Darwin Correspondence Project

Meet the correspondents

GRAY-A-01-01957.jpg Asa Gray CUL DAR 257:109 Cambridge University Library Asa Gray	SEDGWICK-A-01-04276.jpg http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw40351/Adam-Sedgwick? Adam Sedgwick by Samuel Cousins, after Thomas Phillips mezzotint, published 1833, NPG D5929Adam Sedgwick by Samuel Cousins, after Thomas Phillips mezzotint, published 1833, NPG D5929 mw40351 © National Portrait Gallery, London CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Adam Sedgwick	DARWIN-H-E-01-01225.jpg Henrietta Emma Darwin CUL DAR 225: 52 Cambridge University Library Henrietta Emma Darwin	CRICHTON-BROWNE-J-01-00677.jpg http://wellcomeimages.org/ Sir James Crichton Browne, Photograph, ICV No 29012 V0028544 Wellcome Library, London CC BY 4.0 James Crichton-Browne
DARWIN-E-01-01218.jpg Emma Darwin with Leonard Darwin as a child CUL DAR 225: 93 Cambridge University Library Emma Darwin	MURRAY-J-01-03463.jpg John Murray CUL 456.d.91.291 Cambridge University Library John Murray	WALLACE-A-R-02-04935.jpg http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/s/6vu7ve Alfred Russel Wallace R8475 Copyright of The University of Manchester CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Alfred Russel Wallace	HUMBOLDT-F-W-H-A-von-01-02443.jpg http://biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/34393#/summary Alexander von Humboldt Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Digitised by the University of Pittsburgh Alexander von Humboldt

'I hear that Ladies think it delightful reading, but that it does not do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale.' For the first time online you can now read the full texts of nearly 800 letters Darwin wrote and received during 1871, the year in which his controversial first public statement on human evolution was published. The extraordinary number of letters reflects the excitement the book – Descent of man and selection in relation to sex – caused. All 2500 copies of the first printing sold immediately, and 5000 more copies were published during the year.

Visiting the Darwins

'As for Mr Darwin, he is entirely fascinating…' In October 1868 Jane Gray and her husband spent several days as guests of the Darwins, and Jane wrote a charming account of the visit in a sixteen-page letter to her sister. She described Charles and Emma Darwin, their daughter Henrietta, Down House and its grounds, the daily routine of the household, and her own part in one of Darwin’s experiments.

Darwin didn't say...

after CUL DAR 225: 175

Cambridge University Library

Six things Darwin never said – and one he did

Darwin is often quoted – and often misquoted. Here are some sayings regularly attributed to Darwin that never flowed from his pen. And one thing Darwin did say, but which is often quoted out of context to suggest, quite wrongly, that he had doubts about the validity of his theories.

The evolution of honeycomb

Darwin recognised that explaining the evolution of the honey-bee’s comb-building abilities was essential if his theory of natural selection was to be taken seriously, and in the 1850s he carried out his own experiments at his home at Down House in Kent, and wrote many letters on the subject.

Tweets by @MyDearDarwin

Read and search the full texts of more than 8,500 of Charles Darwin’s letters, and ﬁnd information on 6,500 more. Discover complete transcripts of all known letters Darwin wrote and received up to the year 1871.

Darwin for Schools

Journey-Thumb-01-01.jpg

Discover our new schools resources for 7-11 year olds.

Visit the schools section

Darwin-Human-Nature.jpg

http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-DAR-00053-00001
Darwin and human nature - Expression photos
after CUL DAR 53.1: C38r, C52r, C72r & C74r
Cambridge University Library

Human nature
MS-DAR-00121-000-p36-Tree-of-Life.jpg

Darwin's Tree of Life sketch from his “B” notebook on Transmutation of Species
CUL DAR 121, page 36
Cambridge University Library

Evolution
Origin-Spines.jpg

http://wellcomeimages.org/
6 editions of 'The Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin
L0051092
Wellcome Library, London
CC BY 4.0

Origin
Darwin-Geology.jpg

Some of Darwin's geological drawings
after CUL DAR 44: 13 & 33
Cambridge University Library

Geology
MS-DAR-00219-00012-000-00009.jpg

Some of the Darwin’s relaxing at Down House
CUL DAR 219.12: 9
Cambridge University Library

Home and family
MS-ADD-07984-000-00031.jpg

http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-07984/31
The Adventure and Beagle at Point Punta Arenas and Isla de Cochinos, Chiloé, by Conrad Martens
CUL Add. 7984: 19
Cambridge University Library

Voyage of HMS Beagle