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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: 17 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] ). …
- … hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin …
- … to believe in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 …
- … the publishers, he applied first to his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from …
- … for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did …
- … (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material was …
- … the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 …
- … Descent was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though …
- … on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). …
- … Mivart (see Correspondence vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin …
- … views. In December, he sought advice from Huxley and Hooker, sending them a draft letter that …
- … in a few hours dissolve the hardest cartilage, bone & meat &c. &c.’ ( letter to W. D. …

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: 16 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
- … markedly, reflecting a decline in his already weak health. Darwin then began punctuating letters …
- … ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] . …
- … the origin of species particularly, worried Darwin; he told Hooker that he had once thought Lyell …
- … wished his one-time mentor had not said a word ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] ). …
- … lack of expertise in the subject. ‘The worst of it is’, Hooker wrote to Darwin, ‘I suppose it is …
- … difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] ). Hugh …
- … credit to his own research and that of Joseph Prestwich. Hooker wrote: ‘I fear L. will get scant …
- … of Lyell’s book being written by others’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] ). …
- … to see men fighting so for a little fame’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). …
- … to capture his and others’ attention ( see letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , and letter …
- … he had ‘gained nothing’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12–13 March [1863] ). poor miserable …
- … Natural History Review ( see letter to H. W. Bates, 12 January [1863] ). Darwin added Bates’s …
- … Society ( see letter from Edward Sabine to John Phillips, 12 November 1863 ). Characteristically, …
- … very slowly recovering, but am very weak’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [29 September? 1863] ). …
- … Thomas’s Hospital, London ( letter from George Busk, [ c. 27 August 1863] ). Brinton, who …

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: 18 hits
- … In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
- … letters on climbing plants to make another paper. Darwin also submitted a manuscript of his …
- … for evaluation, and persuaded his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker to comment on a paper on Verbascum …
- … committed suicide at the end of April; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic …
- … thriving, and when illness made work impossible, Darwin and Hooker read a number of novels, and …
- … having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … to accept the award in person (see Correspondence vol. 12). In early January Falconer had …
- … had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
- … kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] ). However, …
- … griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 ). …
- … Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). He …
- … Darwin had received a copy of Müller’s book, Für Darwin , a study of the Crustacea with reference …
- … in or before November 1864 ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to Ernst Haeckel, 21 November [1864 …
- … … inheritance, reversion, effects of use & disuse &c’, and which he intended to publish in …
- … He wrote to Hooker, ‘I doubt whether you or I or any one c d do any good in healing this breach. …
- … Hooker’s behalf, ‘He asks if you saw the article of M r . Croll in the last Reader on the …
- … ‘As for your thinking that you do not deserve the C[opley] Medal,’ he rebuked Hooker, ‘that I …

Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots
Summary
Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…
Matches: 22 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
- … 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge …
- … his publishers, he warned that it was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
- … turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June …
- … home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26 …
- … many blessings, was finding old age ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
- … Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I find now is this d—n’d old age, which creeps slily upon one, …
- … Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 February was a cause for international …
- … nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of …
- … ). The botanist and schoolteacher Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and …
- … of the Admiralty described the unknown young man as ‘A M r Darwin grandson of the well known …
- … admiration of his grandfather: ‘The more I read of Dr. D. the higher he rises in my estimation.’ …
- … it, leaving Darwin ‘more perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, …
- … the highest point, for his “why”—“what for” &c are incessant’, Darwin joked on 2 July (first …
- … which is his profession tho’ not a profitable one; also D r C[lark]’s opinion that he was so …
- … when the acorns failed to ripen, Darwin had to ask Joseph Hooker to come to his rescue by sending …
- … scarlet oak: ‘to be planted in my honour!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 4 November [1879] ). While in …
- … knowledge—observation & experiment’ ( letter from J. F. Moulton, 10 December 1879 ). In reply …
- … image of the frog be published in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 4 and 6 March [1879] ). …
- … and his family to the Riviera for the summer ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 23 July 1879 ). Allen, who …
- … prospects were precarious. Darwin contacted Joseph Hooker on 17 December to ask his opinion: ‘I …
- … been saved from a ‘mistake & mess’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 December [1879] ). The German …

Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants
Summary
Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…
Matches: 16 hits
- … Towards the end of 1862, Darwin resolved to build a small hothouse at Down House, for ‘experimental …
- … hothouse early in 1863 marked something of a milestone in Darwin’s botanical work, since it greatly …
- … book (Down House MS) and Correspondence vol. 5, letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 April [1855] ). …
- … to touch (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] and n. 13). …
- … [1862] ( Correspondence vol. 10) Darwin told Hooker: I have almost resolved to …
- … of prizes & is very observant. He believes that we sh d succeed with a little patience; …
- … mid-January, and completed by mid-February (see letters to J. D. Hooker, 13 January [1863] and …
- … plants for use in a wide variety of experiments. He told Hooker that he was ‘looking with much …
- … shall keep to curious & experimental plants’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January [1863] ). …
- … plants you want before going to Nurserymen’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 January 1863] ). …
- … continuing: ‘Do you not think you ought to be sent with M r Gower to the Police Court?’ (William …
- … Stove [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March …
- … had ‘4 houses of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , …
- … which he received in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February 1863 ). …
- … The reference is to James Bateman, an orchid specialist (R. Desmond 1994). 17. Stylidium …
- … C. hæmatostigma. …
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: 21 hits
- … Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig …
- … as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified …
- … correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring …
- … Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day …
- … of natural selection to his friend, the botanist, Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles …
- … year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs Lyell and Hooker in 1844, being a part of …
- … DARWIN: 7 January 1844. My dear Hooker. I have been …engaged in a very presumptuous work …
- … his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
- … the opportunity I enjoyed of making your acquaintance at Hooker’s three years ago; and besides that …
- … sheet of note-paper! DARWIN: 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind …
- … be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
- … has done my stomach surprising good. GRAY: 12 My dear Mr Darwin, I rejoice in …
- … on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
- … 22 Hurrah I got yesterday my 41st Grass! Hooker is younger than Darwin and Gray by …
- … species before… DARWIN: 24 My dear Hooker… you cannot imagine how pleased I am …
- … on your bowels of immutability. Darwin passes to Hooker a brace of letters 25 …
- … paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r] 178 doctrine that each variation has been …
- … ARTS AND SCIENCES, PROCEEDINGS XVII, 1882 4 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 10 MAY 1848 …
- … 11 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, 5 JUNE 1855 12 A GRAY TO C DARWIN, 30 JUNE 1855 …
- … HOOKER, 11 OCTOBER 1858 59 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER, 12 OCTOBER 1857 60 A GRAY TO …
- … C DARWIN, 18–19 AUGUST 1862 149 C DARWIN TO J. D. HOOKER 26 JULY 1863 150 …

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: 17 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 …
- … up his research again in January, he wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker, “It is wonderful how many points …
- … a specimen of the carnivorous Drosophyllum lusitanicum , Hooker wrote: “Pray work your wicked …
- … on the North American species Drosera filiformis . Hooker, with the assistance of William Turner …
- … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
- … at the end of November 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873] , “Did I …
- … without instruction or previously acquired knowledge” (A. R. Wallace 1870, p. 204). Moggridge …
- … could be transmitted to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February 1873 ). …
- … friend— but he is a deal too sharp” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [7 April 1873] ). A group …
- … forced him to take periodic breaks from work ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 February [1873] ). They …
- … new facts which I have to compare & judge of” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 December [1873] ). …
- … believes whether or not they are sound” ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 November 1873 ). But no …
- … intellect; but man can do his duty” ( letter to N. D. Doedes, 2 April 1873 ). Darwin’s …
- … unorthodoxy, troubling and potentially undermining (J. R. Moore 1985, pp. 471–2). A courted …
- … a personification of Natural Filosofy” ( letter from J. C. Costerus and N. D. Doedes, 18 March 1873 …
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: 22 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 …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] …
- … in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L to Darwin, [8 & 9 May 1869] …
- … Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [8 June 1867 - 72] Darwin …
- … Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 May 1870] …
- … of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] …
- … Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to Darwin, [17 December 1872] …
- … little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 March 1864] …
- … and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von to Darwin, [4 December 1867] …
- … in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869] John …
- … Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
- … Lychnis diurna. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R . to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
- … at Maer Hall, Staffordshire. Letter 1219 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, [3 February …
- … Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B . to Darwin, [12 February 1876] Sophia Herrick …
- … The experiments were carried out “at the suggestion of Dr Hooker” and what little he has ascertained …
- … Women: Letter 2345 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [20 October 1858] Darwin …
- … style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859] Darwin …
- … Letter 2475 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [2 July 1859] Darwin returns the manuscript of …

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: 25 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 …
- … which I can do’, he wrote despondently to Joseph Dalton Hooker on 15 June , concluding, ‘I must …
- … sweetest place on this earth’. From the start of the year, Darwin had his demise on his mind. He …
- … 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 …
- … made a small omission ’. Stephen’s reply on 12 January was flattering, reassuring, and …
- … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
- … learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). The …
- … the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 May …
- … Darwin had difficulty in obtaining mature plants. On 12 April, he reported to Müller , ‘I have …
- … he would feel ‘less sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The degree of …
- … falls at this late period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). Darwin gave in …
- … made clear the veneration in which he was held. ‘I’d give one year of my life for one hours …
- … to possibilities for women, judging from her organization &c’. When Darwin replied the following …
- … ‘bread-winners’ ( Correspondence vol. 30, letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … patted one of the Fuegians on the shoulder (l etter from B. J. Sulivan, 18 March 1881 ). …
- … which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In these ways, …
- … friends, however, did not agree. Both John Lubbock and Hooker asked for Darwin’s advice when writing …
- … ( letter to John Lubbock, [18 September 1881] ). When Hooker, anxious about his address on …
- … one’ and had ‘gone much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling …
- … approach to omniscience than for originality’, and telling Hooker, ‘Your long letter has stirred …
- … we had many a discussion & many a good fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and …
- … atrocious a manner on all physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 April 1881 ). A letter he …
- … have a domestic life & public duties!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 October 1881] ). …

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: 17 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 …
- … he remarked to his best friend, the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, ‘If I lived 20 more years, & …
- … 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 …
- … Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now missing) to Hooker, remarking: ‘I should be extremely …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … principle (Nägeli 1865, pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical …
- … now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , and …
- … do fairly well, though if I had read you first, perhaps I d have been less deferential towards …
- … males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November [1869] ). Yet …
- … & contempt—almost hatred—’ ( from Asa Gray and J. L. Gray, 8 and 9 May [1869] ). James …
- … species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a …
- … genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This …
- … [her] to translate “Domestic Animals”’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 November [1869] ). Angered by …
- … whole meeting was decidedly Huxley’s answer to D r M c Cann. He literally poured boiling oil …

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest
Summary
The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…
Matches: 20 hits
- … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now …
- … and also a meeting with Herbert Spencer, who was visiting Darwin’s neighbour, Sir John Lubbock. In …
- … on publishers, decried on one occasion by Joseph Dalton Hooker as ‘Penny-wise Pound foolish, …
- … Fuller consideration of Darwin’s work was given by Hooker in an evening speech on insular floras at …
- … able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
- … once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
- … me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). Towards …
- … continued to refine his hypothesis in 1866. He wrote to Hooker on 16 May [1866] , ‘I … am at work …
- … it was too big. ‘You must congratulate me’, he wrote to Hooker, ‘when you hear that I have sent M.S. …
- … Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] ). When …
- … more than the belief of a dozen physicists’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 February 1866] ). Darwin …
- … ‘Your father … entered at the same time with Dr B. J. who received him with triumph. All his friends …
- … you go on, after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèe—which I dreamed of 2 nights …
- … me to worship Bence Jones in future—’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 May 1866 ). Darwin himself …
- … then went for ¾ to Zoolog. Garden!!!!!!!!!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 April 1866] ). …
- … so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [ c . 10 May 1866] ). Henrietta’s …
- … though I dread all exertion’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [12 May 1866] ). Darwin’s interest in …
- … teleological development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). Also in …
- … common broom ( Cytisus scoparius ) and the white broom ( C. multiflorus ) in his botanical …
- … and June on the subject of Rhamnus catharticus (now R. cathartica ). Darwin had become …
Scientific Networks
Summary
Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…
Matches: 10 hits
- … and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
- … tapping into the networks of others, such as Joseph Dalton Hooker and Asa Gray, who were at leading …
- … when strong institutional structures were largely absent. Darwin had a small circle of scientific …
- … in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
- … of face-to-face contact. His correspondence with Joseph Hooker and Asa Gray illustrates how close …
- … section contains two sets of letters. The first is between Darwin and his friend Kew botanist J. D. …
- … confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 23 Feb [1844] …
- … Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct [1848] Darwin catches up on personal …
- … Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 12 Oct 1849 Darwin opens by discussing their …
- … Letter 3805 — Darwin, C. R. to Scott, John, 12 Nov [1862] Darwin thanks Scott for bringing …

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: 21 hits
- … lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to …
- … in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments to …
- … plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in his role as …
- … is to lessen injury to leaves from radiation’, he wrote to Hooker on 25 March ; ‘this has …
- … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
- … when he finds out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] …
- … ( letter to Francis Darwin, 17 July [1878] ). On 12 September , Darwin wrote: ‘Bernard is as …
- … on the object, but he will always do so’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 August [1878] ). Darwin …
- … a monkey & a baby in your house!’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 2 September [1878] ). More …
- … to play the part of a thieving wasp’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 21 June 1878 ). An …
- … where his work had been more controversial ( letter from J.-B. Dumas and Joseph Bertrand, 5 August …
- … Record”’ ( letter from Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár, 28 April 1878 ). ‘What a wonderful change …
- … The Swiss botanist Arnold Dodel-Port announced on 12 June 1878 the first issue of an atlas with …
- … and leaves Moses to take care of himself ’ ( letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 ). Darwin …
- … opponent’ ( Correspondence vol. 24, letter to T. C. Eyton, 22 April 1876 ). ‘When I first read …
- … European crop (see Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. S. Henslow, 28 October [1845] ). He …
- … the matter be presented to the duke of Richmond ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 28 [February 1878] ). …
- … he made a fool of himself at Belfast,’ Darwin wrote to Hooker on 3 or 4 March . ‘I have often …
- … secretary, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil ( letter to R. A. T. Gascoyne-Cecil, 18 May 1878 ). …
- … oddest thing that ever happened to me’, Darwin wrote to Hooker on 14 December. Mindful of the lack …
- … That pecunious old couple of Worthing’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1878 ). …

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, …
- … means of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864 …
- … book would take the form of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But …
- … the accursed Index-maker’, Darwin wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker on 6 January . Darwin had sent …
- … Murray to intervene, complaining on 9 January , ‘M r . Dallas’ delay … is intolerable … I am …
- … ). Darwin sympathised, replying on 14 January , ‘I sh d have a very bad heart, as hard as …
- … to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). But such …
- … away’ that sparked the most discussion. Darwin wrote to Hooker on 23 February , ‘did you look at …
- … thought it was by Gray himself, but Darwin corrected him: ‘D r Gray would strike me in the face, …
- … editor of the London and Westminster Review . When Hooker later tried to refute the claims of the …
- … a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] ). …
- … on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d C. Darwin M.d’; Binstead evidently …
- … (from ?, 6 April 1868). On 21 May , Darwin complained to Hooker, ‘I am bothered with heaps of …
- … information on colour changes in the canary (letters from J. J. Weir, [26] March 1868 and 3 …
- … added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J.