 …
- … as well as of ‘victorious males getting wives’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 25 February [1868] ). …
- … of females was remarked upon by other entomologists ( letter from Roland Trimen, 20 February 1868 …
- … and Coleoptera on 9 September . Darwin annotated a letter sent on 3 April by Henry Doubleday …
- … for as sure as life he wd find the odour sexual!’ ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] …
- … George Robert Crotch, writing to his mother Emma in a letter dated [after 16 October 1868] : ‘I …
- … box of preparations to papa … I will write a less beetley letter soon.’ Other relations …
- … present had taken no particular interest in the dyed hen ( letter from Harrison Weir, 28 March 1868 …
- … in the great question of the “Origin of Species”’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 4 October 1868 ). …
- … different order of pride was expressed on 9 November by Ernst Haeckel on the birth of his son …
- … Lepus Darwinii in honour of his hero ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 22 June 1868 ). Darwin …
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: 24 hits
- … among them Robert Caspary, John Traherne Moggridge, and Ernst Haeckel, and also a meeting with …
- … Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But …
- … able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
- … once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
- … see you out with our beagles before the season is over’ ( letter from John Lubbock, 4 August 1866 …
- … work doing me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). …
- … production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
- … of “Domestic Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] …
- … good deal I think, & have come to more definite views’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December …
- … ‘I quite follow you in thinking Agassiz glacier-mad’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8[–9] September …
- … ten times more than the belief of a dozen physicists’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 February 1866] …
- … past few years. Emma described the Royal Society event in a letter to George: ‘Your father … entered …
- … you—& told me to worship Bence Jones in future—’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 May 1866 ). …
- … 3 calls! & then went for ¾ to Zoolog. Garden!!!!!!!!!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 April 1866 …
- … delighted to come on those terms so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [ c . 10 May …
- … very much to see him, though I dread all exertion’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [12 May 1866] ). …
- … prevailed over considerations of health in this case. Ernst Haeckel Nor could Darwin …
- … to Madeira. His visit to Down House is described in a letter from Henrietta to George: ‘when first …
- … most magnificent eulogium which it has ever received’ ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 18 August [1866] …
- … like myself weak in his Greek, is something dreadful’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December [1866] …
- … progressive, teleological development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). …
- … His drawings of C. scoparius , sent to Darwin with his letter of 8 May [1866] , allowed …
- … initial state of dimorphism’ (Correspondence vol. 9, letter from Asa Gray, 11 October 1861 ). …
- … that the species was ‘merely ordinaryly diœcious’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [7 May – 11 June 1866 …
Was Darwin an ecologist?
Summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.
Matches: 22 hits
- … Despite the difference in language between Darwin’s letter and the modern scientific paper quoted …
- … was coined by the German scientist and theorist Ernst Haeckel in 1866. ‘By ecology, we mean the …
- … the broad sense, all the “conditions of existence.”’ (Ernst Haeckel, Generelle Morphologie 2: 286; …
- … and some of his correspondents complained mildly about Haeckel’s propensity for making up words, but …
- … daresay very well, & for coining new words.’ See the letter The word first appeared …
- … in his letters. However, Darwin’s Origin of species was Haeckel’s primary inspiration for his …
- … of organisms to their environment for some time before Haeckel thought of a word for the activity; …
- … will no doubt continue to change in the future. Indeed, when Haeckel coined the term ecology he …
- … and left such study to an ‘uncritical’ natural history (Haeckel 1866, 2: 286–7; see also Stauffer …
- … for atheism, but as Darwin himself acknowledged in a letter to Mary Boole, it was more satisfactory …
- … as a result of the direct intervention of God. See the letter We may contrast Darwin’s …
- … sucks it, must have! It is a very pretty case.’ See the letter Darwin was confident …
- … Darwin’s caution is evident in his correspondence with Haeckel, himself a passionate theorist who …
- … upheaval that he was confident Darwin’s work would cause. Haeckel acknowledged himself to have been …
- … on me, as your theory of the evolution of species’, Haeckel wrote to Darwin on 9 July 1864 . ‘In …
- … to know nature as she really is.’ It seems from Haeckel’s letter that what most struck him …
- … history of creation’. Darwin’s response to Haeckel’s request for an account of his great …
- … fact it must have been obvious to everyone except, perhaps, Haeckel himself, that Darwin’s aims and …
- … reign of law. London: Alexander Strahan. Haeckel, Ernst. German zoologist. Hobbes, …
- … Levey, et al . New York: CABI Publishing. Haeckel, Ernst. 1866. Generelle Morphologie der …
- … . 2 vols. Berlin: Georg Reimer. Haeckel, Ernst. 1876. The history of creation: or the …
- … Richards, Robert J. 2008. The tragic sense of life: Ernst Haeckel and the struggle over …
Controversy
Summary
The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…
Matches: 23 hits
- … him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
- … of brotherly love and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. …
- … the nature of such influences as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his book “the law of higgledy-piggledy”. Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, …
- … his views now depends on men eminent in science. Letter 2767 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … public reaction. This exchange of letters with the zoologist Ernst Haeckel, an ardent proponent of …
- … prevail without such aggressive tactics. Letter 5500 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. …
- … reader to take the side of the attacked person. Letter 5533 — Haeckel, E. P. A. to …
- … of the matter, a vigorous attack is essential. Letter 5544 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, …
- … political, and religious differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 …
- … MS, but Darwin will offer to send it to journal. Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his views from anything Darwin wrote to him. Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … he does not feel this alters the justice of case. Letter 2299 — Hooker, J. D. & …
- … reasons for arranging the joint presentation. Letter 2306 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … is now planning a 30-page abstract for a journal. Letter 2337 — Wallace, A. R. to …
- … paper public unaccompanied by his own views. Letter 6024 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
- … of minute variations and sexual selection. Letter 6033 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, …
- … George Darwin’s notes on Wallace’s argument. Letter 6045 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
- … and form new species without being isolated. Letter 6058 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. …
- … relating to sterility that they will never agree. Letter 6095 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … cannot be increased through natural selection. Letter 6104 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
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: 25 hits
- … ‘my wife … poor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
- … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
- … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
- … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
- … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
- … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
- … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
- … him ‘basely’ and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
- … disgrace’ of blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
- … must have been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February …
- … her questions were ‘too silly to deserve an answer’ ( letter from S. B. Herrick, 12 February 1876 …
- … on Dionaea ‘to test the insect eating theory’ ( letter from Peter Henderson, 15 November 1876 …
- … sending Darwin small amendments to his results ( letter from Moritz Schiff, 8 May 1876 ). …
- … to get positive results in this year’s experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March …
- … from an ardent supporter of Darwin, the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel. Opposing Darwin’s views for …
- … passed on to newly formed plastidules. Darwin thought Haeckel’s essay ‘clever & striking’, but …
- … pangenesis into a ‘substantial theory’, Darwin forwarded Haeckel’s essay to him on 29 May. If …
- … in the Encyclopaedia Britannica the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September …
- … and to promote work he admired. He was so interested in a letter from Fritz Müller in Brazil …
- … with the ants that inhabited the trunk that he sent the letter to Nature for publication. ‘It …
- … communicated this information in an article in Nature ( letter from Johann von Fischer, [before …
- … phyllotaxis by the mutual pressure of very young buds’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 June [1876] ). …
- … Scottish shoemaker and ardent naturalist Thomas Edward ( letter from F. M. Balfour, 11 December …
- … live blood-hound which shall hunt it to the death’ ( letter from James Torbitt, 19 April 1876 …
- … were able to host lunches for eminent German visitors, first Haeckel on the 26 September, and then …
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: 29 hits
- … The death of Hugh Falconer Darwin’s first letter to Hooker of 1865 suggests that the family …
- … having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
- … his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium …
- … may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
- … always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
- … for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
- … gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … ineffective, and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] …
- … of anything, & that almost exclusively bread & meat’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 August [1865] …
- … better, attributing the improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] …
- … he was ‘able to write about an hour on most days’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 22 December [1865] ). …
- … others very forward, except the last & concluding one’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 March [1865] …
- … my book will be ready for the press in the autumn’ ( letter to John Murray, 4 April [1865] ). In …
- … however, ‘I am never idle when I can do anything’ ( letter to John Murray, 2 June [1865] ). It was …
- … might be more willing to bear the expense of the woodcuts ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865 …
- … & I loathe the whole subject like tartar emetic’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 January [1865] ) …
- … you will be an unnatural parent, for it is your child’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 19 April 1865 ; …
- … needed for references, probably from the Linnean Society ( letter to [Richard Kippist], 4 June …
- … in or before November 1864 ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to Ernst Haeckel, 21 November [1864 …
- … 1865 that he had just finished hearing it read aloud ( letter to Fritz Müller, 10 August [1865] ). …
- … Linnean Society for publication in Müller’s name ( see letter from Fritz Müller, [12 and 31 August, …
- … so weak that I am not able to do any scientific work’ ( letter to Fritz Müller, 20 September [1865] …
- … coloured varieties (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to John Scott, 19 November [1862] ). …
- … species arising’ ( Correspondence vol. 9, letter to J. D. Hooker, 28 September [1861] ). …
- … experiments in 1863 (see Correspondence vol. 11, letter from John Scott, 21 September [1863] …
- … India in late 1864, despite suffering from sea-sickness ( letter from John Scott, 21 July 1865 ). …
- … though he praised Scott’s ‘industry & ability’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [10 March 1865] ). …
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: 25 hits
- … do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ) …
- … to her liking, ‘to keep in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). …
- … and had forsaken his lunch and dinner in order to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 …
- … they believe to be the truth, whether pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). …
- … and Oldham … They club together to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). …
- … one’s n th . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). …
- … habits, furnished with a tail and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) …
- … ‘will-power’ and the heavy use of their arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 …
- … in order to make it darker than the hair on his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 …
- … together with an image of an orang-utan foetus ( letter from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871 ). …
- … of himself, adding that it made a ‘very poor return’ ( letter to Hinrich Nitsche, 25 April [1871] …
- … each night, returning to its allotted space each morning ( letter from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871 …
- … without having a high aesthetic appreciation of beauty ( letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 …
- … endowment of spiritual life’ at some time in the past ( letter from Roland Trimen, 17 and 18 April …
- … to the white’. Darwin thanked Innes for his ‘pleasant letter’, but asserted his antipathy to human …
- … myself a good way ahead of you, as far as this goes’ ( letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). …
- … ‘whereas the baboon is as the Creator made it’ ( letter from George Morrish, 18 March 1871 ). …
- … could also redeem the wayward author of Descent ( letter from a child of God, [after 24 …
- … with the most deep and tender religious feeling’ ( letter from F. E. Abbot, 20 August 1871 ). The …
- … charges of atheism amongst his ‘clerical brethren’ ( letter from George Henslow, 5 December 1871 ) …
- … from one and the same catarrhine monkey !’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 21 December 1871 ). …
- … review as ‘a windbag full of metaphysics & classics’ ( letter to John Murray, 13 April [1871] …
- … law &c’, and transmitted by culture, not biology ( letter from John Morley, 30 March 1871 ). …
- … dog when it was confronted by the presence of its master. ( Letter from Hensleigh Wedgwood, [3–9 …
- … sense was especially troubling to Emma, as indicated in a letter that she wrote to Cobbe on 25 …
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute
Summary
Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…
Matches: 29 hits
- … supporters to write to his most vociferous German champion, Ernst Haeckel, to encourage him to tone …
- … suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a Book’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 January [1867] …
- … to the printer, but without the additional chapter. In a letter written on 8 February [1867] to …
- … books, Descent and Expression . In the same letter, Darwin revealed the conclusion to his …
- … variation of animals and plants under domestication . In a letter to his son William dated 27 …
- … of his brother’s embryological papers with his first letter to Darwin of 15 March 1867 , although …
- … . Indeed, he told his publisher, John Murray, in a letter of 4 April [1867] , not to send …
- … tell me, at what rate your work will be published’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). This …
- … & sent to him, he may wish to give up the task’ ( letter to Carl Vogt, 12 April [1867] ). …
- … fit person’ to introduce the work to the German public ( letter from J. V. Carus, 15 April 1867 ). …
- … Vogt should translate my book in preference to you’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 18 April [1867] ). …
- … varieties at the eye, which resulted in a mottled hybrid ( letter from Robert Trail, 5 April 1867 …
- … seems to me, if true, a wonderful physiological fact’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). …
- … it will be a somewhat important step in Biology’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 22 August [1867] ). …
- … if you attack it & me with unparalleled ferocity’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 November [1867] …
- … own discretion; anyhow most ought to be introduced’ ( letter to W. S. Dallas, 8 November [1867] ). …
- … however, & I cannot get on so quickly as I could wish’ (letter from W. S. Dallas, 20 November …
- … with me about 27 years old In a letter of 22 February [1867] to Fritz Müller in …
- … chapter on the cause or meaning of Expression.’ With this letter Darwin enclosed a list of questions …
- … ‘Queries about Expression’. In a postscript to the letter he added, ‘But you must not plague …
- … that Darwin send his queries to foreign newspapers. The letter also reveals that he did not share …
- … work in some “supplemental remarks on expression”’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [12–17] March [1867] …
- … of no one to send them to, so do not want any more’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). …
- … for the year 1867. In his 15 April [1867] letter to Gray , Darwin commented, ‘I have been …
- … further ( Variation 2: 75). In notes for his reply to a letter from Edward Blyth dated 19 …
- … on sexual differences in mammals and birds. In his letter to Fritz Müller of 22 February [1867] , …
- … topic on a theoretical level was Alfred Russel Wallace. In a letter to Wallace written on 23 …
- … one of his most devoted supporters, the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, to moderate his public …
- … of the truth of his own conclusions’ ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 April [1867] ). All …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
Matches: 27 hits
- … of the five physicians Darwin had consulted in 1863. In a letter of 26[–7] March [1864] , Darwin …
- … and he received more letters of advice from Jenner. In a letter of 15 December [1864] to the …
- … As Darwin explained to his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of 30 November [1864] , ‘the …
- … observations indoors ( Correspondence vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin …
- … gradation by which leaves produce tendrils’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [8 February 1864] ). …
- … fearfully for it is a leaf climber & therefore sacred’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 June [1864] …
- … matters which routinists regard in the light of axioms’ ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864 …
- … long series of changes . . .’ When he told Asa Gray in a letter of 29 October [1864] that he was …
- … paper was published, Darwin remarked to Hooker in a letter of 26 November [1864] that nothing …
- … of the two species with the common oxlip. In a letter of 22 October [1864] , Darwin triumphantly …
- … the ‘splendid case of Dimorphism’ in Menyanthes ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. …
- … this interest. At the start of the year, he received a letter, insect specimens, and an article on …
- … that it was ‘the best medicine for my stomach’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 17 February [1864] ). …
- … at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in 1862 with a letter regarding the fertilisation of the …
- … two years, with his stipend being paid by Darwin himself ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [1 April 1864] …
- … is difficult enough to play your part over them’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 April 1864] ). …
- … troublesome … they do require very careful treatment’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 8 April 1864 ). …
- … the conclusion that in giving I am hastening the fall’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 April 1864 ) …
- … his indomitable perseverance, and his knowledge’ ( letter to John Scott, 10 June 1864 ). Hooker …
- … basis he recommended a first-class cabin for the journey ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 August …
- … and curators at a great distance. Gray forwarded a letter from Charles Wright, a plant collector in …
- … to the materialist philosophy of Ludwig Buchner ( letter from Hermann Kindt, 5 September 1864 ). …
- … by a former governess at Down House, Camilla Ludwig. From Ernst Haeckel, Darwin learned of the …
- … himself. Haeckel’s scientific life, he reported in a letter of 9 [July 1864] , had been …
- … often called me her German “Darwin–Mann” ’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 10 August 1864 ). Haeckel …
- … to listen to any thing from him except á la Darwin!’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 November 186[4] …
- … 1864a, p. 567). In 1864, Darwin received his first letter from Benjamin Dann Walsh, a new …
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: 5 hits
- … 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
- … [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
- … in a broader context. He told his long-time supporter Ernst Haeckel, ‘It is really wonderful what an …
- … seems almost to require changes in the conditions’ ( To Ernst Haeckel, 13 November 1875 ). He …
- … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …
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: 21 hits
- … often seeking direction for their own. Mary Boole’s letter In December 1866 Darwin …
- … of Science & the promises of religion. See the letter Boole, like a number …
- … meeting point should still be far off. See the letter In his response to Boole …
- … feeling. But he does not venture into such territory in this letter to a stranger. Emma …
- … description of my state of mind. See the letter In this letter, Darwin is …
- … & I cannot help being open with you. See the letter We know from Darwin’s …
- … means so in eternity. There is a marked tension in Emma’s letter between reason and feeling, and …
- … as a guide to moral conduct, as in his remarks on Paul’s letter to Galatians, chapter six: ‘read …
- … it derive from inner feelings or instincts? In a letter written to Charles several months …
- … trying to learn the truth, you cannot be wrong … See the letter Yet she is concerned …
- … mutual concern for many years. Huxley, Wallace, and Haeckel The value of methodical …
- … by adopting … the first fashionable view. Letter from T. H. Huxley to H. A. Heathorn, …
- … life. Huxley could not accept this, but Kingsley’s letter opened a line of communication that …
- … conception of entire surrender to the will of God.’ (Letter from T. H. Huxley to C. Kingsley, …
- … role model. Darwin’s leading German supporter, Ernst Haeckel, complained to Darwin in 1867, …
- … blows are everywhere necessary. See the letter Darwin is often portrayed as …
- … controversy, allowing others like Huxley, Wallace, and Haeckel to battle on his behalf. Darwin did …
- … would alienate potential allies and disturb old allegiances. Haeckel’s letter had been prompted by …
- … of the truth of his own conclusions. See the letter Cautious style and self …
- … style also left him vulnerable to critics, as Wallace and Haeckel pointed out. To this day, Darwin’s …
- … reference to the present time (London: Elliot Stock). Haeckel, Ernst. German zoologist. …
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: 22 hits
- … of respect and affection’. He hinted as much in his letter of 4 June : ‘you will see I have done …
- … have shared Hooker’s suspicion of ambitious gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August …
- … method of recording leaf motion for extended periods. In a letter to Thiselton-Dyer of 11 October …
- … … tap one of the young leaves with a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). …
- … , or to the vibratory flagella of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). …
- … in July 1877 (F. Darwin 1877b), and Darwin sent Cohn’s letter vindicating his son’s research to …
- … of colour sense. Darwin had written to the editor Ernst Ludwig Krause on 30 June 1877 , ‘I have …
- … his sense of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October …
- … der Entwickelungslehre in Verbindung mit Charles Darwin und Ernst Haeckel (Journal for uniform …
- … the Westphalian Provincial Society for Science and Art. In a letter to Darwin written before 16 …
- … by institution. The most prominent ‘torchbearer’ was Ernst Haeckel, whose portrait appeared first …
- … (see Appendix V). The album arrived with a long letter from the director and secretary of the …
- … age. The Dutch album and the letters from Rade and Haeckel both refer to Darwin’s 69th birthday, and …
- … reported, ‘but found him as soft & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ) …
- … write to Owen & offer himself you & me to dejeuner!!!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 June …
- … where I hope it may remain for centuries to come’ ( letter from C. C. Graham, 30 January 1877 ). …
- … you in the interests of truth, of man and of societies’ ( letter from Marcellin de Bonnal, [1877] …
- … to the old story to be horsewhipped by a duke!’ ( letter to J. M. Rodwell, 3 June 1877 ). Back …
- … frog spawn; the gospel of dirt the order of the day’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 27 January [1877] …
- … credence to racist prejudice in Descent of man . In a letter from an unknown correspondent on …
- … ancestry. The German zoologist and physician Carl Theodor Ernst von Siebold sent photographs of a …
- … the subjects of Siebold’s study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October …
3.14 Julia Margaret Cameron, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction In the summer of 1868 Darwin took a holiday on the Isle of Wight with his immediate family, his brother Erasmus, and his friend Joseph Hooker. The family’s accommodation at Freshwater was rented from the photographer Julia…
Matches: 4 hits
- … in a constant interplay between the icon and the actuality. Ernst Haeckel recalled his first …
- … tonal subtlety of the original; as Darwin complained in a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace, the image …
- … Hooker to Darwin, 30 Aug. 1868 (DCP-LETT-6333). Darwin’s letter to Wallace, 5 Dec. [1869] (DCP-LETT …
- … who was then in London (DCP-LETT-11597F). ‘Professor Haeckel on Darwin’ in Times (28 Sept. 1882) …
Interview with John Hedley Brooke
Summary
John Hedley Brooke is President of the Science and Religion Forum as well as the author of the influential Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 1991). He has had a long career in the history of science and…
Matches: 4 hits
- … to the fear displayed by monkeys. He writes about this in a letter in 1881 to William Graham : …
- … press one’s heterodoxy onto others. And you refer to a letter from Joseph Hooker to Darwin in 1865 …
- … aggressive stance ? one typified, say, by Thomas Huxley or Ernst Haeckel ? are these people more …
- … in the 19th century or whether we should look to Huxley and Haeckel and others as being more typical …
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…
