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Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 25 hits
- … In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to …
- … used these notebooks extensively in dating and annotating Darwin’s letters; the full transcript …
- … *128). For clarity, the transcript does not record Darwin’s alterations. The spelling and …
- … book had been consulted. Those cases where it appears that Darwin made a genuine deletion have been …
- … a few instances, primarily in the ‘Books Read’ sections, Darwin recorded that a work had been …
- … of the books listed in the other two notebooks. Sometimes Darwin recorded that an abstract of the …
- … own. Soon after beginning his first reading notebook, Darwin began to separate the scientific …
- … in the Royal Society of London (Royal Society of London 1839) has been heavily marked, and quite a …
- … Pierquin, published in Paris (in 2 vols.), so long ago as 1839 4 [Pierquin de Gembloux 1839]. …
- … 1814–29] D r Royle on Himmalaya types [Royle 1839] (read) Smellie Philosophy of …
- … 12 by Owen in Encyclop. of Anat. & Physiology [R. Owen 1839] Dampier probably worth …
- … on subjects of science connected with Nat. Theol: [Brougham 1839] on instinct & animal …
- … 1808] Brit. & Foreign Medical Rev. N o 14. Ap 1839 [Anon. 1839b] Rev. on Walker on …
- … [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
- … 1834–40]: In Portfolio of “abstracts” 34 —letter from Skuckard of books on Silk Worm …
- … 1833] (Boot) Leslie life of Constable [Leslie 1843]. (Emma) (read) M rs Fry’s Life …
- … Asiatic Society ]—contains very little Macleay’s letter to D r Fleming [Macleay 1830] …
- … [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
- … Public Library. 3 ‘Books … Read’ is in Emma Darwin’s hand. 4 “”Traité …
- … 6 The text from page [1v.] to page [6] is in Emma Darwin’s hand and was copied from Notebook C, …
- … to old Aristotle.’ ( LL 3: 252). 10 Emma Darwin wrote ‘7 th ’ instead of “3 d “ …
- … 12 A mistranscription for ‘Entozoa’ by Emma Darwin. See Notebook C, p. 266 ( Notebooks ). …
- … wrote ‘Transact’ to replace ‘Journal’ written in Emma Darwin’s hand. 16 Emma Darwin …
- … of the material from these portfolios is in DAR 205, the letter from William Edward Shuckard to …
- … The text from page [1a] to half way down page [5a] is in Emma Darwin’s hand and is a copy of CD’s …
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Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 24 hits
- … The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one …
- … a family Busy as he was with scientific activities, Darwin found time to re-establish family …
- … close contact. In November 1838, two years after his return, Darwin became engaged to his cousin, …
- … they show for one another’s sensibilities. Early in 1839 the couple set up house in London and at …
- … daughter, Anne Elizabeth, moved to Down House in Kent, where Darwin was to spend the rest of his …
- … his greatest theoretical achievement, the most important of Darwin’s activities during the years …
- … identifications of his bird and fossil mammal specimens, Darwin arrived at the daring and momentous …
- … in species. With this new theoretical point of departure Darwin continued to make notes and explore …
- … present in the version of 1859. Young author Darwin’s investigation of the species …
- … the Beagle had returned to England, news of some of Darwin’s findings had been spread by the …
- … great excitement. The fuller account of the voyage and Darwin’s discoveries was therefore eagerly …
- … and set in type by November 1837, though not published until 1839, when it appeared as the third …
- … letters have suffered an even more severe loss. In a letter to Lyell’s sister-in-law, Katharine …
- … of fact . . . on the origin & variation of species” ( Letter to J. S. Henslow, [November 1839] …
- … that he had a sound solution to what J. F. W. Herschel in a letter to Lyell had called the ‘mystery …
- … about searching for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838 …
- … just the same, though I know what I am looking for039; ( Letter to G. R. Waterhouse, [26 July …
- … (Simpson 1961, p. 53). Marriage Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in January 1839. His …
- … ( Correspondence vol. 2, Appendix III). The letters that Emma and Darwin subsequently exchanged …
- … correspondence is that Darwin had evidently communicated to Emma that he had doubts about religion, …
- … as she was, from marrying him. Just after their marriage, Emma states that she has the impression …
- … there were no doubts as to how one ought to act’ ( Letter from Emma Darwin, [ c. February 1839] …
- … for several months (See Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 , …
- … notebook). See also Allan 1977, pp. 128–30). The letter, on ‘Double flowers’ to the …
1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…
Matches: 17 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
- … is unknown. Thus the surviving portraits of Darwin as a young man – other than cartoon …
- … now at Down House, celebrated his marriage in January 1839 to his cousin Emma Wedgwood; the one of …
- … estimate of Richmond’s work can be gauged from a letter which Hooker wrote to Darwin some years …
- … But despite this tendency to prettify, Richmond registered Darwin’s receding hairline, and the …
- … his evolutionary theories. As early as February 1839, Elizabeth Wedgwood had written to her …
- … Italy – or would a portrait by Holmes be preferable?’ Emma in response promised, ‘I will go and get …
- … Richmond did not return from Italy until August or September 1839. Josiah Wedgwood himself wrote to …
- … portraits dating from 1840 which is now at Down House had a Darwin family provenance. After Susan …
- … arranging ‘to send you Richmond’s pictures of self and Emma’: ‘self’ presumably means Charles, and …
- … and from this he established the dates of various Darwin family commissions. In 1840 there were …
- … twelve guineas for a portrait of some kind in December 1839, and a further payment of twelve guineas …
- … lent Richmond’s watercolour drawings of Charles and Emma, with a note that the one of Charles had an …
- … – the only one she knew about – to 1840. However, in Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters …
- … Down House MSS, Darwin’s account books, entry for Dec. 1839. Joseph Hooker, letter to Darwin, 17 …
- … Murray, 1887), vol. 3, p. 371. Henrietta Litchfield (ed.), Emma Darwin: A Century of Family …
- … this seemingly conflicts with the indications in Erasmus’s letter of 1866, quoted above. …
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Science: A Man’s World?
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…
Matches: 16 hits
- … Discussion Questions | Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth …
- … Letters Darwin’s Notes On Marriage [April - July 1838] In these notes, …
- … theories, & accumulating facts in silence & solitude”. Darwin also comments that he has …
- … an hour “with poor Mrs. Lyell sitting by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to …
- … whose attractions are not those of her sex”. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 …
- … her own steam and is a “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, …
- … ornaments in the making of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 …
- … the young, especially ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., …
- … of physiology at Bedford College for girls. Appealing to Emma’s “feminine sympathies”, Cresy is keen …
- … Anderson is “neither masculine nor pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., …
- … to him as a published science author, is a man. Letter 7314 - Kovalevsky, S. to Darwin, …
- … Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum , (1829). Letter 7329 - Murray, J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … to prick up what little is left of them ears”. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
- … almost out of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8079 - Norton, S. R. to Darwin, [20 …
- … but has not read the pamphlet herself. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May …
- … narrative so not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
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Darwin’s observations on his children
Summary
Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children, began the research that culminated in his book The Expression of the emotions in man and animals, published in 1872, and his article ‘A biographical sketch of an infant’, published in Mind…
Matches: 24 hits
- … Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children,[1] began the …
- … is available below . As with much of his other work, Darwin gathered additional information on the …
- … races, lunatics, the blind, and animals. And as early as 1839 Darwin had begun to collect …
- … the expression of emotions. As the following transcript of Darwin’s notes reveals, he closely …
- … William Erasmus, the stages of his development suggesting to Darwin those expressions which are …
- … The tone of the manuscript reflects an aspect of Darwin’s character clearly perceived by Emma during …
- … “What does that prove”.’[6] For in these notes, Darwin’s deep scientific curiosity transcends his …
- … that on occasion he refers to William as ‘it’. Darwin possessed the ability to dissociate …
- … memories.[8] Yet, though the dissociation was essential for Darwin’s scientific goal, the notes here …
- … period but in far less detail. By September 1844, Henrietta Emma was one year old, and there are a …
- … the record breaks off until January 1852, by which time the Darwin family had increased by five: …
- … 1850; and Horace, born 18 May 1851. It appears to have been Emma who resumed the observations on the …
- … the notebook and, with the exception of two brief entries by Emma, made all the notes until July …
- … 1 [9] W. Erasmus. Darwin born. Dec. 27 th . 1839.—[10] During first week. yawned, streatched …
- … certainly during first fortnight at sudden sounds. & at Emma’s moving 3 [11] When …
- … & inwards as in sleep.[14] Six weeks old & 3 days, Emma saw him smile—not only with …
- … his eyes becoming fixed & the movements of his arms ceasing. Emma argues that his smiles were …
- … made in the little noises he was uttering that he recognized Emma by sight when she came close to …
- … been caused by the novelty of the situation producing fear. Emma thinks that when he was vaccinated …
- … whole expression appearing pleased.— Recognizes Emma Anne & myself perfectly— does not find …
- … Lady” were repeated.— 26 th . Cried, when Emma left off playing the pianoforte.— Did this …
- … our door N o 12 and N o 11 is in the slit for the Letter box.— he decidedly ran past N o 11 …
- … has learned them from my sometimes changing the first letter in any word he is using—thus I say …
- … , pp. 131–2. [6] Correspondence vol. 2, letter from Emma Wedgwood, [23 January 1839] . …
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Natural Science and Femininity
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…
Matches: 17 hits
- … thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity …
- … feminine powers of feeling and aesthetic appreciation, Darwin and his male colleagues struggled to …
- … Britain? Letters Letter 109 - Wedgwood, J. to Darwin, …
- … pursuit of real, professional work on his return. Letter 158 - Darwin to Darwin, R. W., …
- … and taking in the aesthetic beauty of the world around him. Darwin describes the “striking” colour …
- … made up of meals, family time and walks into town with Emma. Letter 555 - Darwin to …
- … ‘ A Biographical Sketch of an Infant ’. Letter 2781 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [3 May …
- … them in the north-facing borders of his garden. Letter 2864 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., …
- … and “never saw anything so beautiful”. Letter 4230 - Darwin to Gardeners’ Chronicle, [2 …
- … microscopical spherical bodies found on flowers which Emma had gathered and brought into the house …
- … linked with his domestic family life. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, [2 …
- … at least provide Darwin with aesthetic pleasure. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., …
- … he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom. Letter 4469 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin …
- … before expecting to dedicate his life to science. Letter 4472 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin …
- … duty to the public to contribute more than this. Letter 6044 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H., …
- … and influence to help shape his sons’ fortunes. Letter 6046 - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, …
- … November 1868] Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, writes to Emma Darwin’s sister, Sarah, with …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…
Matches: 15 hits
- … the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same …
- … nineteenth century were different in important ways. Many of Darwin's leading supporters were …
- … their religious beliefs with evolutionary theory. Darwin's own writing, both in print and …
- … much as possible. A number of correspondents tried to draw Darwin out on his own religious views, …
- … political contexts. Design Darwin was not the first to challenge …
- … on the controversial topic of design. The first is between Darwin and Harvard botanist Asa Gray, …
- … everything is the result of “brute force”. Letter 2855 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 3 …
- … nature, as he is in a “muddle” on this issue. Letter 3256 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
- … shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. Letter 3342 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … He asks Gray some questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 …
- … of my precipice”. Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
- … of variations. Darwin and Graham Letter 13230 — Darwin, C. R. to Graham, …
- … of people, including members of his own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, …
- … about his “honest & conscientious doubts”. Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. …
- … there is a danger in giving up revelation”. Letter 2534 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, …
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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: 20 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
- … 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge …
- … to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an …
- … the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his …
- … 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] ) …
- … 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, …
- … but made up for her lack by pointing out that her cousin Emma Nixon had ‘the enviable talent of …
- … and Darwin had not met (nor, it seems, corresponded) since 1839, but because Darwin’s name was so …
- … and letter from Leonard Darwin, [before 12 July] 1879 ). Emma Darwin also thought the text needed …
- … of radicles were sensitive ( letter from Francis Darwin to Emma Darwin, 30 June 1879 ). It was …
- … Nonetheless, Darwin endured a three-hour delay better than Emma Darwin, and Bernard proved to be a …
- … insisted that all contact between Horace and Ida must cease. Emma Darwin persuaded her husband to …
- … some consequence when you are not likely to make money’ (Emma Darwin to Sara Darwin, [1 July 1879] …
- … ‘Nothing can be more useless than T.H’s conduct’, Emma Darwin pointed out, ‘He has no intention of …
- … to be able to say that he has opposed it’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] …
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Syms Covington
Summary
When Charles Darwin embarked on the Beagle voyage in 1831, Syms Covington was ‘fiddler & boy to Poop-cabin’. Covington kept an illustrated journal of his observations and experiences on the voyage, noting wildlife, landscapes, buildings and people and,…
Matches: 6 hits
- … When Charles Darwin embarked on the Beagle voyage in 1831, Syms Covington was ‘ …
- … After teaching Covington to shoot and skin birds, Darwin employed him as his servant in 1833. …
- … England. On the Beagle ’s return to England in 1836, Darwin kept Covington in his employ, paying …
- … Agricultural Company run by Phillip Parker King (whom Darwin had met in Australia in 1836 ). …
- … 280 miles south of Sydney, where he then lived. In 1852 Darwin had asked about the gold rush and …
- … accommodation, a post office, and possibly a general store. Darwin’s last letter to Covington …
Dramatisation script
Summary
Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007
Matches: 23 hits
- … Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig …
- … as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified …
- … correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring …
- … Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day …
- … Louis Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart Mill, Emma Darwin, Horace Darwin… and acts as …
- … the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and between the audience and …
- … this, he sends out copies of his Review of the Life of Darwin. At this time in his life, Asa …
- … friends in England, copies of his ‘Review of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it …
- … Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles Darwin… made his home on the border of the little …
- … are kept in check by a constitutional weakness. DARWIN: A plain but comfortable brick …
- … of Natural Selection… was drawn up in the year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs …
- … his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
- … 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my …
- … be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
- … on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
- … a brace of letters 25 I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
- … might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
- … Atlantic. HOOKER: 28 Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
- … notions of natural Selection and would see whether it or my letter bears any date, I should be very …
- … 55 My good dear friend, forgive me. This is a trumpery letter influenced by trumpery feelings. …
- … Thank God he will never suffer more in this world. Poor Emma behaved nobly and how she stood it all …
- … DARWIN: My wife’s remark on reading this, was EMMA: Why, you know nothing about Logic. …
- … do a good deal to secure it. Darwin passes Gray’s letter to Hooker with a cringe. …
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Darwin and Fatherhood
Summary
Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten children. It is often assumed that Darwin was an exceptional Victorian father. But how extraordinary was he? The Correspondence Project allows an unusually…
Matches: 16 hits
- … Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten …
- … an unusually large number of letters sent by members of the Darwin family to be studied. However, in …
- … required them to work long hours away from their family. Darwin was unusual in being able to pursue …
- … this part of Kent as ‘extraordinarily rural & quiet’ (Darwin to his sister Catherine, [24 July …
- … left their children in the care of servants in the country. Darwin frequently expressed regrets that …
- … meetings and social events in the capital. As a result, Darwin rarely spent a day without the …
- … they employed eight servants including two nursery maids. Emma actively supervised and assisted with …
- … ‘visits’ to see their father when he was working (Darwin to his wife Emma, [7-8 February 1845] ). …
- … children’s development in diaries and letters. However, Darwin was unusual for the systematic …
- … was far more typical of mid-nineteenth-century fathers was Darwin’s intense involvement in his …
- … to incessant anxiety & movement on account of Etty.’ (Darwin to W. D. Fox, 18 October [1860] …
- … (Darwin to W. D. Fox, 10 October [1850] ) as he and Emma tried to choose suitable schools and …
- … children in letters to friends, and the choices that he and Emma made were deliberately conventional …
- … were favourite family games, and in 1859 he ended a letter to his oldest son with the exclamation ‘I …
- … (Darwin to his son William, [30 October 1858] ). In one letter in 1856, he explained his paternal …
- … the age of twenty-six. This meant that in old age Darwin and Emma continued to share Down House with …
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About Darwin
Summary
To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But even before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was publicly known through his popular book about the voyage of the Beagle, and he was…
Matches: 17 hits
- … To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural …
- … of his career, Origin was the point of departure for Darwin’s important works on variation, …
- … of religion. Born on 12 February 1809, Charles Darwin was the son of two noteworthy families. …
- … renowned physician, poet, and natural philosopher Erasmus Darwin. Charles grew up in Shrewsbury …
- … an older brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin, and a younger sister, Catherine. Their mother died in 1817, …
- … up to be a devoted family man. He married his cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and they had ten …
- … by serving as research subjects themselves). The depth of Darwin’s affection for his children is …
- … the Cambridge professor of botany, John Stevens Henslow, Darwin was offered the chance to travel …
- … to this five-year journey, which began when he was just 22, Darwin wrote, 039;The voyage of the …
- … my whole career.039; While circumnavigating the globe, Darwin remained in constant contact with …
- … life at sea. By the time he returned to England in 1836, Darwin had unearthed enormous mammalian …
- … and plants that fuelled much of his later work. Darwin’s achievements during the voyage …
- … heroes, the geologist Charles Lyell. The six years Darwin lived in London were among the most …
- … developed a theory of evolution. In 1842, Charles and Emma moved just south of London to the …
- … urged him to publish his views on evolution in 1858, when Darwin learned by letter that Alfred …
- … specimens in the Malay Archipelago. At home in Downe, Darwin spent the last two decades of his life …
- … of the most renowned names in Victorian Britain. Darwin died in April 1882; he was buried in …
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Darwin on marriage
Summary
On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, …
- … his engagement. The original manuscripts are in the Darwin Archive in Cambridge University Library. …
- … note was written in pencil on the three blank pages of the letter from Leonard Horner, 7 April [1838 …
- … definite prospect in mind at the time of writing, but in a letter to Charles Lyell, [12 November …
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About Darwin
Summary
To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But even before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was publicly known through his popular book about the voyage of the Beagle, and he was…
Matches: 17 hits
- … To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural …
- … of his career, the Origin was the point of departure for Darwin’s important works on variation, …
- … of religion. Born on 12 February 1809, Charles Darwin was the son of two noteworthy families. …
- … renowned physician, poet, and natural philosopher Erasmus Darwin. Charles grew up in Shrewsbury …
- … an older brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin, and a younger sister, Catherine. Their mother died in 1817, …
- … up to be a devoted family man. He married his cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and they had ten …
- … by serving as research subjects themselves). The depth of Darwin’s affection for his children is …
- … the Cambridge professor of botany, John Stevens Henslow, Darwin was offered the chance to travel …
- … to this five-year journey, which began when he was just 22, Darwin wrote, “The voyage of the Beagle …
- … my whole career.” While circumnavigating the globe, Darwin remained in constant contact with …
- … life at sea. By the time he returned to England in 1836, Darwin had unearthed enormous mammalian …
- … and plants that fuelled much of his later work. Darwin’s achievements during the voyage …
- … heroes, the geologist Charles Lyell. The six years Darwin lived in London were among the most …
- … developed a theory of evolution. In 1842, Charles and Emma moved just south of London to the …
- … urged him to publish his views on evolution in 1858, when Darwin learned by letter that Alfred …
- … specimens in the Malay Archipelago. At home in Downe, Darwin spent the last two decades of his life …
- … him one of the most renowned names in Victorian Britain. Darwin died in April 1882; he was buried …
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Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
Matches: 21 hits
- … results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but throughout these …
- … species and varieties. In contrast to the received image of Darwin as a recluse in Down, the letters …
- … Down House was altered and extended to accommodate Darwin’s growing family and the many relatives …
- … The geological publications In these years, Darwin published two books on geology, Volcanic …
- … papers for all these organisations. Between 1844 and 1846 Darwin himself wrote ten papers, six of …
- … Government grant was exhausted ( Correspondence vol. 2, letter to A. Y. Spearman, 9 October 1843, …
- … not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable Darwin’s earlier scientific friendships …
- … friends, with the addition of Hooker, were important to Darwin for—among other things—they were the …
- … scientific issues that arose out of his work on species. Darwin discussed his ideas on species …
- … Only two months after their first exchange, early in 1844, Darwin told Hooker that he was engaged in …
- … are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [11 January 1844] ). …
- … correspondence that his close friends were not outraged by Darwin’s heterodox opinions and later in …
- … But although eager for the views of informed colleagues, Darwin was naturally protective of his …
- … the essay of 1844 to read (see Correspondence vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 [February 1847]) …
- … candidate, known to be working on species and varieties, was Darwin himself: as he told his cousin …
- … the book to him. But, as his letters to Hooker show, Darwin carefully considered and then rejected …
- … Natural selection Perhaps the most interesting letter relating to Darwin’s species theory, …
- … who would undertake to see the work through the press. Darwin also listed possible editors: at first …
- … his intention to publish his theory. His instructions to Emma may, perhaps, as some scholars have …
- … Darwin not only used his personal notes and records but, by letter, marshalled the resources of …
- … of the laws of creation, Geographical Distribution’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 February 1845] ) …
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Darwin and the Church
Summary
The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…
Matches: 23 hits
- … The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It …
- … unique window into this complicated relationship throughout Darwin’s life, as it reveals his …
- … belief (and doubt) than many non-conformist denominations. Darwin’s parents attended a Unitarian …
- … the necessary studies to be a clergyman. During Darwin’s lifetime, the vast majority of the …
- … income was essential to enjoy a gentlemanly lifestyle. For Darwin, who could rely on the financial …
- … compatible with the pursuit of scientific interests. Indeed, Darwin’s Cambridge mentor, John Stevens …
- … (Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (1887): 321). Darwin started on his journey around the world …
- … & I can see it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] …
- … wrote to the contrary: ‘I am sorry to see in your last letter that you still look forward to the …
- … near the British Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] …
- … it is a sort of scene I never ought to think about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). …
- … the late 1830s, and in correspondence with his fiancée, Emma Wedgwood, in 1838 and 1839, as can be …
- … of England. The whole family took the sacrament, although Emma used to make the children turn around …
- … and Charles were buried; later Darwin’s brother Erasmus, Emma’s sister Sarah, Emma herself, and …
- … church involvement can be attributed to the influence of Emma, whose religious scruples are …
- … However, what remains is cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to …
- … (a local charity), which he administered from 1848 to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] …
- … he would make an excellent Guardian [of the Poor Fund]’ (letter to J. W. Lubbock, 28 March [1854] …
- … club the use of his own lawn for its meetings (Moore 1985; letter to J. S. Henslow, 17 January …
- … Ffinden strongly disapproved of the Darwins. In his eyes, Emma’s Unitarian leanings and Darwin’s …
- … schools in this period, the Down school was Anglican. Emma wished it to be used as a reading room …
- … even altered the habits of the household in order to allow Emma and the children to attend his …
- … increase his desire to actually attend Sunday services with Emma and the children. Darwin’s life in …
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: 29 hits
- … Ever since the publication of Expression , Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The …
- … of these projects would culminate in a major publication. Darwin’s botany was increasingly a …
- … assisted his father’s research on movement and bloom, and Darwin in turn encouraged his son’s own …
- … The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. Darwin received two elaborate photograph albums …
- … from Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Closer to home, Darwin received an honorary Doctorate of …
- … sites for possible earthworm activity. Now in his 69th year, Darwin remained remarkably productive, …
- … no controversy. In his autobiographical reflections, Darwin remarked: ‘no little discovery of …
- … (‘Recollections’, p. 419). During the winter and spring, Darwin was busy preparing the manuscript of …
- … and presented to the Linnean Society of London. In the book, Darwin adopted the more recent term …
- … as dimorphic without comparing pollen-grains & stigmas’, Darwin remarked to Joseph Dalton …
- … measurements of the size and number of pollen-grains, Darwin compared the fertility of individual …
- … primrose and purple loosestrife. In the course of his work, Darwin found a number of other …
- … dreadful work making out anything about dried flowers’, Darwin complained to Asa Gray on 8 March …
- … which include heterstyled species. This pleases me.’. Darwin dedicated the book to Gray, ‘as a small …
- … 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 …
- … was based on a notebook of observations he had begun in 1839 with the birth of his first child, …
- … his sense of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October …
- … the Westphalian Provincial Society for Science and Art. In a letter to Darwin written before 16 …
- … the only one full-page in size. Haeckel sent a personal letter of congratulation on 9 February , …
- … (see Appendix V). The album arrived with a long letter from the director and secretary of the …
- … 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 ). …
- … [1877] ). In the end, Darwin made the journey along with Emma. George, Francis, and Horace also …
- … Cambridge Chronicle , 24 November 1877, p. 4). According to Emma, Darwin remained ‘quite stout and …
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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
- … Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, …
- … couple of months were needed to index the work, a task that Darwin handed over to someone else for …
- … and animals ( Expression ), published in 1872. Although Darwin had been collecting material and …
- … A global reputation The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly …
- … who might best answer the questions, with the result that Darwin began to receive replies from …
- … Variation would be based on proof-sheets received as Darwin corrected them. Closer to home, two …
- … Charles Fleeming Jenkin, challenged different aspects of Darwin’s theory of transmutation as …
- … orchids are fertilised by insects ( Orchids ). While Darwin privately gave detailed opinions of …
- … capable hands of Alfred Russel Wallace. At the same time, Darwin was persuaded by some German …
- … were becoming counterproductive. Throughout the year, Darwin continued to discuss now …
- … in Germany, and Federico Delpino in Italy, who provided Darwin with the collegial support and …
- … tedious dull work’ Thomas Henry Huxley sent Darwin the New Year’s greeting, ‘may you be …
- … 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] …
- … 1867] ). Unfortunately, he did not elaborate further on Emma Darwin’s view, so we are left to …
- … accompanied by some temporary memory loss, which caused Emma to consult his physician, Henry Bence …
- … daughters reading to him and acting as amanuenses. Henrietta Emma Darwin read and corrected proof …
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Charles Darwin’s letters: a selection 1825-1859
Summary
The letters in this volume span the years from 1825, when Darwin was a student at the University of Edinburgh, to the end of 1859, when the Origin of Species was published. The early letters portray Darwin as a lively sixteen-year-old medical student. Two…
Matches: 19 hits
- … The letters in this volume span the years from 1825, when Darwin was a student at the University of …
- … Origin of Species was published. The early letters portray Darwin as a lively sixteen-year-old …
- … history, for which no degree was then offered. Soon after Darwin took his BA degree, Henslow …
- … to South America and the Pacific. The letters that Darwin sent to his family and to Henslow …
- … the time the Beagle arrived back in England in 1836, Darwin was already a well-known naturalist …
- … fish, birds, and reptiles collected during the voyage. Darwin supplied geological and geographical …
- … despite several periods of an illness that was to plague Darwin for most of his life. None of his …
- … To this day it remains a subject of great interest to Darwin scholars and medical historians. …
- … study of the entire order. By this time, 1854, Darwin had become a family man. In January …
- … age of ten in 1851. The letters are an intimate chronicle of Darwin and of an affectionate family. A …
- … the children, as they grew up, became active participants in Darwin’s scientific work. Even at an …
- … of male humble-bees. As noted above, almost all of Darwin’s published work up to this time …
- … On the last leg of the homeward journey, as Darwin organised his notes on the Galápagos birds, it …
- … named ‘natural selection’. The letters show that Darwin was not as secretive about his …
- … the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. In his letter of 11 January 1844 , Darwin …
- … friendship developed, and Hooker became deeply involved in Darwin’s work as counsellor, critic, and, …
- … that Wallace might be on the track of something close to Darwin’s theory, and he urged his friend to …
- … ‘big book’, when, in June 1858, he received the famous letter from Wallace in which was enclosed a …
- … selection. Lyell and Hooker, to salvage the twenty years of Darwin’s work, proposed that Wallace’s …
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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: 27 hits
- … The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. By then, he had …
- … propagation, hybridism, and other phenomena that, as Darwin said in his Autobiography , he had …
- … provide an unusually detailed and intimate understanding of Darwin’s problem-solving method of work …
- … 1860 that a new edition of Origin was called for, Darwin took the opportunity to include in the …
- … of natural selection. With this work behind him, Darwin took steps to convince those who …
- … will do me & Natural Selection, right good service’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 26–7 Februrary [1861] …
- … pamphlet (see Correspondence vol. 9, Appendix III). However, Darwin himself remained unconvinced by …
- … began to decline later in the year, scientific interest in Darwin’s views continued unabated and …
- … the third edition and the comments of naturalists with whom Darwin corresponded, showed that a …
- … the theory of natural selection for their particular fields. Darwin relished these explorations, …
- … the Zoologist by George Maw, for example, singled out Darwin’s explanation of the numerous …
- … remained notable instances of design in nature. Although Darwin, in his subsequent correspondence …
- … ‘barometer’ of scientific opinion, Charles Lyell ( see letter to Charles Lyell, 20 July [1861] ). …
- … selection could not be ‘directly proved’ ( see second letter to J. D. Hooker, 23 [April 1861] ). …
- … was ‘the only one proper to such a subject’ ( letter from Henry Fawcett, 16 July [1861] ). Mill in …
- … or against some view if it is to be of any service!’ ( letter to Henry Fawcett, 18 September [1861] …
- … chapter on the imperfection of the geological record ( see letter to George Maw, 19 July [1861] ). …
- … he planned to report ‘at a favourable opportunity’ ( letter from Joseph Leidy, 4 March [1861] ). …
- … laboratory where Nature manufactures her new species’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 28 March [1861] ) …
- … study of natural history was evident. He told Darwin in his letter of [1 December] 1861: …
- … by insect enemies from which the other set is free’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 30 September 1861 ) …
- … be a ‘very valuable contribution to Nat. History.—’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 4 April [1861] ). He …
- … causes &c’, and ‘Monkeys,—our poor cousins.—’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 3 December [1861] ). …
- … a view to obtaining ‘large distribution’ for the work ( letter to H. W. Bates, 25 September [1861] …
- … death in September 1860 of their first-born, Noel, he and Emma invited her and the children to Down …
- … the hope that sea air would improve the health of Henrietta Emma Darwin, who had been suffering for …
- … and cousin on a week-long tour of Dartmoor. Both Darwin and Emma, however, in part credited Joseph …