skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

Search: contains ""

400 Bad Request

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.


Apache Server at dcp-public.lib.cam.ac.uk Port 443
Search:
in keywords
40 Items
Page:  1 2  Next

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: 17 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
  • am languid & bedeviled … & hate everybody’. Although Darwin did continue his botanical
  • of the water-cure. The treatment was not effective and Darwin remained ill for the rest of the year. …
  • the correspondence from the year. These letters illustrate Darwins preoccupation with the
  • fromsome Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
  • … ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
  • Britains scientific circles following the publication of Lyells and Huxleys books. Three
  • than  Origin had (see  Correspondence  vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
  • with animals now extinct had been rapidly accumulating. Lyells argument for a greater human
  • that of inferior animals made himgroan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin
  • out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public
  • you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
  • stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The
  • sentence from the second edition of  Antiquity of man  (C. Lyell 1863b, p. 469), published in
  • very slowly recovering, but am very weak’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [29 September? 1863] ). …
  • Thomass Hospital, London ( letter from George Busk, [ c. 27 August 1863] ). Brinton, who

Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics

Summary

On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…

Matches: 18 hits

  • 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwins  Origin of species , printing
  • surprised both the publisher and the author. One week later Darwin was stunned to learn that the
  • the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
  • his views. ‘One cannot expect fairness in a Reviewer’, Darwin commented to Hooker after reading an
  • he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] …
  • butunfairreviews that misrepresented his ideas, Darwin began to feel that without the early
  • it was his methodological criticism in the accusation that Darwin haddeserted the inductive track, …
  • from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
  • a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 18 February [1860] ). …
  • phenomena it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] …
  • current knowledge could not illuminate thismystery’. Charles Lyell worried, among other things, …
  • did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 February 1860] ). To
  • of reasoning about global change. Darwin also knew that Lyell was a powerful potential ally. Indeed, …
  • because more accustomed to reasoning.’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 18 May 1860 ). Darwin
  • is in same predicament with other animals’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] )— he and
  • of the scientifically literate clergymen Baden Powell and Charles Kingsley attested. Moreover, …
  • … (like Lyell) to retract their support altogether (letters to Charles Lyell, 1 June [1860] and
  • different opposers view the subject’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 15 February [1860] ); later he

Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin

Summary

The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…

Matches: 19 hits

  • 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwins life. From a quiet rural existence
  • he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This
  • the composition and publication, in November 1859, of Darwins major treatise  On the origin of
  • …  exceeded my wildest hopes By the end of 1859, Darwins work was being discussed in
  • as he jokingly called it) to his views of close friends like Charles Lyell, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
  • concepts of creation. ‘When I was in spirits’, he told Lyell at the end of 1859, ‘I sometimes
  • has  infinitely  exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
  • The 'big book' The year 1858 opened with Darwin hard at work preparing hisbig
  • to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
  • his reason or his own opinion. Hewett Cottrell Watson and Charles Cardale Babington thought that in
  • as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and  …
  • throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have
  • work—& that I confess made me a little lowbut I c d . have borne it, for I have the
  • his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
  • and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell, as Wallace had requested
  • his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
  • Following Francis DarwinLL 2: 11617) and relying on Charles Lyells endorsement, the editors
  • with scarlet fever, currently sweeping through the village. Charles Waring Darwins condition
  • it is impossible that men like Lyell, Hooker, Huxley, H. C. Watson, Ramsay &c would change their

Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions

Summary

Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive …

Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'

Summary

In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…

Matches: 21 hits

  • On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that heBegan by Lyells advice  writing
  • by the preparation of this manuscript. Although advised by Lyell to publish only a brief outline
  • Natural selection . Determined as he was to publish, Darwin nevertheless still felt cautious
  • this process. Still prominent in his immediate circle were Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
  • specialist in Madeiran entomology, Thomas Vernon Wollaston. Darwin also came to rely on the caustic
  • in London. Natural Selection Not all of Darwins manuscript on species has been
  • of pigeons, poultry, and other domesticated animals. As Darwin explained to Lyell, his studies, …
  • the real structure of varieties’, he remarked to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 September [1856
  • can William Bernhard Tegetmeier continued to help Darwin acquire much of the material for
  • on domestic animals in India and elsewhere. William Darwin Fox supplied information about cats, dogs
  • … ‘& I mean to make my Book as perfect as ever I can.’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 8 February [1857] …
  • plants, he asked Asa Gray, vary in the United States ( letter to Asa Gray, 2 May 1856 )? What
  • plants pretty effectuallycomplained Darwin in 1857 ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [2 May 1857] ). …
  • John Lubbock that his method of calculation was wrong ( letter to John Lubbock, 14 July [1857] ). …
  • … ‘Darwin, an absolute & eternal hermaphrodite’ ( letter to to T. H. Huxley, 1 July [1856] ), …
  • …  not a bird be killed (by hawk, lightning, apoplexy, hail &c) with seeds in crop, & it would
  • to William Erasmus Darwin, [26 February 1856] and to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ). …
  • 21 [July 1857] ). The problem of careers for his six boys (Charles Waring Darwin, the sixth and
  • and the preparation of his manuscript ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 1 May 1857 ) seem innocuous and
  • writing in part to establish his priority in this area, for Charles Lyell thought that Wallaces
  • given on an occasion other than the one previously supposed. Charles and Mary Elizabeth Lyell

Language: key letters

Summary

How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…

Matches: 11 hits

  • human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the
  • he first began to reflect on the transmutation of species. Darwins correspondence reveals the scope
  • whom he exchanged information and ideas. Letter 346Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, C. S., 27 Feb
  • Caucasian languages separated from one stock.” Letter 2070Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, …
  • because we can trace the elements into Latin, German &c. but I see much the same sort of thing
  • is the grinding down of former continents.” Letter 3054Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 2
  • were separately created. Darwin writes to the geologist Charles Lyell about the views of the Harvard
  • former,—which I tell him is perfectly logical.” Letter 5605Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. …
  • whilst young, do they scream & make loud noise?” Letter 7040Wedgwood, Hensleigh to
  • growing to such a stageLetter 8367Darwin, C. R. to Wright, Chauncey, 3 June [1872] …
  • altering the breed. Letter 8962Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, Friedrich, 3 July 1873

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 Darwins son George dominated the second
  • and traveller Alexander von Humboldts 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
  • Andone looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
  • 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
  • at Erasmuss house. The event was led by the medium Charles E. Williams, and was attended by George
  • friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder
  • Descent  was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though
  • at a much reduced price of nine shillings, in line with Charles Lyells  Students elements of
  • on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). …
  • in a few hours dissolve the hardest cartilage, bone & meat &c. &c.’ ( letter to W. D. …
  • whether at theclose of the putrefaction of flesh, skin &c, any substance is produced before
  • details of an Australian variety of sundew ( letter from T. C. Copland, 23 June 1874 ). …
  • raising £860 ( Circular to John Lubbock, P. L. Sclater, Charles Lyell, W. B. Carpenter, and Michael
  • Sharpe for promotion at the British Museum ( letter to R. B. Sharpe, 24 November [1874] ).  He
  • head that M r  Spencers terms of equilibration &c always bother me & make everything less

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: 20 hits

  • … |  Editors and critics  |  Assistants Darwins 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
  • be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to
  • Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L
  • Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
  • Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 May 1870] …
  • the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9
  • Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris
  • in Llandudno. Letter 4823  - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] …
  • Letter 8144 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [5 January 1872] Darwin asks his niece, …
  • Lychnis diurna. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R . to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
  • lawn. Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. R., [24 February 1872] Darwin
  • the Isle of White. Letter 4433  - Wright, Charles to Gray, A., [20, 25, 26 March
  • Letter 1701  - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris
  • garden ”. Letter 6083  - Casparay, J. X. R. to Darwin, [2 April 1868] …
  • in the future. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] …
  • Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that

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: 25 hits

  • 1 Re: DesignAdaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and othersby
  • as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified
  • from the correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
  • following: Actor 1Asa Gray Actor 2Charles Darwin Actor 3In the dress
  • Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart Mill, Emma Darwin, Horace Darwinand acts as a sort
  • the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and between the audience and
  • this, he sends out copies of his Review of the Life of Darwin. At this time in his life, Asa
  • friends in England, copies of hisReview of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it
  • the botanist, Joseph D Hooker GRAY:   3   Charles Darwinmade his home on the border
  • the year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs Lyell and Hooker in 1844, being a
  • his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention
  • 11   My dear HookerWhat a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my
  • be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy itHis letter does strike me as most uncommonly
  • on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year
  • at the expense of Agassiz. DARWIN:   20   Lyell told me, that Agassiz, having a
  • a brace of letters 25   I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received
  • might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing
  • Atlantic. HOOKER:   28   Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which
  • … – to be falseYours most sincerely and gratefully Charles Darwin. CREED AND FEVER: 1858
  • forgetfuless of your darling. BOOKS BY THE LATE CHARLES DARWIN: 1863-1865 In which
  • and officially die. And then publish booksby the late Charles Darwin’. Darwin takes up
  • …   173   Ever yours cordially (though an Englishman) Charles Darwin. GRAY174   …
  • paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r178   doctrine that each variation has been
  • ARTS AND SCIENCES, PROCEEDINGS XVII, 1882 4  C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 10 MAY 1848
  • DARWIN TO A GRAY, 4 JULY 1858 48  C DARWIN TO LYELL, 18 JUNE 1858 49  C

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: 24 hits

  • In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwins 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
  • protégé, John Scott, who was now working in India. Darwins transmutation theory continued to
  • Argyll, appeared in the religious weeklyGood Words . Darwin received news of an exchange of
  • Butler, and, according to Butler, the bishop of Wellington. Darwins theory was discussed at an
  • in the  GardenersChronicleAt the end of the year, Darwin was elected an honorary member of
  • year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend of
  • dispute between two of Darwins friends, John Lubbock and Charles Lyell . These events all inspired
  • The death of Hugh Falconer Darwins first letter to Hooker of 1865 suggests that the family
  • having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
  • had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus
  • his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium
  • may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
  • always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
  • claimed, important for his enjoyment of life. He wrote to Charles Lyell on 22 January [1865] , …
  • Darwin had received a copy of Müllers bookFür Darwin , a study of the Crustacea with reference
  • … … inheritance, reversion, effects of use & disuse &c’, and which he intended to publish in
  • and those of Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, and Charles Bonnet; Darwin wrote back: ‘I do
  • the Royal Society of Edinburgh criticising Origin . Like Charles Lyell, who wrote to Darwin on
  • for existence (ibid., pp. 27681). Darwin responded to Lyells account in some detail ( see letter
  • At the end of May, the dispute between Charles Lyell and John Lubbock over alleged plagiarism by
  • He wrote to Hooker, ‘I doubt whether you or I or any one c d  do any good in healing this breach. …
  • Hookers 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

Controversy

Summary

The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely variable. Many of …
  • … was itself an important arena of debate, one that Darwin greatly preferred to the public sphere. …
  • … and support sustained in spite of enduring differences. Darwin's correspondence can thus help …
  • … Disagreement and Respect Darwin rarely engaged with critics publically. Letters exchanged …
  • … Richard Owen, the eminent comparative anatomist, show how Darwin tried to manage strong disagreement …
  • … him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, C. R. to …
  • … of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
  • … of brotherly love and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to …
  • … classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. …
  • … the nature of such influences as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
  • Darwin and his close friends, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Charles Lyell, show that Darwin, who had …
  • … at the Linnean Society of London, and presided over by Lyell and Hooker, reveals much about the …
  • … differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 [June 1858] Darwin …
  • Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, [25 June 1858] Darwin writes to Lyell saying …

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: 19 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 Darwins proposed election to the French
  • proofs of  Descent  in December, he wrote to his friend Charles Lyell, ‘thank all the powers above
  • 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
  • throapes & 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
  • in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence  vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
  • patients, but it did not confirm Duchennes findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March
  • muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
  • to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870
  • who sent a sketch of a babys brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). He also wrote to
  • … (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …
  • in Paris. Quatrefages had just completed a bookCharles Darwin et ses précurseurs français  …

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: 22 hits

  • The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle  voyage was one
  • a family Busy as he was with scientific activities, Darwin found time to re-establish family
  • close contact. In November 1838, two years after his return, Darwin became engaged to his cousin, …
  • daughter, Anne Elizabeth, moved to Down House in Kent, where Darwin was to spend the rest of his
  • his greatest theoretical achievement, the most important of Darwins activities during the years
  • identifications of his bird and fossil mammal specimens, Darwin arrived at the daring and momentous
  • ideas on a wide range of topics. Then, in September 1838, T. R. Malthus’  An essay on the principle
  • by all the leading geologists of Englandamong them Charles Lyell, Sedgwick, and Buckland (see the
  • of South America”, Darwin continued to defend his and Lyells theory that floating icerather than
  • Fossil Mammalia , by Richard OwenMammalia , by G. R. WaterhouseBirds , by John Gould;  …
  • publications. The beetles were described by F. W. Hope, G. R. Waterhouse, and C. C. Babington; the
  • lists of Darwins plants (see D. M. Porter 1981). Charles Lyell In the extensive
  • correspondent, both scientifically and personally, was Charles Lyell. The letters Darwin and Lyell
  • letters have suffered an even more severe loss. In a letter to Lyells sister-in-law, Katharine
  • material for her  Life, letters and journals of Sir Charles Lyell, Bart.,  Darwin informs her that
  • 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 themystery
  • about searching for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838
  • all crosses between all domestic birds & animals dogs, cats &c &c very valuable—' …
  • the practice of systematists. As the correspondence with G. R. Waterhouse during the 1840s shows, …
  • just the same, though I know what I am looking for' ( Letter to G. R. Waterhouse, [26 July
  • In 1840 the illness was different. As he wrote to Charles Lyell, [19 February 1840] , “it is now

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: 19 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 Darwins neighbour, Sir John Lubbock. In
  • Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But
  • all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
  • 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] ). …
  • see you out with our beagles before the season is over’ ( letter from John Lubbock, 4 August 1866
  • in correspondence throughout the year, as in his remark to Lyell, ‘I quite follow you in thinking
  • in this volume), drawing Darwin, Hooker, and the botanist Charles James Fox Bunbury into the
  • you go on, after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèewhich I dreamed of 2 nights
  • so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [  c . 10 May 1866] ). Henriettas
  • 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
  • of separate sexes. William gathered numerous specimens of  R. catharticus , the only species of  …
  • good, & we have been at it many a long year’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 15 February [1866] ). …
  • replied with a modified list, adding Fritz Müllers  Für Darwin , and a recent fossil discovery in
  • selection, and with special creation ( letter from W. R. Grove, 31 August 1866 ). Hooker later
  • indeed at poor Susans loneliness’ ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7

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: 14 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 herkindnessin Darwins Fertilisation of Orchids . …
  • being acknowledged publicly as a science critic. Letter 4370 - Wedgwood, L. C. to
  • are identified only asfriends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25
  • to state that the information wasreceived through Sir C. Lyellor received fromMiss. B”. …
  • was referenced in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C
  • are not cited in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., …
  • description of a crying baby in Mary Barton. Letter 8321 - Darwin to
  • at him. Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [15 June 1872] Darwins
  • near his house. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
  • worm castings . Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [15 June 1872] …

Dates of composition of Darwin's manuscript on species

Summary

Many of the dates of letters in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwin’s manuscript on species (DAR 8--15.1, inclusive; transcribed and published as Natural selection). This manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by…

Matches: 5 hits

  • in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwins manuscript on species (DAR 8- …
  • May 1856, was nearly completed by June 1858. At that point Darwin wasinterrupted’, as he put it, …
  • in theJournaland the chapter headings as supplied by Darwin, followed by the reference of the
  • also given. Chapter 1 is not extant nor was it recorded in Darwin'sJournal’. Chapter 2 is not
  • chapter has been taken from a table of contents to which Darwin added the names of chapters as he

Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute

Summary

Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…

Matches: 24 hits

  • …   Charles Darwins major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large
  • couple of months were needed to index the work, a task that Darwin handed over to someone else for
  • and animals  ( Expression ), published in 1872. Although Darwin had been collecting material and
  • A global reputation The importance of Darwins network of correspondents becomes vividly
  • who might best answer the questions, with the result that Darwin began to receive replies from
  • of Argyll, and an anonymous review by an engineer, Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin, challenged
  • suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a Book’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 January [1867] …
  • to the printer, but without the additional chapter. In a letter written on 8 February [1867] to
  • booksDescent  and  Expression . In the same letter, Darwin revealed the conclusion to his
  • variation of animals and plants under domestication . In a letter to his son William dated 27
  • of his brothers embryological papers with his first letter to Darwin of 15 March 1867 , although
  • … . Indeed, he told his publisher, John Murray, in a letter of 4 April [1867] , not to send
  • hypothesis of pangenesis’. Such was the case, reported by Charles Victor Naudin, of a fan palm, …
  • anxious about the reception of pangenesis. He was happy that Charles Lyell had a positive response, …
  • will be a somewhat important step in Biology’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 22 August [1867] ). …
  • on the anatomy of expression by medical experts such as Charles Bell and Guillaume Benjamin Amand
  • see your second volume onThe Struggle for Existence &c.” for I doubt if we have a sufficiency
  • … “supplemental remarks on expression”’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [1217] March [1867] ). Darwins
  • aviary to see whether this was the case ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1867] ). He also
  • level. In his response to Wallace ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 26 February [1867] ), Darwin defended
  • to the work I shall find it much better done by you than I c d  have succeeded in doing’ ( letter
  • andclever’, but with certain weak parts ( letter to Charles Lyell, 1 June [1867] ). Charles
  • I have not a word to say against it but such a view c d  hardly come into a scientific book’ ( …
  • Wallace published a long article, ‘Creation by law’ (A. R. Wallace 1867c), which responded to Jenkin

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: 11 hits

  • book appeared.   You can now see examples of letters to Darwin from nearly 250 different people, and
  • Russel Wallace , co-discoverer of natural selection; Charles Lyell , and Joseph Hooker , the
  • Asa Gray who was an important sounding board for Darwins emerging ideas, and Thomas Huxley
  • scrap from 1857 comparing his views on species to DarwinsOthers, like Hugh Falconer , …
  • the less well-known scientific collaborators who became Darwin's correspondents, Mary Treat
  • letters from family and friends, including letters between Charles and his wife Emma, and several of
  • was co-opted as an observer in WalesLucy Wedgwood , Darwins neice, was one of those who
  • parish of Down in Kent, and a lifelong friend of both Charles and Emma, sent information on
  • of water thrown over me on rising William Darwin Fox , Charless cousin and another
  • W. T. Thiselton-Dyer George Cupples H. C. Watson J. J. Weir H. W. Bates
  • Frederick Smith A. G. Butler John Lubbock R. I. Lynch J. B. Burdon Sanderson

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: 24 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 ) …
  • of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater public recognition
  • Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwins 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
  • contents, if immersed for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. Darwins interest in root
  • François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20
  • our homes, would in this case greatly suffer’ ( letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). Kennard
  • judged, intellectually his inferior, please ( letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 January 1882 ). …
  • to take his daily strolls (Henrietta Emma Litchfield, ‘Charles Darwins death’, DAR 262.23: 2, p. 2) …
  • dull aching in the chest’ (Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, [ c . 28 March 1882] (DAR 210.3: 45)). …
  • snakes, centipedes, and spiders. The instructions were from Charles Lawrence Hughes, a fellow pupil
  • to some Estancia,’ wrote Hughes, ‘as the scenery &c. will amply repay your trouble’ ( letter
  • where he had witnessed an earthquake in 1835 ( letter from R. E. Alison, [MarchJuly 1835 ]). …
  • Holland, she mentions his warm reception on arrival: ‘Charles is as well as possible & in gayer
  • recommendations for annual medals. He strongly supported Charles Lyell for the Copley, the Royal
  • that the future Historian of the Natural Sciences, will rank Lyells labours as more influential in
  • point of view I think no man ranks in the same class with Lyell’ ( letter to William Sharpey, 22
  • will be months before I am able to work’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [ c . 10 April 1864] ). To
  • November [1864] ). Writing to the clergyman and naturalist Charles Kingsley, he was more gloomy: …
  • men whom I should have liked to have known’ ( letter to Charles Kingsley, 2 June [1865] ). …
  • of Darwins friends, Huxley, John Lubbock, and Charles Lyell, each addressed the question of human

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: 14 hits

  • … the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same …
  • … nineteenth century were different in important ways. Many of Darwin's leading supporters were …
  • … their religious beliefs with evolutionary theory. Darwin's own writing, both in print and …
  • … much as possible. A number of correspondents tried to draw Darwin out on his own religious views, …
  • … political contexts. Design Darwin was not the first to challenge …
  • … 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, …
  • … questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 May [1868] …
  • Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., 2 July 1866 Wallace writes a lengthy analysis …
  • … up revelation”. Letter 2534 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, C. R., 18 Nov 1859 …
  • … on beauty. Letter 4752 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 22 Jan [1865] Darwin …
  • … of beauty by animals. Letter 5565 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, C. R., 6 June 1867 …
Page:  1 2  Next