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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: 21 hits
- … In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book …
- … some of whom took immediate action to mediate a solution. Charles Darwin had close ties with both …
- … his views were generally derided. 1 In 1859, Lyell visited several sites in France …
- … belief that these were indeed implements of early humans (C. Lyell 1859). In September 1860 he …
- … such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. 3; …
- … regarding the age of the human species. The visits by both Lyell and Lubbock reflected the growing …
- … Lubbock reviewed the literature on the topic and noted that Charles Adolphe Morlot had summarised, …
- … Prehistoric times (Lubbock 1865). By 1860, Lyell had begun work on a sixth edition of …
- … Antiquity of man (see below, ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). On 6 February 1863, …
- … work of Morlot as the source for information on the topic. Lyell also added the following note on …
- … In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, evidently in response to an earlier letter …
- … [ sic ] to learn that they were in Denmark. Lyell had been mistaken when he wrote in …
- … his celebrated work on the ‘ Antiquity of man ,’ Sir Charles Lyell has made much use of my earlier …
- … me from any such inference. The statement made by Sir Charles Lyell, in a note to page 11 of his …
- … it therefore did not ‘justify so severe an attack on Sir Charles Lyell’. 32 Darwin’s …
- … Stocking 1987, and Van Riper 1993. 2. Letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 20 …
- … 5. For two interpretations of Hugh Falconer’s attack on Charles Lyell, see Bynum 1984 and L. G. …
- … 8. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] and n. 7. …
- … letter to Athenæum , 18 April [1863] , and letter to Charles Lyell, 18 April [1863 ]. …
- … BL MSS ADD 49641. 16. Letter from John Lubbock to Charles Lyell, 13 March 1865 …
- … to Lubbock’s note, see the first enclosure (letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 25 May 1865) …
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: 21 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
- … by the publication in February of books by his friends Charles Lyell, the respected geologist, and …
- … Britain’s scientific circles following the publication of Lyell’s and Huxley’s books. Three …
- … Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). In the …
- … with animals now extinct had been rapidly accumulating. Lyell’s argument for a greater human …
- … as well as on evidence collected earlier in the century. Lyell’s Antiquity of man and Huxley’s …
- … arguments for species change. In this context, Lyell’s discussion of the origin of species …
- … that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin …
- … out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public …
- … worried Darwin; he told Hooker that he had once thought Lyell ‘could do more to convert the Public …
- … February [1863] ). Darwin did not relish telling Lyell of his disappointment; when he did …
- … you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The …
- … letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , and letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … book’ from which he had ‘gained nothing’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12–13 March [1863] ). …
- … that the Public shall see how far you go’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 April [1863] ). …
- … international interest in his theory ( see letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). In January …
- … from Hooker that the French botanists Joseph Decaisne and Charles Naudin thought little of his …
- … from T. H. Huxley, 25 February 1863 , and letter to Charles Lyell, 12–13 March [1863] ). …
- … and the United States by Gray’s father-in-law, the lawyer Charles Greely Loring ( see letter to Asa …
- … September 1863] ). When the Darwins returned home, Charles fared little better, and most …
Charles Lyell
Summary
As an author, friend and correspondent, Charles Lyell played a crucial role in shaping Darwin's scientific life. Born to a wealthy gentry family in Scotland in 1797, Lyell had a classical and legal education but by the 1820s had become entranced by…
Matches: 11 hits
- … As an author, friend and correspondent, Charles Lyell played a crucial role in shaping Darwin's …
- … than that allowed for by traditional Biblical criticism. Lyell believed, however, that the subject …
- … that could be viewed in action at the present time. In Lyell's view, this ruled out any sudden …
- … to keep up with the subsidence of the ocean floor. Although Lyell had originally suggested a …
- … Darwin always believed that his books 'came half out of Lyell's brains'. The …
- … against the transmutation of one species into another. (Lyell even suggested that looking for long …
- … the incomplete character of the fossil record.) Darwin told Lyell of his species work in a letter …
- … later, in 1856. Despite his distaste for transmutation, Lyell immediately encouraged Darwin to …
- … Alfred Russel Wallace did propose similar views, Lyell (with Joseph Hooker) engineered the ' …
- … in 1858. Darwin's views posed a terrible paradox for Lyell. In his view, what set humans …
- … from other forms of life. After an agonized struggle, Lyell did come round to accepting a limited …
Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics
Summary
On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…
Matches: 16 hits
- … the book was on sale even in railway stations ( letter to Charles Lyell, 14 January [1860] ). By …
- … current knowledge could not illuminate this ‘mystery’. Charles Lyell worried, among other things, …
- … did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 February 1860] ). To …
- … of reasoning about global change. Darwin also knew that Lyell was a powerful potential ally. Indeed, …
- … plant species and varieties than from animal breeding. With Lyell also questioning how interbreeding …
- … perfected structure as the eye. As Darwin admitted to Lyell, Gray, and others, imagining how …
- … Certainly this was a major difficulty standing in the way of Lyell’s acceptance of the theory, as …
- … explicitly in Origin — only one sentence, he told Lyell, showed that he believed ‘man is in same …
- … of the scientifically literate clergymen Baden Powell and Charles Kingsley attested. Moreover, …
- … any new converts or even cause earlier proponents (like Lyell) to retract their support altogether …
- … he received, in letters to his closest confidants Hooker, Lyell, and Gray. Initially he found it …
- … hostile critique of his geological argument, he wrote to Lyell on 6 June [1860] : 'I am …
- … husband’s current enthusiasm, Emma Darwin wrote to Mary Lyell: ‘At present he is treating Drosera …
- … time on the Drosera study in particular, admitting to Lyell ‘how much better fun observing is …
- … & not amuse myself with interludes.—’ (letters to Charles Lyell, 24 November [1860] , and to …
- … daughter Anne’s fatal illness never far from their minds, Charles and Emma did whatever they could …
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: 25 hits
- … Edwards & Co. (1) Babbage, Charles (10) …
- … Bond, Frederick (2) Boner, Charles (5) …
- … Edward (1) Bradlaugh, Charles (2) …
- … Brayley, E. W. (1) Breese, Charles (1) …
- … Samuel (b) (14) Buxton, Charles (2) …
- … Chapman, John (4) Charles, R. F. (2) …
- … Crawfurd, John (3) Crawley, Charles (2) …
- … Virginius (3) Dallas, Charles (1) …
- … Dixie, Florence (3) Dixon, Charles (1) …
- … Symington (1) Griffin, Charles (1) …
- … Albert (64) Günzbourg, Charles (1) …
- … Science-Gossip (1) Hardy, Charles (3) …
- … Hinrichs, G. D. (4) Hinton, Charles (1) …
- … King, P. P. (1) Kingsley, Charles (18) …
- … Lane, E. W. (1) Langstaff, Charles (2) …
- … Layard, E. L. (3) Layton, Charles (12) …
- … Commissioners (1) Lovegrove, Charles (3) …
- … Lydekker, R. (1) Lyell, Charles (277) …
- … Daniel (12) Maclaren, Charles (3) …
- … Ríos, Eugenio (1) Moore, Charles (a) (1) …
- … Arthur (2) Mostyn Owen, Charles (b) (2) …
- … Newton, Alfred (35) Nichols, Charles (1) …
- … Adolf Erik (1) Nordhoff, Charles (1) …
- … E. H. (1) O’Shaughnessy, Charles (1) …
- … Parish, Woodbine (2) Parker, Charles (2) …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 21 hits
- … as he jokingly called it) to his views of close friends like Charles Lyell, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … concepts of creation. ‘When I was in spirits’, he told Lyell at the end of 1859, ‘I sometimes …
- … infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). This …
- … book’ on species. Begun in May 1856 at the urging of Lyell, the manuscript was already more than …
- … his reason or his own opinion. Hewett Cottrell Watson and Charles Cardale Babington thought that in …
- … and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell, as Wallace had requested …
- … his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … Following Francis Darwin ( LL 2: 116–17) and relying on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors …
- … Then, on 18 June he forwarded Wallace’s paper to Lyell (Brooks 1984, pp. 262–3). It is of some …
- … who is distressed, as Darwin clearly was in his letter to Lyell, at the prospect of losing priority …
- … Gray in September 1857. The correspondence between Darwin, Lyell, and Hooker contains all of the …
- … including a letter from Wallace to Hooker thanking him and Lyell for ‘their kind offices on this …
- … was during the days immediately following his letter to Lyell. On 18 June 1858, his eldest daughter, …
- … with scarlet fever, currently sweeping through the village. Charles Waring Darwin’s condition …
- … to think of a publisher for the work. Again, he called upon Lyell for advice ( letter to Charles …
- … from the title of the forthcoming book ( letter to Charles Lyell, 30 March [1859] ). Darwin next …
- … on the origin of species and varieties’ (letters to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] , and to …
- … selection the ‘law of higgledy-piggledy’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, [10 December 1859] ). To each …
- … convinced. Darwin was particularly interested in Charles Lyell’s response to his theory. He …
- … on Origin by a ‘celebrated author and divine’ (Charles Kingsley) that ‘it is just as noble a …
- … the lacunas w h . he himself had made’ ( letter from Charles Kingsley, 18 November 1859 ). This …
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 14 hits
- … On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that he ‘Began by Lyell’s advice writing …
- … by the preparation of this manuscript. Although advised by Lyell to publish only a brief outline …
- … material into such a small compass and soon abandoned Lyell’s idea in favour of a full-length work …
- … this process. Still prominent in his immediate circle were Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … and other domesticated animals. As Darwin explained to Lyell, his studies, particularly those on …
- … of how selection might work in nature ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1–2 May 1856, n. 10 ). He was …
- … to William Erasmus Darwin, [26 February 1856] and to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ). …
- … 21 [July 1857] ). The problem of careers for his six boys (Charles Waring Darwin, the sixth and …
- … writing in part to establish his priority in this area, for Charles Lyell thought that Wallace’s …
- … All the available material seems to indicate that it was Lyell rather than Darwin who feared the …
- … Darwin’s manuscript on species was begun only after Lyell had urged him to publish a preliminary …
- … given on an occasion other than the one previously supposed. Charles and Mary Elizabeth Lyell …
- … opportunity to explain his theory of natural selection to Lyell. Yet the suggestion of composing a …
- … not embrace the whole Lamarckian doctrine.’ ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1–2 May 1856, n. 7 ). The …
Natural Selection: the trouble with terminology Part I
Summary
Darwin encountered problems with the term ‘natural selection’ even before Origin appeared. Everyone from the Harvard botanist Asa Gray to his own publisher came up with objections. Broadly these divided into concerns either that its meaning simply wasn’t…
Matches: 4 hits
- … I think, would make confusion worse confounded ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell 6 …
- … he had expected. ‘I am, also, sorry’ Darwin wrote to Charles Lyell, who had approached the …
- … I must be a very bad explainer. ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell, 6 June [1860]) …
- … regret lingered, and he wrote in a later letter to Lyell: ' Talking of “Natural Selection”, if …
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, …
New features for Charles Darwin's 208th birthday
Summary
The website has been updated with an interactive timeline (try it!) and enhanced secondary school resources for ages 11-14. What's more, the full texts of the letters for 1872 are now online for the first time, and a selection of Darwin's…
Matches: 1 hits
- … (examples: Thomas Henry Huxley , Mary Treat , Charles Lyell , Emma Darwin , Asa Gray …
Evolution: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860-1870
Summary
This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific colleagues around the world; letters by the critics who tried to stamp out his ideas, and by admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of…
Language: key letters
Summary
How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Matches: 7 hits
- … up each edition to the existing standard of science’ ( to Charles Layton, 24 November [1869] ). …
- … expansion ‘in many places’ . Chief among these was Charles Lyell, instrumental in shaping both …
- … last one was a welcome endorsement from the religious author Charles Kingsley, a chaplain to the …
- … Black Pigs in the Everglades delights me If Lyell was Darwin’s key correspondent for …
- … (With a glossary of scientific terms??) by Charles Darwin F.R.S. …
- … many of his old friends and former correspondents, including Lyell ( now approached through his …
- … ed. , pp. 450–61). Despite continuing scepticism from Charles Lyell, who was staying with the …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 12 hits
- … by all the leading geologists of England—among them Charles Lyell, Sedgwick, and Buckland (see the …
- … of South America”, Darwin continued to defend his and Lyell’s theory that floating ice—rather than …
- … lists of Darwin’s plants (see D. M. Porter 1981). Charles Lyell In the extensive …
- … correspondent, both scientifically and personally, was Charles Lyell. The letters Darwin and Lyell …
- … had declared himself to be a ‘zealous disciple’ of Lyell, but his theory of coral reef formation, …
- … Their correspondence began in 1836 and from the start Lyell accepted Darwin on equal terms as a …
- … versions in Life and Letters , and from excerpts that Lyell made in his notebooks. Lyell’s …
- … portfolios together with parts of letters he had cut from Lyell’s originals for use in his work. …
- … The letters show that at least five of his friends—Lyell, Henslow, Jenyns, Waterhouse, and his …
- … a sound solution to what J. F. W. Herschel in a letter to Lyell had called the ‘mystery of mysteries …
- … for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838] , he wrote: & …
- … In 1840 the illness was different. As he wrote to Charles Lyell, [19 February 1840] , “it is now …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 15 hits
- … In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
- … dispute between two of Darwin’s friends, John Lubbock and Charles Lyell . These events all inspired …
- … claimed, important for his enjoyment of life. He wrote to Charles Lyell on 22 January [1865] , …
- … and those of Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, and Charles Bonnet; Darwin wrote back: ‘I do …
- … the Royal Society of Edinburgh criticising Origin . Like Charles Lyell, who wrote to Darwin on …
- … for existence (ibid., pp. 276–81). Darwin responded to Lyell’s account in some detail ( see letter …
- … the correspondence. At the end of May, the dispute between Charles Lyell and John Lubbock over …
- … human antiquity, adding a note to his preface asserting that Lyell in his Antiquity of man , …
- … Natural History Review . He also cited a statement by Lyell in Antiquity of man that the pages …
- … inadvertence’. Though Lubbock had raised the matter with Lyell before publishing, this statement, …
- … sent to Darwin and its enclosures have not been found, so Lyell’s letter to Hooker, which must have …
- … Correspondence vol. 13. Hooker, while acknowledging Lyell’s fault, thought Lubbock’s …
- … of his must also have made the crisis particularly painful. Lyell had been to some extent his mentor …
- … set up to support FitzRoy’s children ( see letter from Charles Shaw, 3 October 1865 ). …
- … are letters commenting on Origin , including two from Charles Lyell, who had been sent the proof …
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 14 hits
- … Species theory In November 1845, Charles Darwin wrote to his friend and confidant Joseph …
- … activity. There are, for example, twenty lengthy letters to Charles Lyell from these years and a …
- … carefully re-examined his own thesis in letters to Milne, Lyell, and Robert Chambers, and, in …
- … for publication in the Scotsman. Yet when the editor, Charles Maclaren, maintained that it would be …
- … original fieldwork was ‘time thrown away’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8 [September 1847] ). …
- … formations. Darwin’s explanation, originally suggested by Lyell, was that the boulders were …
- … failed to convince other prominent geologists, among them Lyell, so Darwin was keenly interested in …
- … in the subject. The letters also reveal that Lyell sought Darwin’s advice in the preparation …
- … and Manual of elementary geology . In addition, Lyell asked for Darwin’s view of his major new …
- … or nearly so, or whether they had grown gradually, as Lyell maintained, from one envelope of lava …
- … critical point in the controversy, and the point on which Lyell at the time felt it necessary to …
- … volcanic islands that some craters could not be explained by Lyell’s view. Apparently convinced by …
- … would be a ‘thorn in the side of É de B.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 3 January 1850 ). …
- … remained unmarried. Each daughter was bequeathed £10,000, Charles was bequeathed £15,500, and his …
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: 8 hits
- … at Erasmus’s house. The event was led by the medium Charles E. Williams, and was attended by George …
- … friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder …
- … at a much reduced price of nine shillings, in line with Charles Lyell’s Student’s elements of …
- … raising £860 ( Circular to John Lubbock, P. L. Sclater, Charles Lyell, W. B. Carpenter, and Michael …
- … Sharpe, 24 November [1874] ). He wrote in admiration of Charles Lyell’s plan to leave a bequest to …
- … of the English editions. Darwin’s French publisher, Charles Reinwald, engaged new translators to …
- … connotations of both Huxley’s and Tyndall’s addresses, Charles Lyell, who had spent his career …
- … may be fairly said to have had an ovation’ ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1 September 1874 ). …
Dates of composition of Darwin's manuscript on species
Summary
Many of the dates of letters in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwin’s manuscript on species (DAR 8--15.1, inclusive; transcribed and published as Natural selection). This manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by…
Matches: 1 hits
- … summary of Wallace’s theory of transmutation ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). Darwin …
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: 13 hits
- … 1 Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by …
- … from the correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … following: Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress …
- … the botanist, Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles Darwin… made his home on the border …
- … the year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs Lyell and Hooker in 1844, being a …
- … at the expense of Agassiz. DARWIN: 20 Lyell told me, that Agassiz, having a …
- … – to be false… Yours most sincerely and gratefully Charles Darwin. CREED AND FEVER: 1858 …
- … forgetfuless of your darling. BOOKS BY THE LATE CHARLES DARWIN: 1863-1865 In which …
- … and officially die. And then publish books ‘by the late Charles Darwin’. Darwin takes up …
- … 173 Ever yours cordially (though an Englishman) Charles Darwin. GRAY: 174 …
- … at an unexpected and probably transient notoriety… Charles Darwin died on the 19th April …
- … GRAY TO JD HOOKER, 18 FEBRUARY 1861 115 A GRAY TO CHARLES WRIGHT, 17 APRIL 1862 …
- … TO ASA GRAY 20 APRIL 1863 174 FROM A GRAY TO CHARLES DARWIN, 24 JULY 1865 …
The "wicked book": Origin at 157
Summary
Origin is 157 years old. (Probably) the most famous book in science was published on 24 November 1859. To celebrate we have uploaded hundreds of new images of letters, bringing the total number you can look at here to over 9000 representing more than…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Russel Wallace , co-discoverer of natural selection; Charles Lyell , and Joseph Hooker , the …
- … letters from family and friends, including letters between Charles and his wife Emma, and several of …
- … parish of Down in Kent, and a lifelong friend of both Charles and Emma, sent information on …
- … over me on rising William Darwin Fox , Charles’s cousin and another friend, compared …
