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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: 19 hits
- … I cannot bear to think of the future The year 1876 started out sedately enough with …
- … 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 …
- … the first member of the next generation of the family, with Francis and Amy’s child expected in …
- … four days later. ‘I cannot bear to think of the future’, Darwin confessed to William on 11 …
- … beloved daughter-in-law and relief from his anxiety about Francis. By the end of the year there was …
- … in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The preparation of the second edition …
- … Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February 1876 ). When Smith, Elder and Company …
- … observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. ) Darwin focused instead on the …
- … ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising Orchids was less a …
- … with his new research in mind: ‘During this autumn of 1876 I shall publish on the “Effects of Cross …
- … Darwin reassured his close friend Joseph Hooker that he and Francis would attend the meeting. Darwin …
- … been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February 1876] ). …
- … subject takes an opposite line’. Although he conceded that Francis had the best of an argument with …
- … to propose the young rising star of Cambridge morphology, Francis Maitland Balfour, for fellowship …
- … of the earliest available commercial models of typewriter. Francis Darwin and his wife, Amy, …
- … of illness & misery there is in the world’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 26 May [1876] ). A …
- … we have & you are one of the best of all’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 11 September [1876] ). …
- … been the subject of mere observation’ ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 31 December 1876 ). The Swiss …

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: 22 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 …
- … he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] …
- … all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 ). The year …
- … to complete Horace’s marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
- … with Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Kosmos was, as Francis Darwin reported from Germany that …
- … the children correctly’, mentioning in particular that Francis Galton was the son of one of Erasmus …
- … to contradict false statements that had been published by Francis Galton’s aunt, Mary Anne …
- … for Captain Robert FitzRoy on the Beagle voyage, Francis Beaufort of the Admiralty described the …
- … and poet’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter from Francis Beaufort to Robert FitzRoy, 1 September …
- … perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was …
- … and he regretted going beyond his ‘tether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and …
- … traveller … neither cross nor ennuied’ (Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: 125 …
- … & that it was suppressed gout. Also how well off he wd be, w. is a matter of some consequence …
- … wait for three months. ‘Nothing can be more useless than T.H’s conduct’, Emma Darwin pointed out, …
- … to say that he has opposed it’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: …
- … German men of science quarrelled (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [6 September 1879] (DAR …
- … self- and cross-fertilisation, had first contacted Darwin in 1876. By 1878, Darwin was sufficiently …
- … agreed to their engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin …

Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 19 hits
- … lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to …
- … organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments …
- … of most advanced plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in …
- … from botanical research was provided by potatoes, as Darwin took up the cause of an Irish …
- … would rid Ireland of famine. Several correspondents pressed Darwin for his views on religion, …
- … closed with remarkable news of a large legacy bequeathed to Darwin by a stranger as a reward for his …
- … birthday ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 February [1878] ), Darwin reflected that it was ‘more …
- … Expression ), and the final revision of Origin (1872), Darwin had turned almost exclusively to …
- … Movement in plants In the spring of 1878, Darwin started to focus on the first shoots and …
- … (see Movement in plants , pp. 112–13). He explained to Francis on 2 July : ‘I go on maundering …
- … out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] ). …
- … the bassoon & apparently more by a high than a low note.’ Francis apparently played the musical …
- … on plant movement were intensely collaborative, with Francis playing a more active role than ever. …
- … exchanged when they were apart. At the start of June, Francis left to work at Sach’s laboratory in …
- … from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878] ). ‘Sachs doesn’t consider that there is any puzzle as to how …
- … he was unwell. ‘I was rather seedy last night & didn’t appear at the laboratory & this …
- … ill favour because however civilly I may word it a man can’t like to have his work torn to shreds …
- … bitter opponent’ ( Correspondence vol. 24, letter to T. C. Eyton, 22 April 1876 ). ‘When I …
- … business to raise different varieties on a large scale. In 1876, he had gone so far as to send …
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 26 hits
- … Ever since the publication of Expression , Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The …
- … of these projects would culminate in a major publication. Darwin’s botany was increasingly a …
- … assisted his father’s research on movement and bloom, and Darwin in turn encouraged his son’s own …
- … The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. Darwin received two elaborate photograph albums …
- … from Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Closer to home, Darwin received an honorary Doctorate of …
- … sites for possible earthworm activity. Now in his 69th year, Darwin remained remarkably productive, …
- … no controversy. In his autobiographical reflections, Darwin remarked: ‘no little discovery of …
- … (‘Recollections’, p. 419). During the winter and spring, Darwin was busy preparing the manuscript of …
- … and presented to the Linnean Society of London. In the book, Darwin adopted the more recent term …
- … as dimorphic without comparing pollen-grains & stigmas’, Darwin remarked to Joseph Dalton …
- … value, it is not likely that more than a few hundred copies w d . be sold’. His publisher knew …
- … to Down if it lay in my power and you thought it w d . help you.’ ‘I declare had it not been for …
- … In the end, Darwin did not publish on the subject, but Francis later reported some of the results of …
- … Hooker’s suspicion of ambitious gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August 1877 ). …
- … with thread, card, and bits of glass. Encouraging Francis Darwin greatly enjoyed …
- … eminent German botanist Ferdinand Julius Cohn, who confirmed Francis’s observations: ‘the most …
- … Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). Francis’s paper eventually appeared in the …
- … copies of Kosmos covering the German debate (letters to W. E. Gladstone, 2 October 1877 and …
- … of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October 1877 ). …
- … Siebold’s study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October 1877 ). An …
- … blood and thus keep back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles …
- … to hide the absence of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). More …
- … had visited Down House and become friendly with George and Francis. He wrote to Francis on 24 …
- … exhibit is in many cases purely physical’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 10 September 1877 ). Darwin …
- … them drink so that they become quite tipsy’ ( letter to W. M. Moorsom, 11 September [1877] ). …
- … a critique of Francis Galton’s theory of heredity in 1876, but as he was a philosophical writer …

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: 23 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 …
- … of the false accusation’. Other friends rallied round. Francis Balfour translated Krause’s account …
- … had been a major undertaking for both Darwin and his son Francis, who assisted in the many …
- … & very surprising the whole case is to me’ (letters to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] and …
- … of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] ). Although results …
- … July, sending the pages to Germany for further checks by Francis Darwin, who was spending the summer …
- … Ruskin, who lived there. Sending the last two chapters to Francis on 27 May , Darwin wrote, …
- … to begin any new subject requiring much work’, he told Francis Darwin on 30 May . ‘I have been …
- … case.’ An additional motivation may have been to support Francis Darwin’s published research on …
- … Darwin tried a variety of plants and reagents, telling Francis on 17 October , ‘I have wasted …
- … up the job; but I cannot endure to do this’, Darwin told Francis on 9 November , and writing …
- … suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March [1881] ) …
- … little, to the general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). Josef Popper, an …
- … of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). …
- … Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company led Darwin to chide Francis for giving a klinostat designed …
- … ‘not absurd for one with no pretensions’ (l etter from W. E. Darwin, 13 January [1881 ]), Darwin …
- … supporters, and rejoiced in his election. Promoting Francis’s own botanical research was as …
- … ‘absurd and wicked prosecution’ under the terms of the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act ( letter to T. L …

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 …
- … chapter of the controversy involved a slanderous attack upon Darwin’s son George, in an anonymous …
- … on 12 January , breaking off all future communication. Darwin had been supported during the affair …
- … 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, …
- … Darwin had become acquainted with Klein when his son Francis was studying medicine in London. Klein …
- … very much obliged to you For now of course we shan’t Be taken in or done for By …
- … performed on animals in previous years by Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton. These had been …
- … manuscripts and proofs, Darwin now relied heavily on his son Francis, who had made the decision in …
- … wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February 1875?] …
- … plants , and moved on to Variation 2d ed., Francis signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the …
- … 219.1: 89). The most eminent of Darwin’s guests was Francis, duke of Teck, a German prince …
- … Darwin could not keep up, and on 22 July , he had Francis reply: ‘My Father desires me to say …
- … methods, and Darwin had to break the news to the author in 1876 that his Royal Society ambitions had …
- … agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 ). It …
- … on 2 December, the same meeting at which Romanes and Francis Darwin were made fellows. But Thiselton …
- … In the event, the election was postponed until February 1876, and Lankester was duly elected. …