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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: 19 hits
- … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the …
- … be well abused’, he wrote to his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker on 21 January , ‘for as my son Frank …
- … the proof-sheets, rather than waiting for the bound copies. Hooker suggested one of the reasons …
- … do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ) …
- … first two printings, Darwin wrote to Murray on 20 March 1871 , ‘It is quite a grand trade to be a …
- … 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) …
- … letter from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871 ; letter from B. J. Sulivan, 11 March 1871 ; letter …
- … a high aesthetic appreciation of beauty ( letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 April 1871] ). …
- … a good way ahead of you, as far as this goes’ ( letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). On …
- … tell heavily against natural selection’, Darwin wrote to Hooker on 21 January . Darwin read the …
- … only the ‘most guarded expressions’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 January [1871] ). …
- … arrogant, odious beast that ever lived,’ Darwin wrote to Hooker on 16 September . Darwin …
- … religious bigotry is at the root of it’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 16 September [1871] ). …
- … resemblance to a ‘venerable old Ape’ ( letter from D. Thomas, [after 11 March 1871] ). …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
- … Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
- … Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
- … of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] …
- … Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to Darwin, [17 December 1872] …
- … little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 March 1864] …
- … and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von to Darwin, [4 December 1867] …
- … in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869] John …
- … at Maer Hall, Staffordshire. Letter 1219 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, [3 February …
- … Letter 7433 - Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [9 January 1871] Darwin’s brother-in-law, …
- … Letter 8113 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [20 December 1871] Mary Treat describes her …
- … The experiments were carried out “at the suggestion of Dr Hooker” and what little he has ascertained …
- … Women: Letter 2345 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [20 October 1858] Darwin …
- … style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859] Darwin …
- … Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March 1871] Darwin reports to …
- … Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
- … 8089 - Darwin to Litc hfield, H. E., [2 December 1871] Darwin sends a chapter on …
- … Letter 2475 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [2 July 1859] Darwin returns the manuscript of …
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: 21 hits
- … writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring Gray Louis Agassiz, Adam …
- … this actor uses the words of Jane Loring Gray, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Hugh Falconer, Louis Agassiz, …
- … of natural selection to his friend, the botanist, Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles …
- … year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs Lyell and Hooker in 1844, being a part of …
- … DARWIN: 7 January 1844. My dear Hooker. I have been …engaged in a very presumptuous work …
- … his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
- … the opportunity I enjoyed of making your acquaintance at Hooker’s three years ago; and besides that …
- … sheet of note-paper! DARWIN: 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind …
- … 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 …
- … 22 Hurrah I got yesterday my 41st Grass! Hooker is younger than Darwin and Gray by …
- … species before… DARWIN: 24 My dear Hooker… you cannot imagine how pleased I am …
- … on your bowels of immutability. Darwin passes to Hooker a brace of letters 25 …
- … might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
- … there is a little rap for you. GRAY: 26 Hooker [is] dreadfully paradoxical to …
- … 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. …
- … do a good deal to secure it. Darwin passes Gray’s letter to Hooker with a cringe. …
- … C DARWIN, 18–19 AUGUST 1862 149 C DARWIN TO J. D. HOOKER 26 JULY 1863 150 …
- … HOOKER, 3 JULY 1873 198 TO A GRAY 5 FEBRUARY [1871] 199 A GRAY TO C …
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: 16 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] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … to believe in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 …
- … 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 …
- … the publishers, he applied first to his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from …
- … for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did …
- … ‘I’m a grown man now’, he reminded Darwin, ‘& sh d . stand on my own footing, & if it is …
- … Mivart (see Correspondence vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin …
- … views. In December, he sought advice from Huxley and Hooker, sending them a draft letter that …
- … Mivart had written the article ( enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 ). Huxley …
- … to write to Mivart directly after he knew the full result of Hooker’s and Huxley’s representations ( …
- … fourth son, Leonard, who had joined the Royal Engineers in 1871, went to New Zealand as photographer …
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: 16 hits
- … his results. In March 1867, he told his close friend Joseph Hooker, ‘The only fact which I have …
- … produced by a cross between two distinct plants’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1867] ). He noted …
- … of France where Moggridge lived for part of the year ( To J. T. Moggridge, 1 October [1867] ). …
- … ‘I always supposed until lately that no evil effects w d be visible until after several …
- … flower. ‘How utterly mysterious it is’, he reported to Hooker, ‘that there sh d be some …
- … to impotence when taken from the same plant!’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 21 May [1868] ) Pollen tubes, or …
- … Darwin sent specimens of plants he raised from this seed to Hooker, who named it Abutilon darwinii …
- … a new species, & I am honoured by its name’, Darwin told Hooker, ‘It offers an instance, of …
- … the season it becomes capable of self-fertilisation’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 23 July [1871] ). Darwin …
- … 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 …
- … & I have no idea when it will be published’ ( To J. V. Carus, 8 May [1873] ). Hermann Müller …
- … and not on ‘the evil effects of Interbreeding’ ( To J. V. Carus, 2 August [1873] ). In …
- … & Trimorphic plants with new & related matter. ( To J. V. Carus, 19 March [1874] ). A year …
- … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …
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: 20 hits
- … Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
- … Tollet for proofreading and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. …
- … her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
- … from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
- … he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
- … he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
- … so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
- … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
- … Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
- … of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
- … the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
- … Darwin assumes that 'A. B. Blackwell' is a man. Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to …
- … 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, …
- … with her father. Letter 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to Darwin, H. E., [1 April 1871] …
- … be suitable. Letter 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to Darwin, [before 26 April 1871] …
- … Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, [7 November 1871] Sarah Hennell writes to Darwin …
- … patience and care. Letter 6110 - Samuelson, J. to Darwin, [10 April 1868] …
- … is a revelation. Letter 9633 - Nevill, D. F. to Darwin, [11 September 1874] …
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: 20 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] ) …
- … the accursed Index-maker’, Darwin wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker on 6 January . Darwin had sent …
- … 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 …
- … away’ that sparked the most discussion. Darwin wrote to Hooker on 23 February , ‘did you look at …
- … thought it was by Gray himself, but Darwin corrected him: ‘D r Gray would strike me in the face, …
- … editor of the London and Westminster Review . When Hooker later tried to refute the claims of the …
- … a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] ). …
- … on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d C. Darwin M.d’; Binstead evidently …
- … (from ?, 6 April 1868). On 21 May , Darwin complained to Hooker, ‘I am bothered with heaps of …
- … information on colour changes in the canary (letters from J. J. Weir, [26] March 1868 and 3 …
- … added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). Sexual …
- … role of colour, sound, and smell in attracting females. J. J. Weir reported on 14 April 1868 …
- … Wallace that he had begun the previous year, writing to Hooker on 21 May , ‘I always distrust …
- … circulated to remote parts of the world. A correspondent of Hooker’s distributed it in Japan ( …
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: 18 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] ). …
- … peduncles to test sensitivity, and in his request to Hooker for another specimen: ‘I want it …
- … matters which routinists regard in the light of axioms’ ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864 …
- … plant morphology. Many of his other correspondents, such as Hooker and Gray, had grown accustomed to …
- … long series of changes . . .’ When he told Asa Gray in a letter of 29 October [1864] that he was …
- … the Lythrum paper was published, Darwin remarked to Hooker in a letter of 26 November [1864] …
- … letter of 22 October [1864] , Darwin triumphantly wrote to Hooker: ‘I will fight you to the death, …
- … with his stipend being paid by Darwin himself ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [1 April 1864] ). …
- … often at odds with one another: ‘Gardeners are the very d—l, & where two or three are gathered …
- … enough to play your part over them’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 April 1864] ). …
- … … they do require very careful treatment’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 8 April 1864 ). Nevertheless …
- … that in giving I am hastening the fall’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 April 1864 ). In his …
- … a first-class cabin for the journey ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 August 1864] ). Darwin …
- … of man , and selection in relation to sex ( Descent ) in 1871. Along with other publications in …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 19 hits
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … he remarked to his best friend, the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, ‘If I lived 20 more years, & …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now missing) to Hooker, remarking: ‘I should be extremely …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … principle (Nägeli 1865, pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … retrench that position following criticism from his friend Hooker, by admitting that the survival of …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … do fairly well, though if I had read you first, perhaps I d have been less deferential towards …
- … males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November [1869] ). Yet …
- … & contempt—almost hatred—’ ( from Asa Gray and J. L. Gray, 8 and 9 May [1869] ). James …
- … by Wallace’s assertions: ‘If you had not told me I d have thought that they had been added by …
- … & blasphemous preface to 1 st Edit, she has added a 2 d Preface, abusing me like a pick …
- … [her] to translate “Domestic Animals”’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 November [1869] ). Angered by …
- … poured boiling oil over the bumptious man’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 7 September 1869 ). Huxley …
- … suggestions to its publisher, Macmillan ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 November 1869 ). Darwin …
Darwin's bad days
Summary
Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and experimenting, even Darwin had some bad days. These times when nothing appeared to be going right are well illustrated by the following quotations from his letters:
Matches: 1 hits
- … Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 16 hits
- … a specimen of the carnivorous Drosophyllum lusitanicum , Hooker wrote: “Pray work your wicked …
- … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
- … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
- … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
- … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
- … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
- … at the end of November 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873] , “Did I …
- … on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
- … could be transmitted to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February 1873 ). …
- … ( letter from E. F. Lubbock, [before 7 April 1873] ). Hooker added: “I have beaten my brains to …
- … friend— but he is a deal too sharp” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [7 April 1873] ). A group …
- … forced him to take periodic breaks from work ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 February [1873] ). They …
- … new facts which I have to compare & judge of” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 December [1873] ). …
- … intellect; but man can do his duty” ( letter to N. D. Doedes, 2 April 1873 ). Darwin’s …
- … exact accordance with natural selection” ( letter from M. D. Conway, 10 September [1873] ). …
- … vicar, George Sketchley Ffinden, who had been appointed in 1871. Darwin had usually been on good …
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: 17 hits
- … me) attack on Virchow for experimenting on the Trichinae’ (letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January …
- … progress of physiology. He reiterated these concerns in a letter to Thomas Henry Huxley ten days …
- … I love with all my heart’ ( Correspondence vol. 19, letter to ?, 19 May [1871] ). As a …
- … farmers and their staff (see Correspondence vol. 14, letter to a local landowner, [1866?] ). …
- … by the prospect of animals suffering for science. In a letter to E. Ray Lankester, he wrote: ‘You …
- … I shall not sleep to-night’ ( Correspondence vol. 19, letter to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871 …
- … was a sensitive subject within Darwin’s family. In his letter of 14 January 1875 to Huxley, …
- … ones (men of course) or I might get one or two’ (letter from Emma Darwin to F. P. Cobbe, 14 …
- … to serve as the basis for a petition, and gave it to Huxley (letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, …
- … with Huxley, who produced a new sketch for a petition (letter from T. H. Huxley, [4 April 1875] ) …
- … who drafted a memorial, sending it to Darwin on 7 April (letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, 7 …
- … had already been prepared for the House of Lords (see letter to J. S. Burdon Sanderson, [11 April …
- … scientific men’. Darwin sent a copy to Joseph Dalton Hooker requesting his approval as president of …
- … his counsel: ‘we wd do whatever else you think best’ (letter to E. H. Stanley, 15 April 1875 ). …
- … of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1871 that outlined principles for …
- … Sanderson both expressed their dismay at this alteration (letter from T. H. Huxley, 19 May 1875 , …
- … version, and that only minor corrections had been made (letter to Lyon Playfair, 26 May 1875 , …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 20 hits
- … work of preparing new Editions’, he complained again to Hooker on 18 August. Finally, by …
- … much more than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt …
- … the matter to his satisfaction. On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & …
- … during the affair by the loyalty of his close friends, Hooker and Thomas Henry Huxley. …
- … honoured George. You have indeed been a true friend.’ Hooker was hampered by his position as …
- … & if he speaks to me should let him feel it .’ Hooker also directed some of his anger …
- … to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
- … thirst for vengeance is now quite Satisfied’, he told Hooker on 17 January , ‘I feel now like a …
- … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
- … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
- … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
- … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
- … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
- … signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
- … firm. Darwin was impressed by the device, remarking to Hooker on 13 October : ‘Horace has made a …
- … under the authority of the Church. After becoming vicar in 1871, Ffinden had opposed their efforts, …
- … both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
- … her presentation copy of Insectivorous plants ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 15 July [1875] ). Such …
- … of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). …
- … and had agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 20 hits
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
- … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
- … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
- … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
- … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
- … find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
- … sooner or later write differently about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The …
- … leaves into their burrows ( Correspondence vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 …
- … on the summit, whence it rolls down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The …
- … light on it, which would have pleased me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, …
- … desires, grant us this our modest request!’ ( letter from J. L. Ambrose, 3 April 1882 ). Darwin …
- … news to his closest friends. She wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker the day after Darwin’s death. ‘Our …
- … were never very violent’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [20 April 1882] ). In …
- … of your objections to my views, when we meet’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 29 January [1860] ). …
- … steps’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 28 August [1871] ; see also Correspondence vol. 19, …
- … names to appear’ ( letter to Louisa Stevenson, 8 April 1871 ). It was Darwin’s name that was …
- … who had undertaken observations years earlier. In 1871, he had asked Henry Johnson to observe the …
- … vol. 19, letter to Henry Johnson, 23 December 1871 , and Earthworms , pp. 221–8). Darwin …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 23 hits
- … What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 November [1872] …
- … of man and selection in relation to sex , published in 1871, these books brought a strong if …
- … anything more on 'so difficult a subject, as evolution’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 27 July …
- … Darwin’s best efforts, set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 …
- … condition as I can make it’, he wrote to the translator ( letter to J. J. Moulinié, 23 September …
- … translation remained unpublished at the end of the year ( letter from C.-F. Reinwald, 23 November …
- … to the comparative anatomist St George Jackson Mivart ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January …
- … comparison of Whale & duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ) …
- … a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 5 January 1872 ). …
- … Darwin would renounce `fundamental intellectual errors’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 6 January …
- … was silly enough to think he felt friendly towards me’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 8 January [1872 …
- … if only `in another world’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 10 January 1872 ). Darwin, determined …
- … but asked Mivart not to acknowledge it ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). 'I …
- … selection is somewhat under a cloud’, he wrote to J. E. Taylor on 13 January , and he complained …
- … rather than offended by `that clever book’ ( letter to J. M. Herbert, 21 November 1872 ) and …
- … dispute involving his close friend Joseph Dalton Hooker came to a head. Hooker, director of the …
- … system in the glasshouses had escalated to the point where Hooker applied over Ayrton’s head direct …
- … your enemies be cursed, is my pious frame of mind Hooker’s cause was taken up by his …
- … the independence of science from bureaucratic interference. Hooker had kept Darwin well informed: …
- … Darwin’s wholeheartedly partisan reply ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 May 1872 ). On 13 June, a …
- … to make one turn into an old honest Tory’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 July [1872] ). …
- … of the microscope led his head to `fail’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 29 October [1872] ) he had begun …
- … by hearing about Panagæus!’ Darwin wrote ( letter to W. D. Fox, 16 July [1872] ). I …
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 20 hits
- … shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
- … anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
- … corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
- … who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
- … abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
- … thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
- … how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
- … in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
- … make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] ). Darwin …
- … & valuable labours on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). He also …
- … Ape differs from a lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 ). Mivart …
- … whatever may have been his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In his …
- … than I could a ball at Buckingham Palace’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 30 June [1870] ). …
- … persons long married grow like each other’ ( letter from J. J. Weir, 17 March 1870 ). …
- … in Bastian’s solutions of the same kind’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 July [1870] ). Bastian’s …
- … Bruce, about the possibility of inserting a question in the 1871 census about cousin marriage. …
- … on to the last of my uncomfortable days’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 18 February [1870] ). But he had …
- … to be thus killed by a man of 86’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 25 May [1870] ). On learning of this, …
- … I know no more than the man in the moon’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 25 May [1870] ). Horace …
- … believe in bad motives in others’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 15 November [1870] ). Fox reassured him, …
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: 5 hits
- … seeking permission to go on the Beagle voyage, to a letter to C. A. Kennard written on 9 …
- … from the youthful exuberance of the Beagle letters (e.g. letter to Caroline Darwin, 29 April …
- … should one read Darwin’s politely worded rebuke to St G. J. Mivart ( 21 April [1871] ) for the …
- … that led up to his ‘confessing a murder’ in his famous letter to J. D. Hooker, in which he admitted …
- … who was proofreading a draft chapter of Descent (letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
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, …
- … 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, …
- … between Darwin and his close friends, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Charles Lyell, show that Darwin, who …
- … 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, 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: 21 hits
- … selection in relation to sex ( Descent ), published in 1871, and the chapter on expression into …
- … 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 ). …
- … translate my book in preference to you’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 18 April [1867] ). Darwin was not …
- … like that of the date palm. Naudin had sent specimens to Hooker, who reported the ‘wonderful …
- … insecurity persisted, however, and in November he told Hooker, ‘I shall not be at all surprised if …
- … as I have been taunted with concealing my opinions; & I sh d do this immediately after the …
- … the work I shall find it much better done by you than I c d have succeeded in doing’ ( letter to …
- … Douglas Campbell, published The reign of law (G. D. Campbell 1867), a book based on a series of …
- … from T. H. Huxley, [before 7 January 1867] ). In February, Hooker asked whether Darwin had read it …
- … I have not a word to say against it but such a view c d hardly come into a scientific book’ ( …
- … I have not a word to say against it but such a view c d hardly come into a scientific book …
- … judgement he would subdue; that is yours’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). Darwin …
- … alert (see Correspondence vol. 13, letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] and n. 4). …
Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions
Summary
Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...
Matches: 1 hits
- … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, …
