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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: 21 hits

  • … whom his work brought him into close contact. In November 1838, two years after his return, Darwin …
  • … be as they are (Kohn 1980). Between April 1837 and September 1838 he filled several notebooks with …
  • … it (in his referee’s report to the Society of 9 March 1838), had been developed by Darwin from a …
  • … and Buckland (see the reports by Buckland, 9 March 1838 , and Sedgwick, [after 15 May 1838] ). …
  • … of his  Beagle  work, and it too was in geology. In 1838 he set out on a geological tour in …
  • … Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle  from February 1838 to October 1843. The correspondence …
  • … plant distribution and classification (see Henslow 1837a and 1838; W. J. Hooker and G. A. W. Arnott …
  • … letters have suffered an even more severe loss. In a letter to Lyell’s sister-in-law, Katharine …
  • … of fact . . . on the origin & variation of species” ( Letter to J. S. Henslow, [November 1839] …
  • … that he had a sound solution to what J. F. W. Herschel in a letter to Lyell had called the ‘mystery …
  • … about searching for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838
  • … generation, fecundity, and inheritance. After mid-September 1838, when he had his ‘theory to work by …
  • … of Comte’s  Philosophie positive ([Brewster] 1838; see also Manier 1978, pp. 40–5) which …
  • … just the same, though I know what I am looking for' ( Letter to G. R. Waterhouse, [26 July …
  • … (Simpson 1961, p. 53). Marriage Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in January 1839. His …
  • … ( Correspondence vol. 2, Appendix III). The letters that Emma and Darwin subsequently exchanged …
  • … correspondence is that Darwin had evidently communicated to Emma that he had doubts about religion, …
  • … as she was, from marrying him. Just after their marriage, Emma states that she has the impression …
  • … there were no doubts as to how one ought to act’ ( Letter from Emma Darwin, [  c.  February 1839] …
  • … for several months (See  Correspondence  vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 , …
  • … notebook). See also Allan 1977, pp. 128–30). The letter, on ‘Double flowers’ to the  …

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: 23 hits

  • … In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he …
  • … arranged alphabetically, of the scientific books read from 1838 through 1846, but it was not kept up …
  • … Inside Front Cover] C. Darwin June 1 st . 1838 Stoke’s Library 1 …
  • … read L. Jenyns paper on Annals of Nat. Hist. [Jenyns 1838] Prichard; a 3 d . vol …
  • … Cavernes d’Ossements 7 th  Ed. 10  8 vo . [Serres 1838] good to trace Europ. forms compared …
  • … 1827] Paxton on the culture of Dahlias [Paxton 1838] read Paper on consciousness in …
  • … [DAR *119: 4v.] Bevan’s work on Bees new Ed. 1838 [Bevan 1838] Harlaam Phys. & …
  • … [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds  letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
  • … 1834–40]: In Portfolio of “abstracts” 34  —letter from Skuckard of books on Silk Worm …
  • … 1833] (Boot) Leslie life of Constable [Leslie 1843]. (Emma) (read) M rs  Fry’s Life …
  • … Asiatic Society ]—contains very little Macleay’s letter to D r  Fleming [Macleay 1830] …
  • … [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
  • … Public Library. 3  ‘Books … Read’ is in Emma Darwin’s hand. 4  “”Traité …
  • … 6  The text from page [1v.] to page [6] is in Emma Darwin’s hand and was copied from Notebook C, …
  • … to old Aristotle.’ ( LL 3: 252). 10  Emma Darwin wrote ‘7 th ’ instead of “3 d “ …
  • … 12  A mistranscription for ‘Entozoa’ by Emma Darwin. See Notebook C, p. 266 ( Notebooks ). …
  • … wrote ‘Transact’ to replace ‘Journal’ written in Emma Darwin’s hand. 16  Emma Darwin …
  • … of the material from these portfolios is in DAR 205, the letter from William Edward Shuckard to …
  • …  The text from page [1a] to half way down page [5a] is in Emma Darwin’s hand and is a copy of CD’s …
  • … ( Notebooks , pp. 319–28). 55  The letter was addressed to Nicholas Aylward Vigors …
  • … in ink by CD. 73  This entry was written by Emma Darwin. 74  “8 … …
  • … to William Jackson Hooker. See  Correspondence  vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [5 or 12 November …
  • … 119: 21b Broughton, William Grant. 1832.  A letter in vindication of   the principles of …

Dining at Down House

Summary

Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…

Matches: 13 hits

  • … In addition to sharing a tender relationship with his wife Emma, Darwin played an active role in the …
  • … and Conclusion”). Letters Letter Packet: Dining at Down House …
  • … ill health began on his Beagle voyage. In this letter (written amidst the excitement of South …
  • … difficulties of traveling on horseback while ill. Letter 465 —Emma Wedgwood (Emma Darwin …
  • … making himself agreeable” for her sake. Letter 3626 —Emma Darwin to T. G. Appleton, 28 …
  • … to thank Appleton for gifts sent from America. Letter 3597 —Darwin to Joseph Dalton …
  • … on the difficulties of finding a suitable cook. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [4 …
  • … among other things, for Darwin’s complaints. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [14 April …
  • … Scottish medium, Daniel Dunglass Home, with Galton. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [4 …
  • … who was then a professor at Cambridge University. This letter is full of news about the political …
  • … taste of Darwin's life at Down House, recreate recipes from Emma Darwin's cookbook and …
  • … food that Darwin ate, using authentic recipes from his wife Emma Darwin’s cookbook. Our menu …
  • … his letters. They were particularly intrigued by this letter written from Emma to Charles before …

Darwin's health

Summary

On 28 March 1849, ten years before Origin was published, Darwin wrote to his good friend Joseph Hooker from Great Malvern in Worcestershire, where Dr James Manby Gully ran a fashionable water-cure establishment. Darwin apologised for his delayed reply to…

Matches: 20 hits

  • … Darwin apologised for his delayed reply to Hooker’s letter which he put down to his exceptionally …
  • … I was rapidly going the way of all flesh.  See the letter At various periods in his …
  • … months while he took Dr Gully’s water cure. In Darwin’s letter to Hooker, he described Dr Gully’s …
  • … certain that the Water Cure is no quackery.—  See the letter After returning from …
  • … in the years around 1848, 1852, 1859, and 1863. In a letter to Hooker in April of 1861, for example, …
  • … as my retching is apt to be extremely loud.—  See the letter Besides experimenting …
  • … the vomiting wonderfully & I am gaining vigour .’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 April [1864] ) …
  • … these grounds (see, for example, Correspondence vol. 2, letter to J. S. Henslow, 14 October …
  • … first mentioned attacks of ‘periodical vomiting’ in a letter to W. D. Fox, [7 June 1840] ( …
  • … sickness in 1849, describing ‘incessant vomiting’ in his letter to Richard Owen, [24 February 1849 …
  • … he was sick almost daily (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [6 …
  • … before Darwin’s decision to consult John Chapman.  In a letter to J. D. Hooker, [20-] 22 February …
  • … after eating, and that he seldom threw up food.  In his letter to Chapman of 16 May [1865] , …
  • … 38, 47, 64). Fainting and ‘rocking’ had been recorded in Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242) on several …
  • … sensations’ has been found. On Darwin’s reliance on Emma Darwin’s companionship and care see, for …
  • … Hooker, 1 June [1865] and 27 [or 28 September 1865] . Emma or another member of the household …
  • … , and Correspondence vol. 2, letter to Sarah Elizabeth Wedgwood, [28 August 1837] ). His …
  • … alive’. See also Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, 17 March …
  • … October 1863 (see Correspondence vol. 11, letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December …
  • … of chalk, magnesia, and other antacids in March 1864 (see Emma Darwin’s diary, DAR 242, and n. 8, …

Science: A Man’s World?

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…

Matches: 19 hits

  • … Darwin’s Notes On Marriage [April - July 1838] In these notes, written shortly before …
  • … feminine world of family, home and sociability. Letter 489 - Darwin to Wedgwood, E., …
  • … an hour “with poor Mrs. Lyell sitting by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to …
  • … whose attractions are not those of her sex”. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 …
  • … her own steam and is a “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, …
  • … ornaments in the making of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 …
  • … the young, especially ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., …
  • … of physiology at Bedford College for girls. Appealing to Emma’s “feminine sympathies”, Cresy is keen …
  • … Anderson is “neither masculine nor pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., …
  • … to him as a published science author, is a man. Letter 7314 - Kovalevsky, S. to Darwin, …
  • … Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum , (1829). Letter 7329 - Murray, J. to Darwin, [28 …
  • … to prick up what little is left of them ears”. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
  • … almost out of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8079 - Norton, S. R. to Darwin, [20 …
  • … but has not read the pamphlet herself. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May …
  • … narrative so not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
  • … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 10746 – Darwin to Dicey, E. M., …
  • … inability to cope well with the sight of blood. Letter 12389 - Johnson, M. to Darwin, …
  • … to have entered the cave “since the flood”. Letter 13414 - Darwin to Harrison, L., [18 …
  • … and possess strong powers of patience. Letter 13607 – Darwin to Kennard, C. A., [9 …

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: 18 hits

  • … of departure reviews of Origin . The second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. Wallace to …
  • … everything is the result of “brute force”. Letter 2855 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 3 …
  • … nature, as he is in a “muddle” on this issue. Letter 3256 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
  • … shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. Letter 3342 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
  • … He asks Gray some questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 …
  • … of my precipice”. Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
  • … of variations. Darwin and Graham Letter 13230 — Darwin, C. R. to Graham, …
  • … of people, including members of his own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, …
  • … about his “honest & conscientious doubts”. Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. …
  • … there is a danger in giving up revelation”. Letter 2534 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, …
  • … need of an act of intervention to bring change. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
  • … with that knowledge which only He can give me.” Letter 5303 — Boole, M. E. to Darwin, C …
  • … that his theory be compatible with her faith. Letter 5307 — Darwin, C. R. to Boole, M. …
  • … and science should each run its own course. Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E. …
  • … “with qualifications”, if he wishes. Letter 8837 — Darwin, C. R. to Doedes, N. D., 2 …
  • … man’s intellect, “but man can do his duty”. Letter 12041 — Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, …
  • … most correct description of my state of mind”. Letter 12757 — Darwin, C. R. to Aveling, …
  • … as examples to illustrate his ideas on beauty. Letter 4752 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …

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: 19 hits

  • … often seeking direction for their own. Mary Boole’s letter In December 1866 Darwin …
  • … of Science & the promises of religion. See the letter Boole, like a number …
  • … meeting point should still be far off. See the letter In his response to Boole …
  • … feeling. But he does not venture into such territory in this letter to a stranger. Emma
  • … description of my state of mind. See the letter In this letter, Darwin is …
  • … matters many years earlier with his cousin and fiancée, Emma Wedgewood. In their correspondence, …
  • … but we gain a sense of what the couple discussed from Emma’s words to him: My reason …
  • … & I cannot help being open with you. See the letter We know from Darwin’s …
  • … It is clear from other correspondence that one of Emma’s most cherished beliefs was in an afterlife. …
  • … she means so in eternity. There is a marked tension in Emma’s letter between reason and feeling, and …
  • … to himself, and allowed his differences of belief with Emma to remain for the most part submerged. …
  • … members of the Darwin family, offer a fuller perspective on Emma’s religious beliefs. The documents …
  • … over Scriptural or doctrinal authority, as a foundation for Emma’s views. They also show that Emma’s …
  • … was another important religious tradition in the Darwin and Wedgwood families. Josiah Wedgwood, who …
  • … Unitarian school in Shrewsbury. The circle with whom he and Emma socialised when in London included …
  • … were regular guests of Darwin’s brother Erasmus, and of Emma’s brother, Hensleigh Wedgwood and his …
  • … as a guide to moral conduct, as in his remarks on Paul’s letter to Galatians, chapter six: ‘read …
  • … it derive from inner feelings or instincts? In a letter written to Charles several months …
  • … trying to learn the truth, you cannot be wrong … See the letter Yet she is concerned …

1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait

Summary

< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…

Matches: 15 hits

  • … youth survive, although more may once have existed . In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, …
  • … House, celebrated his marriage in January 1839 to his cousin Emma Wedgwood; the one of Darwin is …
  • … estimate of Richmond’s work can be gauged from a letter which Hooker wrote to Darwin some years …
  • … theories.   As early as February 1839, Elizabeth Wedgwood had written to her sister Emma: ‘My …
  • … Italy – or would a portrait by Holmes be preferable?’ Emma in response promised, ‘I will go and get …
  • … not return from Italy until August or September 1839. Josiah Wedgwood himself wrote to his daughter …
  • … arranging ‘to send you Richmond’s pictures of self and Emma’: ‘self’ presumably means Charles, and …
  • … was being assembled, so that both the Darwin and the Wedgwood families would have one. It is …
  • … lent Richmond’s watercolour drawings of Charles and Emma, with a note that the one of Charles had an …
  • … – the only one she knew about – to 1840. However, in Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters …
  • … belonged to ‘The Family’ – helpfully adding a date of 1838, when Richmond was in Italy!   …
  • … account books, entry for Dec. 1839. Joseph Hooker, letter to Darwin, 17 March 1862 (DCP-LETT-3474). …
  • … Murray, 1887), vol. 3, p. 371. Henrietta Litchfield (ed.), Emma Darwin: A Century of Family …
  • … University Press, 1933), frontispiece. Barbara and Hensleigh Wedgwood, The Wedgwood Circle 1730 …
  • … this seemingly conflicts with the indications in Erasmus’s letter of 1866, quoted above.   
 …

Darwin on marriage

Summary

On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, …
  • … his correspondents. First note [after 7 April 1838][1] Work finished [2] …
  • … Library,  DAR 210.8:1 Second note [July 1838][12] This is the Question[13] …
  • … note was written in pencil on the three blank pages of the letter from Leonard Horner, 7 April [1838
  • … definite prospect in mind at the time of writing, but in a letter to Charles Lyell, [12 November …

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: 26 hits

  • … an aspect of Darwin’s character clearly perceived by Emma during their engagement: ‘You will be …
  • … period but in far less detail. By September 1844, Henrietta Emma was one year old, and there are a …
  • … 1850; and Horace, born 18 May 1851. It appears to have been Emma who resumed the observations on the …
  • … the notebook and, with the exception of two brief entries by Emma, made all the notes until July …
  • … certainly during first fortnight at sudden sounds. & at Emma’s moving 3 [11]  When …
  • … & inwards as in sleep.[14] Six weeks old & 3 days, Emma saw him smile—not only with …
  • … his eyes becoming fixed & the movements of his arms ceasing. Emma argues that his smiles were …
  • … made in the little noises he was uttering that he recognized Emma by sight when she came close to …
  • … been caused by the novelty of the situation producing fear. Emma thinks that when he was vaccinated …
  • … whole expression appearing pleased.— Recognizes Emma Anne & myself perfectly— does not find …
  • … Lady” were repeated.— 26 th . Cried, when Emma left off playing the pianoforte.— Did this …
  • … Anny says Papa pretty clearly—[40] A few days ago Emma gave her doll, but she sensibly shuddered, …
  • … to play with in farther part of room, she immediately led Emma by the hand towards the tea-chest. I …
  • … on quite suddenly.—[43] On the 13 th . of March Emma positively ascertained that what the …
  • … our door N o  12 and N o  11 is in the slit for the Letter box.— he decidedly ran past N o  11 …
  • … has learned them from my sometimes changing the first letter in any word he is using—thus I say …
  • … things & when choleric he will hurl books or sticks at Emma. About a month since; he was running …
  • … “oh kind Doddy” “kind Doddy”— April 2 d . Emma had left her handkerchief on the other side …
  • … th ——42. Willy’s observation on dress very curious: Emma put on a pair of boots, which she had not …
  • … the first day I put on a new dull-coloured trowsers. Emma one morning put on an unconspicuous bonnet …
  • … & then gave him a kiss.— Nov. /54/ Whenever Emma or I came home from a journey, Lenny has …
  • … , pp. 131–2. [6]  Correspondence  vol. 2, letter from Emma Wedgwood, [23 January 1839] . …
  • … 1840] . [8] See CD’s autobiographical fragment of 1838 ( Correspondence  vol. 2, Appendix …
  • … and comments section. [10] William Erasmus was Emma and CD’s first child. [11] The …
  • … [15] ‘Annie . . . fortnight’ was written by Emma Darwin on the verso of page 3 and opposite the …
  • … transcription of CD’s autobiographical fragment written in 1838, in which he remarked on how he …

Charles Darwin’s letters: a selection 1825-1859

Summary

The letters in this volume span the years from 1825, when Darwin was a student at the University of Edinburgh, to the end of 1859, when the Origin of Species was published. The early letters portray Darwin as a lively sixteen-year-old medical student. Two…

Matches: 6 hits

  • … a family man. In January 1839, he had married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. In December of that year, …
  • … on how species might have arisen. In September 1838, reading Thomas Malthus’s Essay on the principle …
  • … his species doubts as has been commonly thought. Between 1838 and 1857, he told at least ten of his …
  • … the mutability of species. As early as 14 September 1838, before reading Malthus, he wrote to Lyell …
  • … the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. In his letter of 11 January 1844 , Darwin …
  • … ‘big book’, when, in June 1858, he received the famous letter from Wallace in which was enclosed a …

Darwin and the Church

Summary

The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … and various dissenting establishments. In the Darwin and Wedgwood households, formal adherence to …
  • … & I can see it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] …
  • … wrote to the contrary: ‘I am sorry to see in your last letter that you still look forward to the …
  • … near the British Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] …
  • … it is a sort of scene I never ought to think about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). …
  • … the late 1830s, and in correspondence with his fiancée, Emma Wedgwood, in 1838 and 1839, as can be …
  • … of England. The whole family took the sacrament, although Emma used to make the children turn around …
  • … and Charles were buried; later Darwin’s brother Erasmus, Emma’s sister Sarah, Emma herself, and …
  • … church involvement can be attributed to the influence of Emma, whose religious scruples are …
  • … However, what remains is cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to …
  • … (a local charity), which he administered from 1848 to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] …
  • … he would make an excellent Guardian [of the Poor Fund]’ (letter to J. W. Lubbock, 28 March [1854] …
  • … club the use of his own lawn for its meetings (Moore 1985; letter to J. S. Henslow, 17 January …
  • … the family’s dog, Quiz, when he moved away from Down (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 December [1861] ) …
  • … was considered to be a cross between a cow and a red deer (letter from J. B. Innes, 7 December …
  • … ancestor. Please think of my request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed …
  • … and leaves Moses to take care of himself. Letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 …
  • … take care of the financial complications he left behind (letter from S. J. O’H. Horsman, 2 June …
  • … seemed to have made off with the church’s organ fund (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 June [1868] ). So …
  • … Ffinden strongly disapproved of the Darwins. In his eyes, Emma’s Unitarian leanings and Darwin’s …
  • … schools in this period, the Down school was Anglican. Emma wished it to be used as a reading room …
  • … even altered the habits of the household in order to allow Emma and the children to attend his …
  • … increase his desire to actually attend Sunday services with Emma and the children. Darwin’s life in …