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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: 25 hits
- … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the publication of his …
- … book out of my head’. But a large proportion of Darwin’s time for the rest of the year was devoted …
- … way, and the initial reception of the book in the press. Darwin fielded numerous letters from …
- … offered sharp criticism or even condemnation. Darwin had expected controversy. ‘I shall be …
- … a bare-faced manner.”‘ The most lively debate centred on Darwin’s evolutionary account of the …
- … taste. Correspondence with his readers and critics helped Darwin to clarify, and in some cases …
- … year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression. Darwin continued to investigate the …
- … also brought a significant milestone for the family, as Darwin’s eldest daughter Henrietta was …
- … during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working fairly continuously …
- … do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ) …
- … 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 ). …
- … and the heavy use of their arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 ). Samples …
- … is a thing which I sh d feel very proud of, if anyone c d . say of me.’ After the publication …
- … was achieved through ‘the medium of opinion, positive law &c’, and transmitted by culture, not …
- … in the world except. laughing. crying grinning pouting &c. &c’, he wrote to Hooker on 21 …
- … the mind on the circulation of the blood. The physiologist Michael Foster offered a lengthy …
- … that could then produce physiological changes ( letter from Michael Foster, 4 June [1871] ). …
- … so giddy I can hardly sit up, so no more’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 4 August [1871] ). On 23 …
- … in natural history. He obtained a bottle of curare from Michael Foster in June. Curare was a …
- … work on organisms without a nervous system ( letter from Michael Foster, [26 June 1871] ). …
- … annually on an acre of land at 16 tons (letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [20 November 1871] ). He also …
- … ( letter to Asa Gray, 16 July [1871] , letter to S. R. S. Norton, 23 November [1871] ). …
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: 19 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 …
- … 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] ). …
- … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
- … 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 …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … Descent was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though …
- … on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). …
- … in a few hours dissolve the hardest cartilage, bone & meat &c. &c.’ ( letter to W. D. …
- … whether at the ‘close of the putrefaction of flesh, skin &c, any substance is produced before …
- … details of an Australian variety of sundew ( letter from T. C. Copland, 23 June 1874 ). …
- … Dohrn, 16 April and 9 August 1874 ). Darwin also helped Michael Foster to prepare a printed appeal …
- … Sharpe for promotion at the British Museum ( letter to R. B. Sharpe, 24 November [1874] ). He …
- … head that M r Spencer’s terms of equilibration &c always bother me & make everything less …
- … to work in the physiological laboratory established by Michael Foster. He then studied under John …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 20 hits
- … The year 1876 started out sedately enough with Darwin working on the first draft of his book on the …
- … games. ‘I have won, hurrah, hurrah, 2795 games’, Darwin boasted; ‘my wife … poor creature, has won …
- … regarding the ailments that were so much a feature of Darwin family life. But the calm was not to …
- … four days later. ‘I cannot bear to think of the future’, Darwin confessed to William on 11 …
- … once, the labour of checking proofs proved a blessing, as Darwin sought solace for the loss of his …
- … and his baby son Bernard now part of the household, and Darwin recasting his work on dimorphic and …
- … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
- … had involved much time and effort the previous year, and Darwin clearly wanted to focus his …
- … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
- … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
- … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
- … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
- … effected by his forthcoming pamphlet, Darwin confounded (C. O’Shaughnessy 1876), which, he …
- … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
- … and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). Although …
- … Darwin declared to his father on 31 May . The physiologist Michael Foster, according to George, …
- … year’s experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March 1876] ). A less welcome reaction …
- … the referee (whom he knew to be the Cambridge physiologist Michael Foster), he requested an abstract …
- … because of a ‘long and terrible illness’ ( letter to C. S. Wedgwood, 20 April 1876 ). By the time …
- … in harmony with yours’ ( letter from George Henslow, [ c. 7 December 1876] ). A more typical …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 17 hits
- … Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical …
- … a live worm on a hook (‘Recollections’, pp. 358, 388). Darwin’s concern for animals aligned with …
- … and an integral part of medical and veterinary training. Darwin was clearly disturbed by the …
- … another word about it, else I shall not sleep to-night’ ( letter to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871 …
- … to the last hour of his life’ ( Descent 1: 40). Darwin’s closest encounter with …
- … on rabbits. The investigation was partly aimed at testing Darwin’s ‘hypothesis of pangenesis’, which …
- … of different breeds together. Galton reported regularly to Darwin on the results (all negative). He …
- … Society, calling into question the theory of pangenesis. Darwin was taken aback, and swiftly replied …
- … deserved credit for his ‘ingenuity and perseverance’ ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] …
- … for further cross-circulation and ‘Siamesing’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
- … Some of the results were promising, but inconclusive (see letter from G. J. Romanes, 14 July 1875 …
- … more influenced by experiments on animals than on plants’, Darwin conceded. ‘I think a large number …
- … for your work; & I suppose birds can be chloroformed (letter to G. J. Romanes, 27 December …
- … were analogous to those performed on dogs and other animals. Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants …
- … John Scott Burdon Sanderson, Thomas Lauder Brunton, Michael Foster, and Edward Emanuel Klein, all of …
- … an acquaintance of the Darwins, and had corresponded with Darwin cordially about his moral theory, …
- … of which we can now see the bearings in regard to health &c, I look at as puerile. Darwin …
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Matches: 24 hits
- … When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect …
- … handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller, 22 February …
- … was the collection of observations on a global scale. Darwin was especially interested in peoples …
- … cultural and conventional, or instinctive and universal. Darwin used his existing correspondence …
- … and with the mouth a little drawn back at the corners?” Darwin’s questionnaire was an extension of …
- … was also carefully devised so as to prevent the feelings of Darwin’s remote observers from colouring …
- … and not the susceptibilities of a moral nature.” Darwin did not typically countenance such …
- … the collection of information to its display in print. After Darwin received all of the replies to …
- … except “yes” or “no.” “The same state of mind” Darwin would later assert in Expression of the …
- … uniformity.” Table of Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter …
- … could available online ahead of schedule as part of the “Darwin and Human Nature” project, funded by …
- … Correspondent Letter date Location …
- … nodding vertically Blair, R.H. 11 July …
- … Africa)? ] mentioned in JPM Weale letter, but Bowker039;s answers not found …
- … Fuegians Brooke, C.A.J. 30 Nov 1870 …
- … Dyaks Brooke, C.A.J. 30 April 1871 …
- … Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
- … Square W London, England enclosed in a letter from Henry Maudsley …
- … blushing Darwin, Francis 20 June 1867 …
- … to expressions queries Foster, Michael 4 …
- … South Africa possibly included in letter from Mansel Weale …
- … Peradeniya, Ceylon enclosed in letter from G.H.K. Thwaites …
- … Reade, Winwood W. [c.8 or 9 Apr 1870] Accra, West …
- … in Hottentots Smyth, R. Brough 13 Aug 1868 …
What is an experiment?
Summary
Darwin is not usually regarded as an experimenter, but rather as an astute observer and a grand theorist. His early career seems to confirm this. He began with detailed note-taking, collecting and cataloguing on the Beagle, and edited a descriptive zoology…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Darwin is not usually regarded as an experimenter, but rather as an astute …
- … was of course kept secret and worked upon for decades, as Darwin collected ‘all kinds of facts’ …
- … and acquire specimens for his own use. A portrait of Darwin in 1849 shows him with a specimen …
- … rather than experimentation. According to this view, Darwin was a ‘philosophical naturalist’ whose …
- … than morphological affinity. The two-fold division of Darwin’s science between observation …
- … authorities who could do the more advanced work of theory. Darwin contributed to this movement, …
- … institutional heads like Joseph Dalton Hooker and Asa Gray. Darwin adopted a perspective of great …
- … publications. The final picture that we then have of Darwin is that of a gentleman naturalist, able …
- … a tradition on the wane, and it was gradually eclipsed in Darwin’s own lifetime by the more …
- … is the sharp distinction between observation and theory. Darwin would be the first to defend the …
- … men, with a curb on make far the best observers’ ( letter to C. H. L. Woodd , 4 March 1850 ). He …
- … speculation there is no good & original observation’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 December …
- … that were made to further substantiate evolutionary theory. Darwin was also greatly heartened by the …
- … a highly controlled space with specialized equipment. In Darwin’s day this was by no means the case. …
- … sometimes to refer to naturally occurring phenomena. Darwin clearly regarded many of his domestic …
- … miniature (small plots of land). Experimentation in Darwin’s day was not the monopoly of …
- … and poultry fanciers, landowners, architects, and writers. Darwin sought the advice of an engineer …
- … Scott). In his choice of correspondents and collaborators, Darwin valued patience, caution, and …
- … experimental physiologists such as John Burdon Sanderson and Michael Foster. A final feature …
- … ‘I have become very fond of little experiments’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [21 March 1857] ; …
- … ‘all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 7 May [1855] ). But …
- … at Science … & am never happy except when at work’ ( letter to J. M. Herbert, 25 December [1880 …