To Nature [before 20 March 1879]
Summary
Comments on a letter from Fritz Müller [11839] and particularly on the subject of the disappearance of certain structures in organisms. FM’s explanation deserves serious consideration.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [before 20 Mar 1879] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 20 March 1879, pp. 462–3 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11945 |
To Nature 16 December 1879
Summary
Reports information sent by E. Schulte [12254] on the colours of the male Diadema bolina.
Discusses extent to which consciousness came into play in the origin of certain instincts, including sexual display.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 16 Dec 1879 |
| Classmark: | Nature, 8 January 1880, p. 237 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12359 |
To Nature 15 December [1879]
Summary
CD has repeated a test of whether hybrids of the common and Chinese goose are fertile inter se. Reports his success, and comments on its significance for the theory of descent.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 15 Dec [1879] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 1 January 1880, p. 207 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12391 |
To Nature [before 27 March 1879]
Summary
In reply to a query [in Nature 19 (1879): 433] CD reports that vessels full of water were kept on the deck of a ship to discourage rats from gnawing holes in the ship’s water casks.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [before 27 Mar 1879] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 27 March 1879, p. 481 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8826 |
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: 30 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
- … Press . Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back …
- … was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). He was also unsatisfied with his …
- … me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June 1879] ). Even the prospect of a holiday in the Lake …
- … ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] ). From July, Darwin had an additional …
- … ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ). He may have been consoled to learn …
- … pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 ). The year ended with the start of …
- … or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and the …
- … marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). Seventy years old …
- … could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of Greiz College …
- … with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). The botanist and schoolteacher …
- … was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). Carus Sterne was the …
- … and others as a journal for presenting a uniform view of nature based on the theory of development …
- … ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). As one of Darwin’s most ardent admirers, …
- … he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 ]). Meanwhile, Darwin began searching …
- … my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879 ). While searching for Seward …
- … time Darwin came to investigate his grandfather’s life in 1879, however, not only was Erasmus Darwin …
- … where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the Galton side of the …
- … in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). She suggested that Darwin contact their …
- … with pride’ ( letter from Reginald Darwin, 29 March 1879 ). It was from Reginald that …
- … with each other’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 27 March 1879 ). Darwin’s aim was ‘to give some sort of …
- … indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin welcomed Krause’s suggestion, but …
- … He hates scientific men’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 May 1879 ). From the start of his …
- … to the public’ ( letter to Reginald Darwin, 10 April [1879] ). However, even members of Darwin’s …
- … with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard Darwin, …
- … life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little consolation that …
- … his ‘tether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July …
- … made on scientific grounds. Evidently concerned about the nature of Malcolm Guthrie’s critique of …
- … letter and the image of the frog be published in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 4 and 6 …
- … attend to they will not undertake anything fresh of such a nature’, Darwin wrote in reply on 3 May …
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: 9 hits
- … book, Erasmus Darwin , had been published in November 1879. It was received well by his relations …
- … he had written for the German journal Kosmos in February 1879, an issue produced in honour of …
- … Butler, Evolution old and new , which had appeared in May 1879. Krause wanted to correct Butler’s …
- … Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 , and letter to Ernst Krause, 9 …
- … Darwin stated that Krause’s piece had been written in 1879 (before Evolution old and new was …
- … had raised the plant from seeds sent by Asa Gray in December 1879. His observations differed, …
- … by Gray in an article and textbook (A. Gray 1877 and A. Gray 1879, pp. 20–1). ‘I think you cannot …
- … boundary, the origins of the nervous system, and the nature of ‘sensitivity’. Francis Balfour …
- … vol. 27, letter from J. D. Hooker, 18 December 1879 ). For some years, Wallace’s main source of …
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
Matches: 17 hits
- … 1860s. Both books dealt with similar questions about the nature of movement, so much so, that at one …
- … Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers of 1878 and 1879, he encountered some of the most …
- … by a phenomenon seemingly unrelated to movement — the nature and function of bloom, the waxy or …
- … couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin, 28 February 1879 ). Darwin was especially keen for his …
- … so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879 ). He was reassured by De Vries, who …
- … When Francis spent a month in Algiers in early 1879, Darwin asked him to visit the botanist Gaetano …
- … seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February – 8 March 1879] ). He continued to write up the …
- … ’. The lull in experimental work continued into March 1879, and Darwin seemed weary when he told …
- … the subject of bloom from his book. In mid-June 1879, Darwin was pleased to get back to …
- … and growth ( letter from Hugo de Vries, 7 August 1879 ). Darwin replied, ‘ I thank you much for …
- … the Spring ’. Luckily, De Vries published two papers in 1879 and 1880 that Darwin was later able to …
- … ‘A horrid bore’ In late October 1879, Darwin told Gray, ‘ I have written a rather big …
- … bodies’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 29 October 1879 ). Thiselton-Dyer, who had assisted in …
- … earlier ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 20 November 1879 ). Hooker offered to write to Egypt for …
- … before suggesting ‘The Movements of Plants’ or ‘The Nature of the Movements of Plants’ ( letter to …
- … embryology, which he read when it was published in Nature , ( https://www.nature.com/articles …
- … to Wiesner’s critique in an article published in Nature the day after his father’s death (F. …
Suggested reading
Summary
Contemporary writing Anon., The English matron: A practical manual for young wives, (London, 1846). Anon., The English gentlewoman: A practical manual for young ladies on their entrance to society, (Third edition, London, 1846). Becker, L. E.…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Buckley, A., The fairy-land of science , (London, 1879; Philadelphia 1888). Holmes, M. …
- … 1863). Landells, W., True manhood: its nature, foundation and development , (London, …
- … , (Yale, 1995). Gianquitto, M., ' Good observers of nature’: American women and the …
- … B., Victorian popularizers of science: Designing nature for new audiences (Chicago, 2007). …
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin’s student booklist
Summary
In October 1825 Charles Darwin and his older brother, Erasmus, went to study medicine in Edinburgh, where their father, Robert Waring Darwin, had trained as a doctor in the 1780’s. Erasmus had already graduated from Cambridge and was continuing his studies…
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: 13 hits
- … and the ways in which these influenced his feelings about nature and religion. …
- … and daughter to take a holiday in the Lake District, and in 1879 he went to the Lake District, and …
- … we have the metaphysical notebooks, which are about human nature; we don't have notebooks on …
- … might have ideas that would be of value on species and human nature. He always felt there were many …
- … [For more on this correspondence, see our Design in Nature section.] I think the first …
- … so maybe if you could talk a bit more about that? Also, the nature of this painful void? …
- … of belief? I think you also suggested it was about the nature of belief itself and whether belief is …
- … uncaring creator; his view that the manifold suffering in nature is purposeless? Randal …
- … experience. 14. Darwin's opinion of human nature Dr White: …
- … because of this, he makes this a general feature of human nature, sympathy. There are sources for …
- … Randal Keynes: I think he thought very well of human nature. I think he thought we were basically …
- … That, I think, is the foundation of his belief in human nature and co-operation, and I think that he …
- … and I think, yes, at heart, he had faith in human nature. Dr White: That's a good …
1.14 William Richmond, oil
Summary
< Back to Introduction William Blake Richmond’s portrait of Darwin, dating from 1879, celebrated his honorary degree of LL.D (Doctor in Laws), awarded by Cambridge University in 1877. Darwin’s return to his alma mater for the presentation ceremony…
Matches: 5 hits
- … William Blake Richmond’s portrait of Darwin, dating from 1879, celebrated his honorary degree of LL …
- … Oxford in this same year. In a letter of 18 June 1879, Darwin told Thiselton-Dyer (Hooker’s …
- … William Blake Richmond date of creation 1879-80 computer-readable date 1879 …
- … (18 Nov. 1877), p. 6. ‘Mr. Darwin at Cambridge’, Nature (22 Nov. 1877), p. 64, and Cambridge …
- … in DAR 215.31b. Letters from Darwin to John Fiske, 10 June 1879 (DCP-LETT-12098) and to Thiselton …
Life of Erasmus Darwin
Summary
The Life of Erasmus Darwin (1879) was a curious departure for Darwin. It was intended as a biographical note to accompany an essay on Erasmus's scientific work by the German writer Ernst Krause. But Darwin became immersed in his grandfather's…
Matches: 8 hits
- … The Life of Erasmus Darwin (1879) was a curious departure for Darwin. It was intended as a …
- … the book into grist for controversy. In February 1879, Darwin received an unusual birthday …
- … in the epic poems, The Botanic Garden and Temple of Nature . But Darwin had never known his …
- … work on hereditary genius and the comparative influence of 'nature' and 'nurture' …
- … my grandfathers life ', Darwin wrote to Krause on 14 March 1879. He made contact with family …
- … my tether '. The book was published in November of 1879. Darwin filled his notice with …
- … whose Evolution Old and New had been published in May of 1879, had not failed to find the …
- … defense, and George Romanes published a scathing review in Nature , all of which confirmed Butler …
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: 10 hits
- … had concealed this in his preface to his and Krause’s 1879 book Erasmus Darwin . Although Darwin …
- … Balfour translated Krause’s account and published it in Nature , and George Romanes wrote such …
- … of leaves that were so original that Darwin sent them to Nature for publication. Darwin, who was …
- … to me that anyone could watch the movements & doubt its nature. But these doubts have led me to …
- … He was scrupulous in sending any important observations to Nature or incorporating them into his …
- … there proves that I took a very erroneous view of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( …
- … scientific material Darwin received, he subscribed to Nature , which he thought ‘an excellent …
- … problem: he had been asked to review Wiesner’s book for Nature . ‘It might be an opportunity of …
- … response to Wiesner’s book appeared in the issue of Nature published the day after Darwin’s …
- … Leopold Würtenberger, who had received £100 from Darwin in 1879 to continue his work on the …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…
Matches: 8 hits
- … can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in …
- … reviews of Origin . He also shares his view on design in nature. Although he does not believe in …
- … given to the subject. He poses Gray a question on design in nature, as he is in a “muddle” on this …
- … He says he is in a “thick mud” regarding design in nature, and more inclined to “show a white flag …
- … Darwin’s reluctance to take a definitive position on the nature of God through correspondence with a …
- … Letter 12041 — Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, John, 7 May 1879 In this letter marked “private”, …
- … James Shaw praises Darwin’s theory. He believes beauty in nature is caused by sexual selection, but …
- … Darwin overlooks God’s intention to instruct man by nature’s beauty. Letter 5648 — …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 28 hits
- … 1838] Atlas de la Geographie des trois Regnes de la nature. Paris. 6: folio par Céran de …
- … 1840] [DAR *119: 13] Tucker’s light of Nature [Tucker 1768–78] Johnson …
- … 1834] recommended by Sir. J. Mackintosh J. Long Moral Nature of Man [Long 1747] Novum Organum …
- … [Morton 1839] (Preface) Royal Soc. Aspects of Nature Humboldt [A. von Humboldt 1849]— (d[itt …
- … History of Brazil [R. Southey 1810–19]. Aspects of Nature. Humboldt [A. von Humboldt 1849]. …
- … Lardners 2 nd vol March 16 Gardner’s Music of nature [Gardiner 1832] Life of Haydn …
- … increase of Hab. earth [Linnaeus 1781a]. Wilcke on Police of Nature [Wilcke 1781]. Hoffberg on …
- … May 7 th Skimmed a little of Tucker’s light of nature [Tucker 1768–78]. intolerably prolix …
- … on Travel [Linnaeus 1759]. Biberg on œconomy of nature [Biberg 1759]. Barck on foliation of …
- … 1805] very poor. 20 th Botanic Garden & Temple of Nature [E. Darwin] 1789–91 and 1803] …
- … (d[itt]o) 20 th Reflections on the Study of Nature by Linnæus. (translated) [Linnaeus 1785 …
- … All. Very little —— 29. Humboldt Tableau de la Nature [A. von Humboldt 1808] —— …
- … references to Domestic Birds &c read Belon Hist de la nature des Oiseaux 1555 [Belon 1555 …
- … 2] 1852. Feb. 24 th . Humboldts Aspects of Nature [A. von Humboldt 1849].— …
- … [G. Head 1837] good —— 11. Oersted’s Soul of Nature [Ørsted 1847] (dreadful) —— 24 th …
- … [F. B. Head 1852a]. Aug. 4 th Martineau: Man’s Nature & Development [Atkinson and …
- … 9 CD did not follow his own advice. In 1879, he stated that he had unbounded respect for …
- … Martineau, Harriet. 1851. Letters on the law of man’s nature and development . Edited by Harriet …
- … 12v. Belon, Pierre. 1555. L’histoire de la nature des oyseaux avec leurs descriptions …
- … 119: 4a Biberg, Isaac. 1759. The œconomy of nature. In Stillingfleet, Benjamin, ed., …
- … 1853. Reflections on the phenomenon of rejuvenescence in nature, especially in the life and …
- … natural and revealed, to the constitution and course of nature . London. [Other eds.] *119: …
- … Atlas de la géographie des trois règnes de la nature. Distribution des animaux, des végétaux …
- … Library.] 119: 7a ——. 1803. The temple of nature; or, the origin of society: a poem …
- … Remarks on the influence of climate, situation, nature of country, population, nature of …
- … 128: 11 Gardiner, William. 1832. The music of nature; or, an attempt to prove that …
- … of East Tartary traced through the three kingdoms of nature. Published at Petersburgh … and …
- … 16 Humboldt, Alexander von. 1808. Tableaux de la nature; ou, considérations sur les …
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, …
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: 14 hits
- … opposed to this, said he did not believe it, for ‘Nature never lied’. I am just in this predicament …
- … from imperfect or conjectural data, confident that he reads Nature through and through, and without …
- … therefore they ought, if they behaved properly – and as ‘nature does not lie’ – to go together. …
- … had shown me several of your letters (not of a private nature) and these gave me the warmest feeling …
- … There is a moral or metaphysical part of nature as well as a physical. A man who denies this is deep …
- … grade must ensue, which… may be likened to the conflict in Nature among races in the struggle for …
- … a public statement. GRAY: 89 Organic Nature abounds with unmistakable and …
- … contented to view this wonderful universe and especially the nature of man, and to conclude that …
- … 100 It is very easy to assume that, because events in Nature are in one sense accidental, and …
- … 102 So long as gradatory, orderly, and adapted forms in Nature argue design – and at least while …
- … ordained. 183 The old argument of design in nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed …
- … operation of, an intelligent First Cause. The Ordainer of Nature. Darwin and Gray have for …
- … horrid scare 10 days ago, in the form of a Telegram from ‘Nature’ to the effect that Asa Gray was …
- … 1872 208 JD HOOKER TO C DARWIN, 29 NOVEMBER 1879 209 A GRAY, 1882, …
Hermann Müller
Summary
Hermann (Heinrich Ludwig Hermann) Müller, was born in Mühlberg near Erfurt in 1829. He was the younger brother of Fritz Müller (1822–97). Following the completion of his secondary education at Erfurt in 1848, he studied natural sciences at Halle and Berlin…
What did Darwin believe?
Summary
What did Darwin really believe about God? the Christian revelation? the implications of his theory of evolution for religious faith? These questions were asked again and again in the years following the publication of Origin of species (1859). They are…
Matches: 6 hits
- … In what is perhaps his most revealing response, a letter in 1879 to John Fordyce, an author of works …
- … uncertainty about questions such as the existence and nature of God. For Darwin, it also seems to …
- … but as a state of inquiry, an openness with regard to nature and to revelation, like the openness …
- … belief. Not by any means, is the absolute nature of [a man's] opinions in themselves …
- … of confessed ignorance. The diversity and collaborative nature of Darwin’s readership favoured such …
- … a state of genuine uncertainty regarding the existence and nature of God. Darwin’s unwillingness to …
Discussion Questions and Essay Questions
Summary
There are a wide range of possibilities for opening discussion and essay writing on Darwin’s correspondence. We have provided a set of sample discussion questions and essay questions, each of which focuses on a particular topic or correspondent in depth.…
Fool's experiments
Summary
‘I love fools' experiments. I am always making them’, was one of the most interesting things the zoologist E. Ray Lankester ever heard Darwin say. ‘A great deal might be written as comment on that statement’, Lankester later recorded, but he limited…
Matches: 3 hits
- … what was possible and his openness to being surprised by nature typified his fool’s experiments. …
- … and engaging in self-experimentation. Over several weeks in 1879, Darwin found that ‘with practice …
- … of playfulness and sheer delight in plotting how to trick nature or his own mind in order to reveal …
From morphology to movement: observation and experiment
Summary
Darwin was a thoughtful observer of the natural world from an early age. Whether on a grand scale, as exemplified by his observations on geology, or a microscopic one, as shown by his early work on the eggs and larvae of tiny bryozoans, Darwin was…
Matches: 3 hits
- … and larvae of tiny bryozoans, Darwin was fascinated with nature in all forms. He clearly enjoyed …
- … and climbing plants, physiological features, such as the nature of the fluid in nectaries or the …
- … Movement in plants ). Francis spent the summers of 1878 and 1879 in Würzburg in the laboratory of …
Volume 28 (1880) now published
Summary
1880 opened and closed with an irksome controversy with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of Movement in…
