Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Apache Server at dcp-public.lib.cam.ac.uk Port 443
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: 20 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 …
- … J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 ). Darwin’s sons George and Leonard also continued to research the …
- … to find an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and Emma Darwin, …
- … wants a grievance to hang an article upon’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [28 January 1880] ). …
- … , sending one or both to his daughter Henrietta ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 1 February [1880] ). …
- … he will have the last word’, she warned ( letter from H. E. Litchfield, [1 February 1880] ). ‘He …
- … the end’, added her husband Richard ( letter from R. B. Litchfield, 1 February 1880 ). Even the …
- … Darwinophobia? It is a horrid disease’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 February 1880 ). All …
- … I was, also, rarely fit to see anybody’ ( letter to S. H. Haliburton, 13 December 1880 ). …
- … pretended, ‘but the subject has amused me’ ( letter to W. C. McIntosh, 18 June 1880 ). Members of …
- … thus one looks to prevent its return’ ( letter from J.-H. Fabre, 18 February 1880 ). Darwin shared …
- … aided in any way direct attacks on religion’ ( letter to E. B. Aveling, 13 October 1880 ). Finally …
- … biologist of our time’ ( letter from W. D. Roebuck to G. H. Darwin, 25 October 1880 ). The …
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: 6 hits
- … Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. …
- … Octavian (3) Blomefield, Leonard (42) …
- … Dareste, Camille (9) Darwin family (1) …
- … Darwin, Horace (30) Darwin, Leonard (37) …
- … Horner, K. M. (5) Horner, Leonard (13) …
- … Jenyns, G. L. (1) Jenyns, Leonard (42) …
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 …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … 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 …
- … ( 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 …
- … Erasmus’s house. The event was led by the medium Charles E. Williams, and was attended by George …
- … Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin …
- … he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874] ). This did …
- … sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). The …
- … I have pounded the enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). The technical …
- … and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). The second …
- … conciseness & clearness of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). …
- … in sympathy: ‘If anybody tries that on with my boy Leonard the old wolf will shew all the fangs he …
- … [1874] ). At the end of June, Darwin’s fourth son, Leonard, who had joined the Royal …
- … son of the Astronomer Royal, George Biddell Airy, to help Leonard gain the commission ( …
- … the subject & that must be enough for me’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … artificial gastric juice for about a week ( letter from E. E. Klein, 14 May 1874 ). John Burdon …
- … try to get it exhibited at a Royal Society of London soirée (see letter from Anton Dohrn, 6 April …
- … nephew, the fine-art specialist Henry Parker ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 17 [March 1874] ). He …
- … Julius Victor Carus, and his publisher, Eduard Koch of E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, …
- … could not weary the German public ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 27 hits
- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little …
- … of On the origin of species , intended to be Darwin’s last, and of Expression of the …
- … books brought a strong if deceptive sense of a job now done: Darwin intended, he declared to Alfred …
- … 27 July [1872] ). By the end of the year Darwin was immersed in two of the studies that …
- … of books and papers, and the latter formed the subject of Darwin’s last book, The formation of …
- … worms , published in the year before his death. Despite Darwin’s declared intention to take up new …
- … begun many years before. In his private life also, Darwin was in a nostalgic frame of mind, …
- … The last word on Origin The year opened with Darwin, helped by his eldest son William, …
- … on 30 January , shortly after correcting the proofs, and Darwin’s concern for the consolidation of …
- … and sixth editions were costly to incorporate, and despite Darwin’s best efforts, set the final …
- … closely involved in every stage of publication of his books, Darwin was keen to ensure that this …
- … to bring out the new edition in the United States, Darwin arranged with Murray to have it …
- … had to be reset. The investment in stereotype reinforced Darwin’s intention to make no further …
- … A worsening breach The criticisms against which Darwin had taken the greatest trouble to …
- … objections to the theory of natural selection’, Darwin refuted point by point assertions published …
- … selection is somewhat under a cloud’, he wrote to J. E. Taylor on 13 January , and he complained …
- … the theories of natural and sexual selection to bees (H. Müller 1872), and with his reply Darwin …
- … for myself it is dreadful doing nothing’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 October [1872] ). He was far …
- … origins of music provided by her husband, Richard Buckley Litchfield ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, …
- … 039;I know that I am half-killed myself’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 25 July 1872 ). A …
- … a week later ( enclosure to letter from John Lubbock to W. E. Gladstone, 20 June 1872 ). Darwin …
- … Charlton Bastian’s recent book on the origin of life (H. C. Bastian 1872; Wallace 1872d) left him …
- … Darwin used his correspondence with Airy to support his son Leonard’s application to join the …
- … use of the microscope led his head to `fail’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 29 October [1872] ) he had …
- … pleasant letters & never answer them’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 October [1872] ). But not …
- … than usual. One such old friend was Sarah Haliburton, née Owen, to whose sister, Fanny, Darwin had …
- … by hearing about Panagæus!’ Darwin wrote ( letter to W. D. Fox, 16 July [1872] ). I …
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 …
- … a holiday in the Lake District in August did little to raise Darwin’s spirits. ‘I wish that my …
- … 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 ). …
- … & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 ]). …
- … with the when & the where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the …
- … thought ‘perfect in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). She suggested that …
- … own family found his first draft lacked interest. Henrietta Litchfield thought it ‘very dull,—almost …
- … and well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from …
- … to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwin’s …
- … Aunt Elizabeth (Bessy) Darwin, and Henrietta and Richard Litchfield to the Lake District for a …
- … … neither cross nor ennuied’ (Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: 125)). Darwin …
- … wait for three months. ‘Nothing can be more useless than T.H’s conduct’, Emma Darwin pointed out, …
- … say that he has opposed it’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: …
- … to get home ‘& began drumming at once’ (Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [27 August 1879] (DAR …
- … it dominated the picture (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [17 July 1879] (DAR 219.9: …
- … men of science quarrelled (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [6 September 1879] (DAR 219.1: …
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: 23 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 …
- … the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). While …
- … Anthony Rich, he shared several of his sons’ achievements. Leonard had been appointed to observe the …
- … was no longer able to take his daily strolls (Henrietta Emma Litchfield, ‘Charles Darwin’s death’, …
- … and a ‘Glycerin Pepsin mixture’ (letters to W. W. Baxter, 11 March 1882 and 18 March [1882 ]) …
- … he is a good deal depressed about himself’ (letter from H. E. Litchfield to G. H. Darwin, 17 March …
- … is very calm but she has cried a little’ (letter from H. E. Litchfield to G. H. Darwin, [19 April …
- … is always easier to write than to speak,’ she wrote to Leonard, ‘& so though I shall see you so …
- … & have been able to be to him’ (letter from Emma Darwin to Leonard Darwin, [21? April 1882] (DAR …
- … overflowing in tenderness’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, 10 May 1882 (DAR 219.1: 150)). …
- … he had witnessed an earthquake in 1835 ( letter from R. E. Alison, [March–July 1835 ]). …
- … without any mercy’ ( letter from Emma Wedgwood to F. E. E. Wedgwood, [28 October 1836] , letter …
- … Natural History, that I went as Naturalist on the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the World & …
- … I cannot tell how or where to begin’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 21 [January 1860] ). Darwin’s …
- … of Darwinian theory to flowers and flower-visiting insects; H. Müller 1869)). Darwin was full of …
- … at least be a valid ground for divorce’ ( letter to H. K. Rusden, [before 27 March 1875] ). In …
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: 24 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 …
- … the record breaks off until January 1852, by which time the Darwin family had increased by five: …
- … the onset of frowning, smiling, etc., as was the focus of Darwin’s attention on William and Anne, …
- … of logical thought and language. On 20 May 1854, Darwin again took over the notebook and, …
- … all the notes until July 1856, when the observations ceased. Darwin’s later entries, like Emma’s, …
- … Transcription: 1 [9] W. Erasmus. Darwin born. Dec. 27 th . 1839.—[10] During first week. …
- … morning put on an unconspicuous bonnet of C. Langton,[52] W. instantly observed it knew whose it was …
- … leaves, stuck them in the ground to observe if the Bees, w d look at them.[53] Willy across whole …
- … 46 Horace[71] 2½. G. When shall you wean baby. H. I am weaned for there’s no more milk. …
- … remonstrating with him on telling such a Burster (as he w d . call it), he answered, “Well then I …
- … written in pencil by CD and subsequently overwritten by Emma Darwin. The transcription throughout …
- … [15] ‘Annie . . . fortnight’ was written by Emma Darwin on the verso of page 3 and opposite the …
- … evangelical stories and tracts. In her old age, Henrietta Litchfield noted that ‘Little Robert & …
- … and family memoirs and reminiscences. [61] Leonard Darwin, born 1850. [62] Francis …
- … of her childhood, Henrietta Litchfield remembered Leonard Darwin saying this to their maid Jane and …
- … CUL). [71] Horace Darwin, born 1851. [72] Leonard Darwin’s nickname. [73] Miss …
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: 23 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 …
- … been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February 1876] ). …
- … Encyclopaedia Britannica the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September 1876] ). …
- … ‘all I can say is do not commit suicide’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [4 June 1876] ). By midsummer, …
- … a set of sons I have, all doing wonders.’ ( Letter to G. H. Darwin, 13 July [1876]. ) A …
- … and eczema, was able to rest his mind ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 2 May [1876] ). Darwin even …
- … Clark was called out to see Darwin’s daughter Henrietta Litchfield, who had fallen ill on a visit to …
- … letter to Andrew Clark, [late June 1876] ; letter to G. H. Darwin, 13 July [1876] ). The irony …
- … of illness & misery there is in the world’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 26 May [1876] ). A …
- … Just four days later, Darwin had the hard task of telling Leonard that Amy, after seeming to recover …
- … not by hiding the pain of the situation, but by reminding Leonard of how much his friendship had …
- … we have & you are one of the best of all’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 11 September [1876] ). …
- … she confided to Henrietta (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [31 August 1876] (DAR 219.9: …
- … herself & is so tender’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [13 September 1876] (DAR 210.6 …
- … completed autobiography (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [13 September 1876] (DAR 210.6: …
- … & a Prof. Romer came to lunch’, Emma Darwin reported to Leonard Darwin on 29 September (DAR 239 …
- … horticulturists and agriculturists in France ( letter from E. M. Heckel, 27 December 1876 ). In …
- … been the subject of mere observation’ ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 31 December 1876 ). The Swiss …
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, …
- … 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 …
- … memorial had been read in the House of Lords (see 039; Darwin and vivisection 039;). …
- … medical educators, and other interested parties. Darwin was summoned to testify on 3 November. It …
- … in April 1874 (see Correspondence vol. 22, letters from E. E. Klein, 14 May 1874 and 10 …
- … day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 July] 1875). …
- … a review of William Dwight Whitney’s work on language (G. H. Darwin 1874c). George had taken the …
- … plants (Carus trans. 1876a). The German publisher E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagshandlung began to …
- … Eeles Dresser. ‘The horror was great’, Henrietta Emma Litchfield wrote to her brother Leonard on 14 …
- … agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 ). It …