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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: 12 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 …
- … that his grandfather had felt the same way. In 1792, Erasmus Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I …
- … wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
- … itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
- … 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 …
- … objection to the engagement between his daughter Ida and Horace Darwin. This was all the more …
- … at the Farrers’ home, Abinger Hall, on several occasions. Horace had first approached Farrer to …
- … Farrer’s objection was based on his impression of Horace’s poor health and lack of profession, and …
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: 22 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 …
- … Hooker, ‘or as far as I know any scientific man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December [1878] ). …
- … 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 …
- … were enrolled as researchers, as were family members. Darwin asked his niece Sophy to observe …
- … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
- … on one side, then another, to produce movement in the stalk. Darwin compared adult and young leaves …
- … (see Movement in plants , pp. 112–13). He explained to Francis on 2 July : ‘I go on maundering …
- … after growth has ceased or nearly ceased.’ Finally, Darwin turned to plant motion below the …
- … precision the lines of least resistance in the ground.’ Darwin would devote a whole chapter to the …
- … when he finds 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 …
- … Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). …
- … accursed German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June …
- … have nobody to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] …
- … not easily be obtained at Down House, but Francis thought Horace’s abilities were a match for German …
- … the one here is far from well made.’ (Jemmy or Jim was Horace’s nickname.) Francis was …
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: 20 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 …
- … in a review of Unconscious memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for …
- … 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 …
- … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
- … the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
- … whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
- … about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
- … 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 …
- … was the progress of his sons’ careers. The success of Horace’s recently established Cambridge …
- … the help of Lord Rayleigh, George Darwin, and Horace Darwin—the task of defending Darwin’s arguments …
- … grandson, was born in Cambridge. His parents, Ida and Horace Darwin, named him Erasmus in honour of …
1879 Letters now online
Summary
In 1879, Darwin continued his research on movement in plants and researched, wrote, and published a short biography of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin as an introduction to a translation of an essay by Ernst Krause on Erasmus’s scientific work. Darwin’s son…
Matches: 11 hits
- … In 1879, Darwin continued his research on movement in plants and researched, wrote, and published a …
- … most of August on holiday in the Lake District. In October, Darwin’s youngest son, Horace, became …
- … myself a perfect fool to have undertaken such a job. ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 December [1879] ) …
- … until the preface was longer than the translated article. Darwin contacted cousins, sent his sons to …
- … little book, with low but respectable sales, and Darwin was relieved to hear that his friends …
- … to common sense & not to professional advisors . ( Letter to the Darwin children, 21 …
- … a specialised centre for receiving certain irritations ( Letter t o Francis Darwin, 2 July …
- … other to attend to the real interests of the country . ( Letter to T. H. Farrer, 23 October 1879 …
- … of the politicians seemed to be elsewhere. Horace has as sweet a temper & as …
- … or distinction, & more even than strong health . ( Letter to T. H. Farrer, 13 October 1879 ) …
- … his opposition to the match between his daughter, Ida, and Horace. The two families had known each …
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: 19 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] ). …
- … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George Eliot), but Darwin excused himself, finding it too …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … were family affairs. Coral reefs His son Horace had suggested a new edition of the …
- … had cost twenty-four shillings.) Murray’s partner, Robert Francis Cooke, informed Darwin that the …
- … were also doing well. Despite ill health, his youngest son Horace began the year by taking the …
- … without being bad & have done pretty well’ ( letter to Horace Darwin, 9 January [1874] ). …
- … Kent. After a month’s trial Darwin wrote to the firm about Horace’s illness: ‘My son is most …
- … (see G. B. Airy ed. 1881). Darwin’s third son Francis married Amy Ruck, the sister of a …
- … work on insectivorous plants. Amy drew a plant and Francis was disappointed that they seemed not to …
- … from Cornwall, but Darwin was unwell when it arrived, so Francis worked on the tiny bladders under …
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
Matches: 20 hits
- … 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which …
- … about their research while he was away from home. Although Darwin lacked a state of the art research …
- … research being pursued by other naturalists who, like Francis, had come to this centre for the study …
- … methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument …
- … plant physiology, but it was at its core informed by Darwin’s theory of evolution, particularly by …
- … early 1860s, at a time when his health was especially bad, Darwin had taken up the study of climbing …
- … reproduced as a small book, giving it a much wider audience. Darwin was not the first naturalist to …
- … which eventually appeared in 1875. In the same year, Darwin published a much longer work, …
- … about the nature of movement, so much so, that at one point Darwin had considered combining the …
- … digestive processes. With his final great botanical work, Darwin would attempt ‘ to bring all the …
- … emotions had their origins in non-human animal expression. Darwin had not done experimental work in …
- … from all over Europe and beyond. When Darwin’s son Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers …
- … off as completely as possible ’. He had also asked Horace to discuss the point with his friend …
- … , a plant that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from R. I. Lynch, [before 28 July …
- … made ’. Jemmy (a nickname for Darwin’s youngest son Horace) did, indeed, design an improved version …
- … the woodblock using photography for scientific accuracy ( letter from J. D. Cooper, 13 December …
- … lost colour, withered, and died within a couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin, 28 February …
- … how their observations could have been so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879 …
- … the botanist Gaetano Durando, to find plants and seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February – 8 …
- … but a version of it was made by Darwin’s youngest son Horace, who also made an improved version of …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 11 hits
- … | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
- … community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … on furrows and earthworm activity to her brother-in-law, Horace. She has dug a number of trenches, …
- … Darwin, [9 January 1871] Darwin’s brother-in-law, Francis, reports on the appearance and …
- … tells her eldest son, William, that her third eldest son, Francis, is receiving help with his plant …
- … February 1857] Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, writes to Francis with the results of his …
- … in his home. Letter 10517 - Darwin to Francis, F., [29 May 1876] Darwin …
- … Letter 10517 - Darwin t o Francis, F., [29 May 1876] Darwin gives his son, Francis …
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: 26 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 …
- … during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working fairly continuously …
- … work on species theory in the late 1830s. In recent years, Darwin had collected a wealth of material …
- … to human evolution was comparatively small, reflecting Darwin’s aim of showing kinship with animals …
- … he is “torn to pieces” by people wanting copies’, Darwin wrote to his son Francis on 28 February …
- … 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). …
- … and Oldham … They club together to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). …
- … one’s n th . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). …
- … habits, furnished with a tail and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) …
- … liberal or orthodox. The American philosopher and journalist Francis Ellingwood Abbot incorporated …
- … man & we were the best of friends’, he wrote to his son Francis on 28 February . However, …
- … Darwin had been receiving regular reports from his cousin Francis Galton on the progress of …
- … in order to facilitate cross-circulation ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
- … now left the family home. The Darwins' youngest son, Horace, entered Cambridge …
- … to pursue studies in mathematics and science ( letter to Horace Darwin, [15 December 1871] ). …
- … of Trinity College, planned a trip to America, and invited Francis and two Cambridge friends. Darwin …
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
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
- … once, the labour of checking proofs proved a blessing, as Darwin sought solace for the loss of his …
- … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
- … had involved much time and effort the previous year, and Darwin clearly wanted to focus his …
- … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
- … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
- … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
- … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
- … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
- … Darwin reassured his close friend Joseph Hooker that he and Francis would attend the meeting. Darwin …
- … 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 …
- … for the real machine.’ It was the mechanically minded Horace, however, who was the first to type a …
- … it is. ’ After describing how you ‘ play on keys ’, Horace pointed out that in less than a day he …
- … to present it to the Royal Society. He was pleased that Horace was off to Birmingham to lecture to …
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: 21 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 …
- … registry offices, and produced a twenty-page history of the Darwin family reaching back to the …
- … 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 …
- … much powder & shot’ ( Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 , and …
- … modified; but now I much regret that I did not do so’ ( letter to Samuel Butler, 3 January 1880 ). …
- … Mr Butler whatever.’ Power of movement With Francis’s assistance, the last of Darwin’s …
- … of the nervous system, and the nature of ‘sensitivity’. Francis Balfour described Movement in …
- … the intake of stones and flints to aid digestion. He asked Francis to check for castings on old …
- … While on honeymoon with his new wife, Ida, in the Alps, Horace spotted worms at high elevations, …
- … saw a steam tram—imagine my excitement’ ( letter from Horace Darwin to Emma Darwin, [18 September …
- … rightly thought the ‘queer subject’ of interest to Francis Galton, who had already taken thumb …
- … extending the study to public-school pupils ( letter to Francis Galton, 7 April 1880 , and …
- … William’s interest in geology, and longed to see Francis elected fellow of the Royal Society. He …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 23 hits
- … evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost …
- … (1875) and Cross and self fertilisation (1876). Darwin’s son Francis became increasingly …
- … career to become his father’s scientific secretary. Darwin had always relied on assistance from …
- … the previous year. As was typical, readers wrote to Darwin personally to offer suggestions, …
- … some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed to discussions in the …
- … in animals. The subject was brought closer to home by Francis Galton’s work on inherited talent, …
- … Station at Naples. Plants that eat and feel? Darwin had resumed experiments on the …
- … I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
- … and alkaloids, and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous …
- … work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
- … to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this transmission of …
- … plants , p. 63). The plants secreted a viscid fluid, which Darwin suspected attracted insects by …
- … ., p. 17). Through a series of painstaking experiments, Darwin determined that the secretions …
- … botanist Mary Treat, who performed experiments suggested by Darwin on the North American species …
- … Poisons and electrocution . . . His son Francis was assisting the histologist Edward Emanuel …
- … of medical research in London. On the advice of Klein, Francis obtained a new microscope for his …
- … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
- … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
- … on botany, he drew more on assistance from his son Francis. While visiting his fiancée, Amy Ruck, in …
- … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
- … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
- … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
- … for his children’s health. He wrote to George and Horace (who was also often sickly), “you both my …
Referencing women’s work
Summary
Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…
Matches: 12 hits
- … Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, …
- … set of selected letters is followed by letters relating to Darwin's 1881 publication …
- … work are referenced throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, …
- … her identity is both anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D …
- … Nevill is referenced by name for her “kindness” in Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . …
- … are identified only as “friends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 …
- … Sir C. Lyell” or received from “Miss. B”. Letter 7060 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
- … was referenced in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C …
- … Darwin, [4 January 1871] Darwin’s brother-in-law, Francis Wedgwood, sends the results of …
- … Darwin, H., [1 November 1877] Darwin asks his sons, Horace and Francis, to observe …
- … - Darwin, H. to Darwin, [7 October 1880] Horace writes to his father with information …
- … St Tibbs Row. Darwin proudly referenced the work of "My son Horace" in Vegetable Mould …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 28 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
- … appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a …
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwin’s interests remained extremely broad, and …
- … plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to …
- … Carl von Nägeli and perfectibility Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a …
- … a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägeli’s paper …
- … principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory …
- … in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwin’s apparent confusion about Nägeli’s …
- … ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwin’s uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently …
- … pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical examples he could use …
- … problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth …
- … prevailing theory of blending inheritance that Jenkin and Darwin both shared, would tend to be lost …
- … ( Origin 5th ed., pp. 103–4). The terminology that Darwin and others employed in these matters ( …
- … ‘I must have expressed myself atrociously’, Darwin wrote to Alfred Russel Wallace on 2 February , …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
- … of concern were received for months afterwards. Francis Galton: Hereditary genius and …
- … Emma read aloud from a new book by Darwin’s half-cousin, Francis Galton. The work, Hereditary …
- … is an eminently important difference’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 23 December [1869] ). …
- … of inheritance through experiments on rabbits ( letter from Francis Galton, 11 December 1869 ). …
- … the first to give me freedom of thought’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 24 December 1869 ). …
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: 25 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 …
- … measurements of the size and number of pollen-grains, Darwin compared the fertility of individual …
- … primrose and purple loosestrife. In the course of his work, Darwin found a number of other …
- … dreadful work making out anything about dried flowers’, Darwin complained to Asa Gray on 8 March …
- … which include heterstyled species. This pleases me.’. Darwin dedicated the book to Gray, ‘as a small …
- … In the end, Darwin did not publish on the subject, but Francis later reported some of the results of …
- … have shared Hooker’s suspicion of ambitious gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August …
- … … tap one of the young leaves with a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 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 …
- … , or to the vibratory flagella of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). …
- … in July 1877 (F. Darwin 1877b), and Darwin sent Cohn’s letter vindicating his son’s research to …
- … his sense of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October …
- … made the journey along with Emma. George, Francis, and Horace also attended. The ceremony was held …
- … that had gradually sunk from the burrowing of worms. Horace started building a ‘wormograph’ to …
- … buried ( letter from Francis Darwin, [28 October 1877?] ). Horace went with Francis to examine the …
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 21 hits
- … The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the …
- … in relation to Sex’. Always precise in his accounting, Darwin reckoned that he had started writing …
- … gathered on each of these topics was far more extensive than Darwin had anticipated. As a result, …
- … and St George Jackson Mivart, and heated debates sparked by Darwin’s proposed election to the French …
- … shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
- … anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
- … corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
- … , the latter when she was just eighteen years of age. Darwin clearly expected her to make a …
- … who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
- … abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
- … philanthropist Frances Power Cobbe. At Cobbe’s suggestion, Darwin read some of Immanuel Kant’s …
- … thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
- … how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
- … furrows radiating on the side of the neck of his son Francis when he was playing the flute. …
- … Darwin received a string of letters from his cousin Francis Galton, reporting on his efforts to …
- … by breaking adjacent veins into one’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 25 June 1870 ). Occasionally …
- … the latest litters has a white forefoot’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 May 1870 ). But in …
- … it is puzzle enough in every case whatever; & what our Boy Horace is to do, I know no more than …
- … him to have private instruction in mathematics. He wrote to Horace’s tutor at Trinity to request …
- … an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you Francis completed his studies at Cambridge, …
- … an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 18 October [1870] ). …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 21 hits
- … On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, ‘If any …
- … he ought to do what I am doing pester them with letters.’ Darwin was certainly true to his word. The …
- … and sexual selection. In Origin , pp. 87–90, Darwin had briefly introduced the concept of …
- … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
- … to the stridulation of crickets. At the same time, Darwin continued to collect material on …
- … his immediate circle of friends and relations. In July 1868 Darwin was still anticipating that his …
- … which was devoted to sexual selection in the animal kingdom. Darwin described his thirst for …
- … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
- … in January 1868. A final delay caused by the indexing gave Darwin much vexation. ‘My book is …
- … 1867 and had expected to complete it in a fortnight. But at Darwin’s request, he modified his …
- … the text. This increased the amount of work substantially. Darwin asked Murray to intervene, …
- … … though it would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from …
- … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
- … as stone, if it were not quite mollified by your note’. Darwin enclosed a cheque to Dallas for £55 …
- … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
- … and descent in the Fortnightly Review , and asked Darwin for comments. Darwin was clearly …
- … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
- … collector in his student days, Darwin encouraged his son Francis, now an undergraduate at Cambridge, …
- … ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] ). Francis sought additional advice from the …
- … vaccination ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [7 April 1868] ). Francis was also drafted into the …
- … at Leonards success’, Darwin wrote to his youngest son, Horace, on 26 July , ‘is it not splendid? …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 14 hits
- … for plants to flourish can be traced back to the last book Darwin wrote, snappily-titled The …
- … on their habits, which was published in 1881. Despite Darwin’s fears that a book on earthworms might …
- … out in his Natural History of Selborne of 1789 (a book Darwin claimed had ‘much influence on my …
- … a new field in natural history, and almost a century later Darwin argued that all fields had passed …
- … variety of strange things he persuaded people to do. Darwin concluded that worms had no sense …
- … of a metal whistle and to being shouted at, but also to Francis Darwin playing the bassoon, and to …
- … traces of earthworm activity at Stonehenge , and Horace was later charged with making sure that 18 …
- … made calculations about larger castings on poorer soils, and Francis helped with calculations …
- … . After a while, looking for earthworm casts became a habit; Francis noticed worm casts in fir woods …
- … existence of worms at that altitude. By the 1870s, Darwin was also drawing on the work of …
- … him. Soon worm excrement was trusted to postal services, and Darwin acquired casts from India and …
- … observations he had gathered to write a book on the subject. Darwin brought to the topic the …
- … whole soul is absorbed with worms just at present!’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton Dyer, 23 November …
- … ‘worms have much bigger souls than anyone wd suppose’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] …
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: 7 hits
- … book appeared. You can now see examples of letters to Darwin from nearly 250 different people, and …
- … Lyell , and Joseph Hooker , the two men who arranged for Darwin’s and Wallace’s ideas to be made …
- … Asa Gray who was an important sounding board for Darwin’s emerging ideas, and Thomas Huxley …
- … scrap from 1857 comparing his views on species to Darwin’s. Others, like Hugh Falconer , …
- … the less well-known scientific collaborators who became Darwin's correspondents, Mary Treat …
- … several of their children: William, George, Henrietta , Francis , Leonard, and Horace. Francis …
- … of water thrown over me on rising William Darwin Fox , Charles’s cousin and another …
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 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & that will do me some good, if I …
- … 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, …
- … to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
- … , ‘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 …
- … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
- … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
- … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
- … performed on animals in previous years by Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton. These had been …
- … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
- … manuscripts and proofs, Darwin now relied heavily on his son Francis, who had made the decision in …
- … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
- … plants , and moved on to Variation 2d ed., Francis signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the …
- … of seeds, using an instrument designed by his brother Horace, who was doing an apprenticeship at an …
- … by the device, remarking to Hooker on 13 October : ‘Horace has made a hygrometer with a bit of …
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Summary
George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…
Matches: 3 hits
- … novels, under her pen name, achieved great acclaim. Darwin and his family were keen readers …
- … visitors (23 March 1873; Emma described his visit in a letter to Fanny Allen, [26 March 1873], DAR …
- … to lunch but there is no evidence that this happened (Emma Darwin to Horace Darwin, [14 October 1873 …
