From C. J. Breese 7 November 1881
Summary
Sends CD an abstract of his 1871 paper on the earthworm, and requests information on the phenomenon of luminosity.
| Author: | Charles James Breese |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Nov 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 289 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13469 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Sends CD an abstract of his 1871 paper on the earthworm, and requests information on the …
- … Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871. Earthworms : The formation of vegetable …
- … enclose herewith an Abstract published in 1871 of a paper on the Earthworm read by me, and …
- … to the West Kent Natural History Society in 1871; a brief abstract was published in the …
From G. H. Darwin [20 November 1881]
Summary
Writes of Challis’ health
and of other matters of family interest.
| Author: | George Howard Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [20 Nov 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.2: 99 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13494 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … in Washington DC (see Correspondence vol. 19, letter from L. H. Morgan, 1 August 1871 ). …
To J. H. Gilbert 25 February 1881
Summary
Discusses acidity of earthworm castings. JHG’s reply will make him more cautious.
Would like to see W. A. Detmer’s paper [Landwirtsch. Versuchs-Stat. 14 (1871): 248–300] and S. W. Johnson’s work [How crops feed].
Comments on food value of white and brown bread.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Henry Gilbert |
| Date: | 25 Feb 1881 |
| Classmark: | Rothamsted Research (GIL13) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13066 |
From H. M. Wallis 27 March 1881
Summary
Is glad CD finds his observations on hair growth on ears new and interesting.
Mentions instances in which young birds possess abilities lacking in the adult.
| Author: | Henry Marriage Wallis |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 27 Mar 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.9: 16 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13099 |
From J. H. Gilbert 7 March 1881
Summary
Sends some books.
| Author: | Joseph Henry Gilbert |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Mar 1881 |
| Classmark: | Rothamsted Research (GIL13) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13076F |
From A. C. Horner 23 December 1881
Summary
Detailed criticism of Earthworms.
| Author: | Arthur Claypon Horner |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 23 Dec 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 268 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13578 |
From Archibald Geikie 10 October 1881
Summary
Thanks for Earthworms.
Importance of wind in soil formation and transport.
| Author: | Archibald Geikie |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Oct 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 26 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13387 |
From Francis Darwin 23 [May 1881]
Summary
Would like some of his notes. Has been looking at roots of Linum, cucurbits, larch, and orchids. Is content that mother should teach Bernard whatever religion she likes.
| Author: | Francis Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 23 [May 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 274.1: 66 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13170F |
From C. V. Riley 18 December 1881
Summary
Concurs in CD’s criticism of Thomas Meehan [see 13360].
| Author: | Charles Valentine Riley |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 18 Dec 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 176: 158 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13559 |
From Francis Darwin [before 4 June 1881]
Summary
Encloses letter from Elfving (not found). Should he publish on false circumnutation?
| Author: | Francis Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 4 June 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 274.1: 75 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13192F |
From J. H. Gilbert 22 February 1881
Summary
The laboratory has scarcely any experimental evidence on acidity of humus soil and earthworm excreta. Refers CD to some sources of information.
| Author: | Joseph Henry Gilbert |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 22 Feb 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 43 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13063 |
To J. D. Hooker 20 June [1881]
Summary
Cheered by JDH’s friendly words.
Wishes he could help JDH with geographical distribution, but the subject has gone out of his mind.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 20 June [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 95: 516–17 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13211 |
From Francis Darwin 19 [May 1881]
Summary
Is sorry to have involved himself in a priority dispute between Wortmann and Elfving. Intends to publish on circumnutation; will CD send him his notes? Apologises for taking CD’s protractor, will send it back. Has met Oscar Schmidt.
| Author: | Francis Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 19 [May 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 274.1: 72 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13166F |
From James Geikie 15 December 1881
Summary
Seeks a testimonial for the Chair of Geology at Edinburgh.
| Author: | James Murdoch (James) Geikie |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 Dec 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 202: 103 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13552 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Archibald Geikie had become professor of geology and mineralogy at Edinburgh in 1871. …
To H. M. Wallis 22 March 1881
Summary
Comments on HMW’s discovery concerning growth of hair on human ears. Asks permission to publish fact.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Henry Marriage Wallis |
| Date: | 22 Mar 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 148: 279 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13095 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871. Eschricht, Daniel Frederik. 1837. Ueber …
From C. A. Kennard 26 December 1881
Summary
The author of a paper on the inferiority of women has cited CD’s Origin as her authority. CK wishes to know if she has satisfactorily represented CD’s views.
| Author: | Caroline Augusta Smith; Caroline Augusta Kennard |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 26 Dec 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 201: 17 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13579 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin. 2 vols. New York: D. Appleton. 1871. Hardaker, Martha A. 1882. Science and the …
To ? 23 November 1881
Summary
Sends copies of Variation, Descent, and Journal of researches from "the library of my late brother".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | 23 Nov 1881 |
| Classmark: | Charles Hamilton (dealer) (29 January 1970) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13507 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871. Journal of researches : Journal of researches …
From H. M. Wallis 14 March 1881
Summary
Reports some observations on the growth of hair on his baby son’s ears.
| Author: | Henry Marriage Wallis |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Mar 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.9: 15 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13085 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871. …
To C. G. Semper 19 July 1881
Summary
Thinks CGS right not to reply to critical article by Lankester.
Discusses direct action of environment as cause of variability; the finding of Hermann Hoffmann that direct action of environment affects plants very little.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Carl Gottfried Semper |
| Date: | 19 July 1881 |
| Classmark: | Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf (slg 60/Dok/63) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13251 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … mechanism; see Correspondence vol. 19, letter to Francis Darwin, [after 21 January 1871] . …
From W. E. Darwin 1 January [1881]
Summary
Discusses possible investments.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 75) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12392G |
Matches: 1 hit
- … account (Down House MS)). In 1870 and 1871, CD had purchased ‘Metropolitan consolidated …
| letter | (29) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (9) |
| Darwin, Francis | (3) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (2) |
| Gilbert, J. H. | (2) |
| Wallis, H. M. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (20) |
| Darwin, Francis | (1) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (1) |
| Gilbert, J. H. | (1) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (29) |
| Darwin, Francis | (4) |
| Gilbert, J. H. | (3) |
| Wallis, H. M. | (3) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (2) |
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: 30 hits
- … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the …
- … promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ). The profits for Darwin were …
- … first two printings, Darwin wrote to Murray on 20 March 1871 , ‘It is quite a grand trade to be a …
- … in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). Reaction …
- … to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 February 1871 ). The African explorer and …
- … pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). The geologist William Boyd Dawkins …
- … to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). Thomas Henry Huxley marvelled that …
- … tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). Asa Gray remarked, somewhat …
- … and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) Like his previous book, …
- … arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 ). Samples of hair arrived from …
- … his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 April 1871] )). Hinrich Nitsche, ‘the lucky …
- … orang-utan foetus ( letter from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871 ). Darwin thought he might use the …
- … poor return’ ( letter to Hinrich Nitsche, 25 April [1871] ). Animal anecdotes appeared in …
- … space each morning ( letter from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871 ; letter from B. J. Sulivan, 11 …
- … of beauty ( letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 April 1871] ). Roland Trimen, a long-time …
- … in the past ( letter from Roland Trimen, 17 and 18 April 1871 ). Candid disagreement …
- … were raised to a high pitch, as Innes wrote on 26 May 1871 about the darker races arising …
- … as far as this goes’ ( letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). On religion and morality …
- … Creator made it’ ( letter from George Morrish, 18 March 1871 ). Darwin received an anonymous …
- … Descent ( letter from a child of God, [after 24 February 1871] ). Yet some continued to …
- … religious feeling’ ( letter from F. E. Abbot, 20 August 1871 ). The Anglican clergyman and …
- … brethren’ ( letter from George Henslow, 5 December 1871 ). Ernst Haeckel boasted of his month …
- … monkey !’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 21 December 1871 ). Descent was extensively …
- … independent of all times and all circumstances’ (8 April 1871, p. 5). Darwin condemned the author of …
- … & classics’ ( letter to John Murray, 13 April [1871] ). But a similar point was made by …
- … the killing of some members of a hive a duty (Cobbe 1871, pp. 174, 188–9). Darwin was particularly …
- … by culture, not biology ( letter from John Morley, 30 March 1871 ). Reaction at home …
- … its master. ( Letter from Hensleigh Wedgwood, [3–9 March 1871] .) Some of Darwin’s …
- … to me’ ( letter to Hensleigh Wedgwood, 9 March 1871 ). A widening rift By far the …
- … 1871a), which appeared just prior to Descent in early 1871. ‘I daresay it will tell heavily …
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Matches: 14 hits
- … Blair, R.H. 11 July 1871 Worcester College for the …
- … Brooke, C.A.J. 30 April 1871 Sarawak, Borneo …
- … Chaumont, F.S.B.F. de 11 March 1871 Woolston, …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 3 April 1871 West Riding …
- … Donders, F.C. 28 March 1871 Utrecht, Netherlands …
- … Foster, Michael 4 June [1871] Trinity College, …
- … Gray, Asa 14 April 1871 Cambridge, Massachusetts, …
- … Gray, Asa 10 & 14 March [1871] Cambridge, …
- … Mivart, G.J. 26 Jan 1871 North Bank, London, England …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 1 Feb 1871 11 St Mary Abbot's …
- … Rejlander, O.G. [1871] Victoria Street, London, …
- … Smith, Andrew 1 Feb. 1871 11 Saint Mary Abbot's …
- … Smith, Andrew 17 April 1871 16 Alexander Square, …
- … Swinhoe, Robert 14 March 1871 33 Oakley Square, …
Frank Chance
Summary
The Darwin archive not only contains letters, manuscript material, photographs, books and articles but also all sorts of small, dry specimens, mostly enclosed with letters. Many of these enclosures have become separated from the letters or lost altogether,…
Matches: 6 hits
- … first is undated but we know it was written before 25 April 1871 because Darwin alluded to a case …
- … report by the pigeon-fancier W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 April [1871] . In his letter Chance is …
- … (Letter from Frank Chance, [before 25 April 1871] ) Responding to this meticulous self …
- … were very rare. When we were editing volume 19 (1871), Chance’s enclosure of beard and …
- … : In your work on the ""Descent of Man"" (ed. 1871) ii. 298, 299, in …
- … followed up on a similar case that CD had observed on 13 May 1871. William’s letter of 5 June 1871 …
4.17 'Figaro', unidentifiable 1871
Summary
< Back to Introduction Yet another portrayal of Darwin as a tree-dwelling ape was published in The Figaro in October 1871, and titled ‘A Darwinian hypothesis’. The image survives in a torn page in the Darwin archive, but it has so far proved…
Darwin’s favourite photographer: From O. G. Rejlander, 30 April 1871
Summary
In the 1860s Darwin began collecting photographs of emotional expression. They seemed to capture fleeting movements of the face, and allowed him to observe with more detachment. But the technology was still new. Even under the best conditions, exposure…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In the 1860s Darwin began collecting photographs of emotional expression. They seemed to capture …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 3 hits
Henrietta Emma Darwin
Summary
Henrietta “Etty” Darwin (1843–1927) was the eldest of Charles Darwin’s daughters to reach adulthood. She married Richard Buckley Litchfield in 1871. She was a valued editor to her father as well as companion and correspondent to both of her parents.…
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: 4 hits
- … of self-fertilisation’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 23 July [1871] ). Darwin also informed Müller of this …
- … in his hothouse ( To Fritz Müller, 2 August [1871] ). By late 1871, Darwin was already …
- … generations’ ( To Federico Delpino, 22 November 1871 ). Delpino replied that he looked forward to …
- … and horticulture ( From Federico Delpino, 5 December 1871 ). When Darwin began writing in February …
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: 5 hits
- … [1850] and n. 6; and letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). Their true friendship does …
- … request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed Innes had such a high …
- … school and organ funds (letter to J. B. Innes, 13 January 1871 ). Down’s next clergyman …
- … very dull sermons’ (letter to J. B. Innes, 18 January [1871] ). Mr Powell was happy to take up …
- … qualifications’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 5 June 1871 ). Particularly in the early days of …
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
Matches: 8 hits
- … Letter 7048 : Darwin, W. E., to Darwin, C. R., [April? 1871] In Descent of man (1: 71 …
- … Letter 7645 : Morley, John to Darwin, 30 March 1871 The politician and man of letters, …
- … of Descent of Man in the Pall Mall Gazette (Morley 1871). Darwin admired the review, and …
- … Letter 7685 : Darwin to Morley, John, 14 April [1871] "When I speak of intellectual …
- … Letter 7691 , Morley, John, to Darwin, 17 April 1871 "I don't think Mr. Mill& …
- … 7470 : Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, [before 3 March 1871] Darwin exchanged long letters …
- … Letter 7537 : Darwin, C. R. to Wenslow, Hensleigh, 3 March [1871] Using the example of …
- … 3. [ available at Darwinonline ] Cobbe, F. P. 1871. 'Darwinism in morals'. …
Strange things sent to Darwin in the post
Summary
Some of the stranger things Darwin received in the post can tell us a lot about how Darwin worked at home. In 1863, Darwin was very excited when the ornithologist Alfred Newton sent him a diseased, red-legged partridge foot with an enormous ball of clay…
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: 3 hits
Experimenting with emotions
Summary
Darwin’s interest in emotions can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the sounds and gestures of the peoples of Tierra del Fuego. On his return, he started recording observations in a set of notebooks, later labelled '…
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: 8 hits
- … wrote the following journal entries in March and July 1871 in a small lockable, leather-bound …
- … by Henrietta herself. Darwin’s letters in 1870 and 1871 ( Correspondence , vols 18 and 19) …
- … missions due to take place between 26 February and 5 March 1871 in four towns within the deanery of …
- … from Charles and Emma Darwin to F. J. Wedgwood, [March 1871?], and letter from F. J. Wedgwood to H. …
- … University Library. Henrietta Darwin | March 1871 1871 March— Sea Grove …
- … away what they have no equivalent for. July 4th 1871. How hard it is to wait—the …
- … I think I am a very happy woman. Sunday July 9 th . 1871 I want to think why I shd …
- … mission leaders in the Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7. 4 Probably John …
William Winwood Reade
Summary
On 19 May 1868, an African explorer and unsuccessful novelist, William Winwoode Reade (1838–1875) offered to help Darwin, and started a correspondence and, arguably, a collaboration, that would last until Reade's death. After a first 1861 tour of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of it" – Winwood Reade to Charles Darwin, 31 January 1871 ) and sought Darwin’s advice on …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin, [25 March 1871] Mary Bathoe responds …
- … Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to Darwin, [30 March 1871] J. S. Henslow’s daughter, …
- … 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to Darwin, H. E., [1 April 1871] Frances Wedgwood offers …
- … 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to Darwin, [before 26 April 1871] The poet Emily Pfeiffer …
- … Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, [7 November 1871] Sarah Hennell writes to Darwin …
Francis Galton
Summary
Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…
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,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of sexual differences in viviparous fish, [before 1 June 1871] Fritz Müller's …
Capturing Darwin’s voice: audio of selected letters
Summary
On a sunny Wednesday in June 2011 in a makeshift recording studio somewhere in Cambridge, we were very pleased to welcome Terry Molloy back to the Darwin Correspondence Project for a special recording session. Terry, known for his portrayal of Davros in Dr…
Matches: 1 hits
- … politely worded rebuke to St G. J. Mivart ( 21 April [1871] ) for the inadequacies, as Darwin saw …
Have you read the one about....
Summary
... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.
Matches: 1 hits
- … ... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some …
