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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: 21 hits
- … In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, …
- … 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 …
- … in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
- … memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
- … could see that Butler, as he told his daughter Henrietta Litchfield on 4 January , ‘would like …
- … was another source of pleasure in the early months of 1881. This book had been a major undertaking …
- … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
- … & very surprising the whole case is to me’ (letters to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] and …
- … learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). The …
- … suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March [1881] ) …
- … with you’, a Swedish teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), while H. M. …
- … little, to the general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). Josef Popper, an …
- … & to acknowledge any criticism’ ( letter to C. G. Semper, 19 July 1881 ). He continued his …
- … of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). …
- … , which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In these …
- … in heaven’ when the portrait was finished ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 23 July 1881 ). ‘All my family …
- … absurd for one with no pretensions’ (l etter from W. E. Darwin, 13 January [1881 ]), Darwin …
- … after expressing their wish to visit Darwin ( letter from E. B. Aveling, 27 September [1881] ). …

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: 19 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 …
- … my grandfather’s character is of much value to me’ ( letter to C. H. Tindal, 5 January 1880 ). …
- … have influenced the whole Kingdom, & even the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 …
- … delighted to find an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and …
- … 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 …
- … from scientific debate. The matter spilled over into January 1881. With Henrietta’s aid, the advice …
- … 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 …
- … and letting them out of their respective bags ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [6, 13, or 20] March …
- … received more attention than the baby!’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 17 December 1880 , and …
- … aided in any way direct attacks on religion’ ( letter to E. B. Aveling, 13 October 1880 ). Finally …

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: 21 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] ). …
- … 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 …
- … allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). Back …
- … 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 ). …
- … the spread of various mental and physical disorders (G. H. Darwin 1873b). In July 1874, an anonymous …
- … failure of observations in New Zealand (see G. B. Airy ed. 1881). Darwin’s third son Francis …
- … 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 …
- … could not weary the German public ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). …

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 …
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … in Down, where his brother Erasmus had been interred in 1881. But some of his scientific friends …
- … Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwin’s greatest scientific pleasure. The year …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots,’ Darwin wrote, ‘the chief result being that …
- … vol. 29, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 28 December 1881 ). Darwin had a long-running …
- … & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January 1882 ). The …
- … the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). While …
- … last book, Earthworms , had been published in October 1881. It proved to be very popular, with …
- … to have rather the best of the fight’ ( letter from G. F. Crawte, 11 March 1882 ). The battle …
- … 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 …
- … 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 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: 23 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 …
- … 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). …
- … Oldham … They club together to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). Thomas …
- … . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). Asa Gray …
- … to make it darker than the hair on his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 April 1871] …
- … a high aesthetic appreciation of beauty ( letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 April 1871] ). …
- … most deep and tender religious feeling’ ( letter from F. E. Abbot, 20 August 1871 ). The Anglican …
- … only the ‘most guarded expressions’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 January [1871] ). …
- … Abraham Dee Bartlett, Albert Günther, George Busk, T. H. Huxley, Osbert Salvin, and William Henry …
- … and misquoting of both Darwin and Catholic theology (T. H. Huxley 1871). Huxley judged Mivart to be …
- … Popery and fear for his soul’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley and H. A. Huxley, 20 September 1871 ). …
- … who was ‘as good as twice refined gold’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 September [1871] ). …
- … up to the last with quinine & sherry’ ( letter from H. E. Litchfield to Charles and Emma Darwin …