Search: contains ""

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: 23 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 …
… 1879 ). He was also unsatisfied with his account of Erasmus Darwin, declaring, ‘My little biography …
… a holiday in the Lake District in August did little to raise Darwin’s spirits. ‘I wish that my …
… W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] ). From July, Darwin had an additional worry: the …
… Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 February was a cause for international …
… and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of …
… ). The botanist and schoolteacher Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and …
… but made up for her lack by pointing out that her cousin Emma Nixon had ‘the enviable talent of …
… well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard …
… ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little …
… Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwin’s final task …
… 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 …
… inn ‘ very comfortable’, but told Leonard Darwin on 12 August that there were ‘too many human …
… 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] …
… not to have come up when the Darwins lunched with him on 12 August (Darwin’s ‘Journal’). Nor did …
… the world. At the end of the year he was awarded a prize of 12 ,000 francs by the Turin Academy of …

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: 25 hits

… 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working …
… dispute over an anonymous review that attacked the work of Darwin’s son George dominated the second …
… and traveller Alexander von Humboldt’s 105th birthday, Darwin obliged with a reflection on his debt …
… ). The death of a Cambridge friend, Albert Way, caused Darwin’s cousin, William Darwin Fox, to …
… from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to the self-assessment, ‘as for one …
… I feel very old & helpless The year started for Darwin with a week’s visit to …
… Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
… ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor health so frequently in …
… 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and sceptics Darwin excused himself for reasons of …
… by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George Eliot), but Darwin excused himself, finding it too …
… the month, another Williams séance was held at the home of Darwin’s cousin Hensleigh Wedgwood. Those …
… (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material was …
… the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 …
… was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though containing …
… print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Darwin's …
… Review & in the same type’ ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). George’s letter …
… satisfaction. Assisted in the wording by his wife, Emma , and daughter Henrietta, he finally wrote a …
… a comfortable cabin ( see letter from Leonard Darwin to Emma Darwin, [after 26 June -- 28 September …
… to become Darwin’s secretary. They rented Down Lodge and Emma Darwin wrote, ‘They have . . . made …
… the average in prettiness & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October …
… letter to Down School Board, [after 29 November 1873] ). Emma saw a ‘great blessing’ in the rumour …
… dead uncle’s position of vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October …
… mechanism that Darwin agreed with ( letter to F. J. Cohn, 12 October 1874 ). Darwin’s American …
… bank with enormous tips to his ears ( letter from Asa Gray, 12 May 1874 ). The Manchester …
… excellent, & as clear as light’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 12 August [1874] ). Hooker …

Lost in translation: From Auguste Forel, 12 November 1874

Summary

You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections on your favourite topic—ants. If only you had paid attention when your mother tried to teach you English you might be able to read it. But you didn’t, and you…

Matches: 7 hits

… You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections on …
… you can’t. This was Auguste Forel’s dilemma when Darwin sent him a copy of Thomas Belt’s …
… book on Swiss ants. He had also admitted that he had to get Darwin’s letters translated. It was not …
… barely understand a word. Writing in French on 12 November 1874 to thank Darwin for the …
… the surface of a letter. The English speaker was Emma To de Horst, the head nurse of the …
… in time I even learned to speak it after a fashion. For this Darwin was responsible, and I have been …
… to the scientific enterprise, not least as translators. The Darwin correspondence reveals that many …

Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants

Summary

Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…

Matches: 25 hits

… Towards the end of 1862, Darwin resolved to build a small hothouse at Down House, for ‘experimental …
… hothouse early in 1863 marked something of a milestone in Darwin’s botanical work, since it greatly …
… vol. 5, letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 April [1855] ). Darwin became increasingly involved in …
… Though his greenhouse was probably heated to some extent, Darwin found himself on several occasions …
… make observations and even experiments on his behalf. Darwin’s decision to build a hothouse …
… Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] and n. 13). Initially, …
… of 24 December [1862] ( Correspondence vol. 10) Darwin told Hooker: I have …
… Encyclopedia of gardening (Loudon 1835), a copy of which Darwin signed in 1841 (see the copy in …
… of heat’ (p. 1100). The latter was the sense in which Darwin used the word. The building of …
… accounts (Down House MS)). When it was completed, Darwin told Turnbull that without Horwood’s aid he …
… ). Even before work on the hothouse started, however, Darwin began making preparations to …
… plants’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January [1863] ). Darwin apparently refers to the catalogues …
… whom he had dealt over many years. In his letter to Hooker, Darwin mentioned that he hoped to be …
… (letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 January 1863] ). Darwin agreed to send Hooker his list of …
… (letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 January [1863] ). Darwin probably gave his list of plants to …
… [1863] ). On 20 February, the plants from Kew had arrived. Darwin was delighted, telling Hooker: ‘I …
… of moss, peat, and charcoal (see the letter from Henrietta Emma Darwin to William Erasmus Darwin, …
… Stove [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12 , letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March …
… of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , Calendar no. 6661) …
… 100 yards’ to the greenhouses ( Correspondence vol. 12 , letter to J. D. Hooker, [25 January …
… in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February 1863 ). The second list is …
… Anoectochilus argenteus 12 5 s . …
… punctatum. 11. Mormodes aurantiaca 12 . ‘Anoectochilus argenteus 5 s .’ deleted in …
… Bolbophyllum barbigerum 12 major …
… Ampelidae. 11. Alloplectus chrysanthus. 12 . Bulbophyllum barbigerum. 13. …

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: 19 hits

… < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
… old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, …
… is unknown. Thus the surviving portraits of Darwin as a young man – other than cartoon …
… House, celebrated his marriage in January 1839 to his cousin Emma Wedgwood; the one of Darwin is …
… work can be gauged from a letter which Hooker wrote to Darwin some years later, complaining, with …
… But despite this tendency to prettify, Richmond registered Darwin’s receding hairline, and the …
… February 1839, Elizabeth Wedgwood had written to her sister Emma : ‘My father says he should like to …
… Italy – or would a portrait by Holmes be preferable?’ Emma in response promised, ‘I will go and get …
… 1839. Josiah Wedgwood himself wrote to his daughter Emma in 1840, asking her to commission Richmond …
… 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 …
… Erasmus was entered separately at £31 10 s .) and ‘Mrs. Darwin’, and this must be the Down House …
… of twelve guineas for a second portrait of ‘Mrs Charles Darwin’ followed in 1842. Perhaps this …
… in format and composition to the documented 1840 portrait of Darwin is also at Down House …
… reproduced as the frontispiece to Nora Barlow’s edition of Darwin’s Beagle diary in 1933: she …
… the Down House portraits after they were removed from Susan Darwin’s house in 1866 is also confusing …
… – the only one she knew about – to 1840. However, in Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters …
… Murray, 1887), vol. 3, p. 371. Henrietta Litchfield (ed.), Emma Darwin: A Century of Family …

Interview with Randal Keynes

Summary

Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and the author of Annie’s Box (Fourth Estate, 2001), which discusses Darwin’s home life, his relationship with his wife and children, and the ways in which these influenced his feelings about…

Matches: 18 hits

… Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and the author of Annie’s Box (Fourth …
… University Library - in the Keynes Room! - visiting the Darwin Correspondence Project. Randal is a …
… Your book seems to counter prevailing popular portraits of Darwin as the solitary genius, and of …
… any historian of science, that the great achievements, like Darwin's, and many others, are not …
… [of] all the scientist's colleagues. 6. Darwin's poetic sensibility …
… Yes. 7. How, and what, do we know of Darwin's opinions about religion? …
… out from letters that other people wrote to him, especially Emma . We have her side of a small …
… was questioning hard. He also had to think very hard because Emma wanted him to share her belief; …
… through the 1830s after he really sort of engaged with Emma , into the 1840s, through the 1850s with …
… put my faith in?. The big difference between him and Emma was that while he based his beliefs …
… there for the explanation of the difficulties Darwin and Emma had with each other's beliefs and …
… to.? Dr White: Right. 9. Emma Darwin's influence and struggle …
… but within this context of a marriage and family life, and Emma , who's often been portrayed as …
… Randal Keynes: Yes. I think the first point about Emma is that she was almost a year older than …
… Randal Keynes: And there's one comment [about Emma ] by their daughter Henrietta that in her …
… 10. Parallels between Darwin's occupation and Emma 's faith Dr White: …
… mainly a morality that he could accept. He felt always, with Emma , that there was no argument about …
… be defiant by everyone in the community. 12 . The value of suffering …

Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers

Summary

In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…

Matches: 21 hits

… In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began …
… a very old man, who probably will not last much longer.’ Darwin’s biggest fear was not death, but …
… sweetest place on this earth’. From the start of the year, Darwin had his demise on his mind. He …
… provision for the dividing of his wealth after his death. Darwin’s gloominess was compounded by the …
… and new admirers got in touch, and, for all his fears, Darwin found several scientific topics to …
… Evolution old and new when revising his essay on Erasmus Darwin’s scientific work, and that Darwin …
… memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s Gazette on 8 …
… in a review of Unconscious memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for …
… Butler wished to boast publicly that his quarrel was with Darwin, agreed. Unsure how to address …
… gone mad on such a small matter’. The following day, Darwin himself wrote to Stephen, admitting that …
… made a small omission ’. Stephen’s reply on 12 January was flattering, reassuring, and …
… a slap in the face as he would have cause to remember’. Darwin was enormously relieved. ‘Your note …
… wrote such a savage review of Unconscious memory that Darwin feared he had redirected Butler’s …
… so much for anything in my life as for its success’, Darwin told Arabella Buckley on 4 January . …
… books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 May he described …
… Darwin had difficulty in obtaining mature plants. On 12 April, he reported to Müller , ‘I have …
… to make me happy & contented,’ he told Wallace on 12 July , ‘but life has become very …
… fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and 12 August 1881 ). Darwin may have …
… else’s judgment on the subject ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 July 1881 ). However, some requests …
… soul, he said that he shd. not ask you to send any more.’ Emma Darwin clearly had different concerns …
… with the happy news of a birth. On 7 December, Charles and Emma Darwin’s second grandchild, another …

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: 27 hits

… evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost …
… (1875) and Cross and self fertilisation (1876). Darwin’s son Francis became increasingly …
… career to become his father’s scientific secretary. Darwin had always relied on assistance from …
… Francis’s decision. A large portion of the letters Darwin received in 1873 were in response …
… the previous year. As was typical, readers wrote to Darwin personally to offer suggestions, …
… some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed to discussions in the …
… Francis Galton’s work on inherited talent, which prompted Darwin to reflect on the traits and …
… Station at Naples. Plants that eat and feel? Darwin had resumed experiments on the …
… which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] ). Drosera was the …
… and alkaloids, and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous …
… on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ). Darwin found …
… to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this transmission of …
… plants , p. 63). The plants secreted a viscid fluid, which Darwin suspected attracted insects by …
… ., p. 17). Through a series of painstaking experiments, Darwin determined that the secretions …
… botanist Mary Treat, who performed experiments suggested by Darwin on the North American species …
… . He began to perform experiments modelled on those of Darwin, feeding the plant egg and raw meat, …
… guide to animal experimentation that Klein had co-authored. Darwin contacted two of the Handbook …
… London, and director of the Brown Institution. Darwin sent an abstract of his preliminary …
… muscle and nerve tissue of animals. Burdon Sanderson visited Darwin at Down in July and was drawn …
… To test whether the plants had a nerve-like structure, Darwin suggested electrical experiments on …
… coil. He was so impressed by the results that he sent Darwin the news by telegraph in September, and …
… the Advancement of Science later that month. Finally, Darwin enlisted the chemist Edward …
… for Francis to rent a house in the village (Down Lodge), and Emma rejoiced that they could now go to …
… of November 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873] , “Did I ever boast to …
… early April by Katharine Murray Lyell in conversation with Emma Darwin, and Darwin began to sound …
… and 19 December 1873 ). Ffinden replied tersely to Emma Darwin, stating that he objected to …
… on public grounds” ( letter from G. S. Ffinden to Emma Darwin, 24 December 1873 ). Later …

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: 25 hits

… Editions Plants always held an important place in Darwin’s theorising about species, and …
… his periods of severe illness. Yet on 15 January 1875 , Darwin confessed to his close friend …
… way to continuous writing and revision, activities that Darwin found less gratifying: ‘I am slaving …
… bad.’ The process was compounded by the fact that Darwin was also revising another manuscript …
… coloured stamens.’ At intervals during the year, Darwin was diverted from the onerous task of …
… zoologist St George Jackson Mivart. In April and early May, Darwin was occupied with a heated …
… than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt so angry …
… chapter of the controversy involved a slanderous attack upon Darwin’s son George, in an anonymous …
… from his family, he sent a curt note to Mivart on 12 January , breaking off all future …
… Society of London, and a secretary of the Linnean Society, Darwin’s friends had to find ways of …
… pp. 16–17). ‘How grandly you have defended me’, Darwin wrote on 6 January , ‘You have also …
… in public. ‘Without cutting him direct’, he advised Darwin on 7 January , ‘I should avoid him, …
… & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January 1875 ). Darwin had also considered taking up …
… , ‘I feel now like a pure forgiving Christian!’ Darwin’s ire was not fully spent, however, …
… in the same Quarterly article that attacked George. Darwin raised the matter at the end of the …
… to rest, another controversy was brewing. In December 1874, Darwin had been asked to sign a memorial …
… Hensleigh and Frances Wedgwood. She had corresponded with Darwin about the evolution of the moral …
… could not sign the paper sent me by Miss Cobbe.’ Darwin found Cobbe’s memorial inflammatory …
… of a bill that was presented to the House of Commons on 12 May, one week after a rival bill based on …
… George Sketchley Ffinden resurfaced. In 1873, Charles and Emma Darwin and the Lubbocks had sought …
… and the Darwins did not warm thereafter. On 24 December , Emma wrote triumphantly to the former …
… The author, Fritz Schultze, contacted Darwin himself on 12 June , describing the aims of his book …
… the upper ranks of society could be especially taxing. As Emma remarked in a letter to William on 1 …
… Henry Eeles Dresser. ‘The horror was great’, Henrietta Emma Litchfield wrote to her brother Leonard …
… scientific Socy. has done in my time,’ he told Hooker on 12 December . ‘I wish that I knew what …

Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments

Summary

1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…

Matches: 26 hits

… indicates, 1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his …
… promotion of his theory of natural selection also continued: Darwin’s own works expanded on it, …
… a keen interest in the progress of his views through Europe, Darwin negotiated, in addition to a …
… the family over the summer. But towards the end of the year, Darwin was able once more to turn his …
… of the Scottish press hissed). Huxley, while advocating Darwin’s theory, had again espoused the view …
… experimental production of new ‘physiological’ species. Darwin attempted to dissuade him from this …
… delivered a series of lectures to working men that reviewed Darwin’s theory, and sent copies to …
… about the vars. of Tobacco.' At the end of the year, Darwin seemed resigned to their …
… common man This correspondence with Huxley made Darwin keener than ever to repeat the …
… began writing long, intelligent, and informative letters, Darwin, impressed, gave him the commission …
… of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ): ‘my notions on …
… when crossed with another plant of the reciprocal form. Darwin concluded that the two forms existed …
… in Primula ’, p. 92 ( Collected papers 2: 59)). Darwin later recalled: ‘no little discovery of …
… , p. 134). On completion of his Primula paper, Darwin repeated his crosses through a …
… George Bentham at Kew were also tapped for their knowledge. Darwin, initially hopeful, became …
… one by one 6700 seeds of Monochætum!!’ By October, Darwin was flagging and declared to Gray: ‘I am …
… is something very curious to be made out about them.’ Darwin persisted with his experiments through …
… proved more profitable subjects for investigation, and Darwin was soon filling portfolios with notes …
… least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ), and experimenting to …
… to M. T. Masters, 24 July [1862] ). The materials that Darwin amassed on heterostyly in this year …
… ). When Darwin wrote to Gray in July that he and Emma had ‘come to wish for Peace at any …
… of further infection must be avoided, leaving Darwin and Emma ‘perplexed to death what to do’ ( …
… off in mid-August. However, Leonard had a relapse and Emma caught the infection herself, forcing …
… passed so miserable a nine months’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 12 September [1862] ). A family …
… ‘Botany is a new subject to me’ ( letter to John Scott, 12 November [1862] ), but, impressed by …
… into Tyndall’s ears’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10–12 November [1862] ). Another of Darwin’s …

List of correspondents

Summary

Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent. "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…

Matches: 24 hits

… Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. …
… (1) Agassiz, Alexander (12) Agassiz, Louis …
… (1) Berkeley, M. J. (12) Berlin (1) …
… Dareste, Camille (9) Darwin family (1) …
… Elizabeth (9) Darwin, Emma (191) …
… (1) Gaudry, Albert (12) Geach, F. F. …
… (3) Geikie, Archibald (12) Geikie, James …
… Hermenegildo (1) Gisborne, Emma (1) …
… (1) Grove, W. R. (12) Groves, Henry …
… J.-B. P. (1) Gärtner, Emma (2) …
… (3) Hooker, F. H. (12) Hooker, Hyacinth …
… (2) Judd, J. W. (12) Jukes, J. B. (9 …
… (2) Koch, Eduard (12) Koch, Heinrich …
… (3) Layton, Charles (12) Le Couteur, John …
… (1) Mackintosh, Daniel (12) Maclaren, Charles …
… (1) McLennan, J. F. (12) McNeill, Archibald …
… (1) Meehan, Thomas (12) Meitzen, August …
… Niven, James (1) Nixon, Emma (1) …
… Peel, Jonathan (5) Pender, Emma (1) …
… (9) Rolle, Friedrich (12) Rolleston, George …
… Elizabeth (11) Wedgwood, Emma (191) …
… (1) Whitley, C. T. (12) Whitney, W. D. …
… Wrigley, Alfred (8) Wuttke, Emma (1) …
… (2) Zacharias, Otto (12) Zeuschner, E. L. …

Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms

Summary

‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…

Matches: 21 hits

… heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old …
… to adapt to varying conditions. The implications of Darwin’s work for the boundary between animals …
… studies of animal instincts by George John Romanes drew upon Darwin’s early observations of infants, …
… of evolution and creation. Many letters flowed between Darwin and his children, as he took delight …
… Financial support for science was a recurring issue, as Darwin tried to secure a Civil List pension …
… with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. …
… Charles Harrison Tindal, sent a cache of letters from two of Darwin’s grandfather’s clerical friends …
… divines to see a pig’s body opened is very amusing’, Darwin replied, ‘& that about my …
… registry offices, and produced a twenty-page history of the Darwin family reaching back to the …
… the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 ). Darwin’s sons George and Leonard also …
… and conciliate a few whose ancestors had not featured in Darwin’s Life . ‘In an endeavour to …
… think I must pay a round of visits.’ One cousin, Reginald Darwin, warmed to George: ‘he had been …
… an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and Emma Darwin, 22 July …
… Butler, 3 January 1880 ). At the top of Butler’s letter, Emma Darwin wrote: ‘it means war we think’ …
… leading journalist was sought. Leslie Stephen’s reply on 12 January [1881] echoed that of Huxley …
… my excitement’ ( letter from Horace Darwin to Emma Darwin, [18 September 1880] ). Darwin’s …
… with diverse backgrounds and interests. In February, a 12 -year-old boy asked politely, ‘What causes …
… October 1880 ). The president of the society explained to Emma that the members of the union wished …
… …“Come of Age”‘ ( letter from W. C. Williamson to Emma Darwin, 2 September 1880 ). In April, …
… year was marked by the loss of several close family members. Emma ’s brother Josiah Wedgwood III died …
… Surrey, which became a regular destination for Charles and Emma , and also a site of scientific …

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: 27 hits

… In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous …
… for scientific colleagues or their widows facing hardship. Darwin had suffered from poor health …
… of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater public recognition …
… Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwin’s greatest scientific pleasure. The year …
… to Fritz Müller, 4 January 1882 ). These were topics that Darwin had been investigating for years, …
… working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots,’ Darwin wrote, ‘the chief result being that …
… for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. Darwin’s interest in root response and the …
… London on 6 and 16 March, respectively. In January, Darwin corresponded with George John …
… letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 28 December 1881 ). Darwin had a long-running interest in such …
… experiments had been conducted to lend support to Darwin’s theory of pangenesis (see …
… He was eager to write up the results on Brazilian cane, with Darwin providing a detailed outline: ‘I …
… H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, and letter to J. H. Gilbert, 12 January 1882 ). In Earthworms , …
… 20 March [1882] ; see also letter from T. L Brunton, 12 February 1882 , and letter to T. L. …
… and was no longer able to take his daily strolls (Henrietta Emma Litchfield, ‘Charles Darwin’s death …
… E. Litchfield to G. H. Darwin, 17 March 1882 (DAR 245: 319)) Emma wrote ten days later: ‘You will …
… been a good deal plagued with dull aching in the chest’ (Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, [ c . 28 …
… benefit & he escaped pain entirely yesterday’ (letter from Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, 6 April …
… wrote to George, who had visited Down on 11 April (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)). ‘Father was taken …
… H. Darwin, [19 April 1882] (DAR 245: 320)). It was left to Emma to convey the sorrowful news to his …
… which I hope were never very violent’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [20 April 1882 …
… have possessed & have been able to be to him’ (letter from Emma Darwin to Leonard Darwin, [21? …
… & it is a consolation to me to think that the last 10 or 12 years were the happiest (owing to …
… they were the most overflowing in tenderness’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, 10 May 1882 …
… was eagerly awaited by his family, including his cousin Emma Wedgwood. In long letters to her sister …
… plied him with questions without any mercy’ ( letter from Emma Wedgwood to F. E. E. Wedgwood, [28 …
… ’ ( Correspondence vol. 17, letter from F. M. Malven, 12 February [1869] ). An extract from …
… the same class with his’ ( letter to F. M. Malven, [after 12 February 1869] ). Accompanying this …

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: 17 hits

… | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
… community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
… Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin …
… peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October …
… garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] Darwin’s …
… . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867] Mary Barber …
… her observations on the expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 …
… 1868] Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, writes to Emma Darwin’s sister, Sarah, with observations of …
… Darwin’s nephews, Edmund and Charles, write to Emma Darwin’s sister, Sarah, with observations of …
… Wedgwood, S. E. & J. to Darwin, [10 November 1837] Emma ’s sister, Sarah, passes on …
… Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B . to Darwin, [12 February 1876] Sophia Herrick …
… E. to Darwin, W. E., [January 23rd 1887]: Emma Darwin tells her eldest son, William, …
… E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March, 1862 - DAR 219.1:49) Emma Darwin updates her son, William, …
… future. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12 -13 March 1863] Darwin …
… Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
… is a great critic”, thought the article worth reprinting, Emma was less convinced. Letter …
… Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D. F., [12 November 1861] Darwin requests the …

'An Appeal' against animal cruelty

Summary

The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…

Matches: 10 hits

… below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see …
… of steel vermin-traps, was privately printed in July, and Emma organised the distribution of the …
… 1872, pp. 99–100, 1 April 1874, p. 56). Charles and Emma distributed the 'Appeal' …
… that a prize should be offered for a humane trap, and Emma accordingly sent out papers for …
… for distributing the 'cruelty pamphlet', and letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 …
… paper Animal World , and prominently linked Charles Darwin"s name to the offer of a prize …
… campaign had little direct effect (Moss 1961, pp. 146–7, Emma Darwin 2: 200). Although …
… than the possible alternatives (see letter from E. L. Darwin, 7 September 1863, letter from Emma …
… in 1877 ( Spectator , 6 January 1877, p. 15, and Emma Darwin 2: 200–1). While Emma …
… cruelty to animals, 1849 ( Statutes, public and general , 12 & 13 Vict. c. 92). 6 …

Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad

Summary

At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…

Matches: 24 hits

… At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
… markedly, reflecting a decline in his already weak health. Darwin then began punctuating letters …
… am languid & bedeviled … & hate everybody’. Although Darwin did continue his botanical …
… letter-writing dwindled considerably. The correspondence and Darwin’s scientific work diminished …
… of the water-cure. The treatment was not effective and Darwin remained ill for the rest of the year. …
… the correspondence from the year. These letters illustrate Darwin’s preoccupation with the …
… to man’s place in nature both had a direct bearing on Darwin’s species theory and on the problem …
… detailed anatomical similarities between humans and apes, Darwin was full of praise. He especially …
… in expressing any judgment on Species or origin of man’. Darwin’s concern about the popular …
… Lyell’s and Huxley’s books. Three years earlier Darwin had predicted that Lyell’s forthcoming …
… first half of 1863 focused attention even more closely on Darwin’s arguments for species change. …
… ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin reiterated in a later letter that it …
… of creation, and the origin of species particularly, worried Darwin; he told Hooker that he had once …
… letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] ). Darwin did not relish telling Lyell of his …
… he had ‘gained nothing’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12 –13 March [1863] ). poor miserable …
… Natural History Review ( see letter to H. W. Bates, 12 January [1863] ). Darwin added Bates’s …
… had been unsuccessful ( see letter from E. A. Darwin to Emma Darwin, 11 November [1863] ). The …
… Society ( see letter from Edward Sabine to John Phillips, 12 November 1863 ). Characteristically, …
… also encouraged him to write ( see letter to John Scott, 12 April [1863] ). In this paper, Scott …
… to capture his attention ( see letter to John Scott, 12 April [1863] ). Additionally, Darwin …
… Huxley, 25 February 1863 , and letter to Charles Lyell, 12 –13 March [1863] ). Emma was a …
… shrubs ( see letter from W. D. Fox, 7 September [1863] ). Emma wrote back: ‘This has been a great …
… fared little better, and most letters were dictated to Emma . Darwin only managed one of his …
… letters from him in December were short, and dictated to Emma . By the end of the year, Emma admitted …

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: 25 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 …
… by every blessing except that of vigorous health… DARWIN: 4 My confounded stomach …
… pursuits and the simplicity of his character. DARWIN: 5 I am allowed to work now …
… own house, where he was the most charming of hosts. DARWIN: 6 My life goes on …
… being a part of [an unpublished] manuscript. Darwin settles down to write. His tone is …
… THE CONCURRENCE OF BOTANISTS: 1855 In which Darwin initiates a long-running correspondence …
… gossip about difficult colleagues (Agassiz). Gray realizes Darwin is not revealing all of his …
… man, more formally attired and lighter on his feet than Darwin. He has many more demands on his time …
… catches his attention. He opens the letter. DARWIN: 8 April 25 th 1855. My …
… filled up the paper you sent me as well as I could. DARWIN: 10 My dear Dr Gray. I …
… has done my stomach surprising good. GRAY: 12 My dear Mr Darwin, I rejoice in …
… 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. …
… HOOKER 10 MAY 1848 5 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 12 OCTOBER 1849 6 C DARWIN …
… 11 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, 5 JUNE 1855 12 A GRAY TO C DARWIN, 30 JUNE 1855 …
… HOOKER, 11 OCTOBER 1858 59 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER, 12 OCTOBER 1857 60 A GRAY TO …

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: 27 hits

… At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
… appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a …
… ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868] ). He may have resented the …
… material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwin’s interests remained extremely broad, and …
… plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to …
… Carl von Nägeli and perfectibility Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a …
… a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägeli’s paper …
… principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory …
… in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now …
… are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwin’s apparent confusion about Nägeli’s …
… ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwin’s uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently …
… pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical examples he could use …
… problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth …
… prevailing theory of blending inheritance that Jenkin and Darwin both shared, would tend to be lost …
… ( Origin 5th ed., pp. 103–4). The terminology that Darwin and others employed in these matters ( …
… ‘I must have expressed myself atrociously’, Darwin wrote to Alfred Russel Wallace on 2 February , …
… of Origin was the result of correspondence between Darwin and the geologist James Croll. In the …
… but it was his theory of alternate ice ages that piqued Darwin’s interest the most. He wrote, ‘this …
… ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin had argued ( Origin , pp. 377–8) that plant …
… would always exist. In Origin 5th ed., pp. 450–61, Darwin accounted for the survival of tropical …
… James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Croll could not supply Darwin with an estimate of the age of the …
… ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). Darwin did not directly challenge Thomson’s …
… 19 March [1869] ). Towards Descent Once Darwin had completed revisions of the …
… and overseas. The dog-breeder George Cupples worked hard on Darwin’s behalf, sending a steady stream …
… he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This research …
… Darwin had faithfully followed the prescription. Henrietta Emma Darwin wrote to her brother George …
… season, Darwin spent some of his evenings listening to Emma read aloud from a new book by Darwin’s …

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: 26 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 …
… lunatics, the blind, and animals. And as early as 1839 Darwin had begun to collect information on …
… 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 …
… 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 …
… certainly during first fortnight at sudden sounds. & at Emma ’s moving 3 [11] When …
… without a corresponding sensation. D r . Holland[12 ] informs me children do not learn …
… & 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 …
… each scream approaches it.— 8 Between 11 & 12 weeks old in smiling. I observe he …
… present when screaming from pain When one day under 12 weeks took hold of Catherines[20] …
… the first time he used his right hand, was observed 12 weeks & one day whilst violently …
… it is easy to see, are those of inspiration.— 12 April 20 th .— Took my finger to his …
… April 4 14wks & 1 day. 11 – 12 May 16 …
… habit he continued for some months Jan 12 th . He observed, & gave cry of recognition …
… Anne, on seeing her often kissed self in glass Jan 12 th — observed image in eye.— …
… Door. the only difference between our door N o 12 and N o 11 is in the slit for the Letter …

The Lyell–Lubbock dispute

Summary

In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…

Matches: 23 hits

… of whom took immediate action to mediate a solution. Charles Darwin had close ties with both men and …
… In the concluding paragraphs of Origin , Darwin had predicted that a ‘revolution in natural …
… Thomas Henry Huxley, Busk, and several other supporters of Darwin in editing the Natural History …
… aspects of the book. Throughout the first half of 1863, Darwin discussed the book in correspondence …
… spoke out publicly about any controversial aspect. Darwin’s chief complaint about the book …
… he thought about ‘the derivation of Species’. 8 Darwin continued to feel aggrieved about …
… to the Athenæum . 9 In the same letter, Darwin touched on an area of public …
… accusation, which had just appeared in the Athenæum . Darwin had not advised Falconer personally, …
… 11 In the same review Lubbock expressed publicly what Darwin had said privately; that is, that …
… given that ‘the whole tenor of his argument’ supported Darwin’s theory ([Lubbock] 1863b, p. 213). …
… speak of their own original researches’. He then added: 12 Very many other parts …
… of all three letters to a number of friends, including Darwin. 22 Just before he …
… who had also been sent copies of the letters, wrote to Darwin to ask what he thought of the affair ( …
… as ‘rude & insulting’ and, in part, hardly intelligible. Darwin responded that, while he thought …
… on the topic of the dispute has been found, but Lyell sent Darwin the corrected proofs of the …
… ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). By this time, Darwin clearly wished to avoid direct …
… for an opinion ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 July 1865 ), Darwin wrote back ( letter to J. D. …
… everything in world— Another indication of Darwin’s wish to avoid involvement is the …
… and, as mentioned above, discussed the matter in person with Darwin. Lyell wrote to Darwin, Hooker, …
… severe an attack on Sir Charles Lyell’. 32 Darwin’s analysis of the situation was …
… was ‘unintentional’ ([Lubbock] 1863b, p. 214). 12 . Letter from Hugh Falconer to John …
… Hooker, [31 May 1865] and n. 1. 23. Letter from Emma Darwin to Henrietta Emma Darwin, …
… Gesellschaft in Zürich 9 (1853–6): 65–100; 12 (1857–8): 111–56; 13 (1858–63): i–x; 14 (1858–63): 1 …

Darwin Correspondence Project

Search form

Search: contains ""

Bad Request

Summary

Matches: 23 hits

Summary

Matches: 25 hits

Summary

Matches: 7 hits

Summary

Matches: 25 hits

Summary

Matches: 19 hits

Summary

Matches: 18 hits

Summary

Matches: 21 hits

Summary

Matches: 27 hits

Summary

Matches: 25 hits

Summary

Matches: 26 hits

Summary

Matches: 24 hits

Summary

Matches: 21 hits

Summary

Matches: 27 hits

Summary

Matches: 17 hits

Summary

Matches: 10 hits

Summary

Matches: 24 hits

Summary

Matches: 25 hits

Summary

Matches: 27 hits

Summary

Matches: 26 hits

Summary

Matches: 23 hits