To George Varenne Reed 1 July [1859]
Summary
Sends payment for Francis Darwin’s tutoring. Inquires about possible arrangements for his son Leonard, who is slow and not well, to attend with Francis.
Asks whether he can have a cutting of GVR’s carrion-smelling Arum which he needs for an experiment.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Varenne Reed |
| Date: | 1 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | Buckinghamshire Record Office (D 22/39/2) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2474 |
To J. D. Hooker 2 July [1859]
Summary
Returns JDH’s proofs. He is so involved in Origin he cannot judge force of JDH’s arguments. Some detailed comments.
Haldeman’s old paper [see 2470] clever, but does not have natural selection. Explaining adaptation has always seemed turning point of theory of natural selection.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 2 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 19 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2475 |
To W. E. Darwin 7 July [1859]
Summary
Discusses affairs at Down and WED’s coming trip to the Lakes.
Is getting on very slowly with his "confounded proof-sheets" [of Origin].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 7 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 46 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2476 |
To John Higgins 13 July [1859]
Summary
His uncle, Sir Francis Sacheverel Darwin, has asked if FSD’s son-in-law, Marcus Huish, can shoot over CD’s Beesby property. Can JH advise?
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Higgins |
| Date: | 13 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | Lincolnshire Archives (HIG/4/2/4/1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2476F |
From John Higgins 15 July 1859
Summary
Suggests giving Marcus Huish permission to shoot over CD’s Beesby estate, but not to revoke JH’s occasional privilege to take a visitor shooting there.
| Author: | John Higgins |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 July 1859 |
| Classmark: | Lincolnshire Archives (HIG/4/2/4/2) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2476G |
To John Higgins 18 July [1859]
Summary
Has written to his uncle, Sir Francis Sacheverel Darwin, to say that without revoking the right of shooting over Beesby, granted to JH, he is happy to allow Marcus Huish to shoot over the farm.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Higgins |
| Date: | 18 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | Lincolnshire Archives (HIG/4/2/4/4) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2476H |
To John Murray 25 [July 1859]
Summary
Sends five sheets [of Origin] to printer. Incapable of forming an opinion, but thinks he has the style "fairly good and clear". Cannot conjecture if book will be successful enough to satisfy JM.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Murray |
| Date: | 25 [July 1859] |
| Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms.42152 ff.36–37) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2477 |
To Robert Main 27 July [1859]
Summary
Thanks RM for copies of CD’s article on geology in the Admiralty scientific manual [J. F. W. Herschel ed., A manual of scientific enquiry (1849)].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Main |
| Date: | 27 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | Royal Astronomical Society (MSS Radcliffe. E.1.200) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2477A |
To J. D. Hooker 28 [July 1859]
Summary
CD wants JDH to make clear in introduction to Flora Tasmaniae that remarks on CD’s theory refer to his 1858 paper ["On the tendency of species to form varieties", Collected papers 2: 3–19].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 28 [July 1859] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 20 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2478 |
To A. C. Ramsay 1 July [1859]
Summary
Thanks for answer to queries.
Expresses intention of reporting observations of traces of life in the Long Mynd beds and asks permission to cite ACR on his recent discovery of fossils in the Laurentian marbles of Canada.
Urges ACR’s investigation of Glen Roy problems.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Andrew Crombie Ramsay |
| Date: | 1 July [1859] |
| Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine Archives |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2851 |
| letter | (10) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (9) |
| Higgins, John | (1) |
| Higgins, John | (2) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (1) |
| Main, Robert | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (10) |
| Higgins, John | (3) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (2) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (1) |
| Main, Robert | (1) |
7 Suffolk St, London
Summary
Recommending Darwin
Matches: 1 hits
- … Henslow is asked to recommend a naturalist to accompany Fitzroy, and Darwin is invited on the …
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
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: 8 hits
- … in the shape of an arch ( Movement in plants , pp. 96–7). As usual, staff at the Royal Botanical …
- … my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] ). Two weeks later he wrote: …
- … Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ): ‘The oats have only just …
- … the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ). Sachs’s confidence was …
- … are here & all adoring Bernard’, he wrote to Francis on 7 July . ‘Bernard is very sweet & …
- … to refuse,’ he wrote to William Spottiswoode on 7 July . Pinker later made a statue of Darwin for …
- … generations’ ( enclosure to letter to T. H. Farrer, 7 March 1878 ). In the end, the attempt to …
- … from a person unknown to him. The benefactor wrote on 7 December : ‘I consider that you, more …
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: 6 hits
- … they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). Darwin was ready to …
- … folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). He particularly …
- … to his publisher, John Murray, ‘Of present book I have 7 chapters ready for press & all others …
- … bear the expense of the woodcuts ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). After sending the …
- … and Darwin summarised them in Variation 2: 106–7, concluding, ‘it follows from Mr. Scott’s …
- … of real improvement in health’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). All the children …
Darwin on marriage
Summary
On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…
British Association meeting 1860
Summary
Several letters refer to events at the British Association for the Advancement of Science held in Oxford, 26 June – 3 July 1860. Darwin had planned to attend the meeting but in the end was unable to. The most famous incident of the meeting was the verbal…
Matches: 3 hits
The Lyell–Lubbock dispute
Summary
In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…
Matches: 4 hits
- … taking a clear position on the transmutation of species. 7 Later, he wrote to Lyell himself, …
- … 1863a are discussed in Bynum 1984, pp. 154–9. 7. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter …
- … vol. 11, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] and n. 7. 9. See Correspondence …
- … 14, doc. 183–4). 15. Letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 March 1865, in BL MSS ADD 49641. …
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Fordingbridge ( Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7). The missions were organised by …
- … priests ending with a mission meeting in the schoolroom at 7.30 where there was most of the …
- … the question was the certainty of results. 7 Then I emboldened myself to discover m. of …
- … in the Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7. 4 Probably John Bourdieu …
Frank Chance
Summary
The Darwin archive not only contains letters, manuscript material, photographs, books and articles but also all sorts of small, dry specimens, mostly enclosed with letters. Many of these enclosures have become separated from the letters or lost altogether,…
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
'An Appeal' against animal cruelty
Summary
The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…
Matches: 9 hits
- … 1863], and letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [7 December 1863]). Although none of the replies …
- … single design fitted the requirements (Moss 1961, pp. 146–7). During the early 1870s the RSPCA …
- … the campaign had little direct effect (Moss 1961, pp. 146–7, Emma Darwin 2: 200). …
- … the possible alternatives (see letter from E. L. Darwin, 7 September 1863, letter from Emma Darwin …
- … his sisters during his boyhood ( Autobiography , pp. 26–7). As an adult, he took pains to prevent …
- … and family who enjoyed the sport (see Autobiography , pp. 78–9, Correspondence vol. 7, letter …
- … categories of wild birds by sportsmen (Sheail 1976, pp. 22–7, Allen 1994, p. 177), and which some …
- … pp. 60–2, 124–128, Worster 1985, pp. 179–80, 184–7). An appeal It is a …
- … A. B., 6 Mr. Strong, Printer, Bromley, Kent. 7 or to Mrs C. Darwin | Downbar …
Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 3 hits
- … ice treatment on 20 May 1865. In his letter to Chapman of 7 June 1865, he reported that the ice had …
- … Jenner, and George Busk (see letter to J. D. Hooker, [7 January 1865], and letter from George Busk, …
- … from William Jenner to [William Walmisley Baxter?], [after 7 May 1864?], and letter from William …
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: 5 hits
- … ‘Without cutting him direct’, he advised Darwin on 7 January , ‘I should avoid him, & if he …
- … can make several parts clearer,’ Darwin reiterated on 7 November , ‘I believe (though I hope I am …
- … ancestry. ‘You know better than anybody’, he wrote on 7 January , ‘how infinitely great is the …
- … the Duke of Wellington on art (Max Müller 1875, pp. 305–7). The debate between Max Müller and …
- … Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 ). It was Thiselton-Dyer …
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: 4 hits
- … the public in this way ( see letter from J. D. Hooker, [7 May 1863] , and Appendix VII). He also …
- … [1863] , and letter from Julius von Haast, 21 July [–7? August] 1863 ). Darwin was subsequently …
- … paper with satisfaction ( see letter to John Scott, 7 November [1863] ). Scott had referred …
- … he could send him to the war ( see letter from Asa Gray, 7 July 1863 ). Darwin shared this letter …
List of correspondents
Summary
Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent. "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…
Matches: 15 hits
- … (1) Asher, G. M. (7) Ashley, Miss (1 …
- … (4) Aubertin, J. J. (7) Aussant-Carà, Paul …
- … (1) Aveling, E. B. (7) Axon, W. E. A. …
- … (16) Balfour, J. H. (7) Ball, John …
- … (36) Baxter, William (7) Baynes, H. M. …
- … (1) Blair, R. A. (7) Blair, R. H. (4 …
- … (3) Boott, Francis (7) Boott, Mary …
- … (1) Chambers, Robert (7) Chance, Frank …
- … (3) Clarke, R. T. (7) Clarke, T. W. …
- … (6) Darwin, V. H. (7) Darwin, Violetta …
- … (1) Dowie, Annie (7) Down Friendly Society …
- … (2) Farr, William (7) Farrar, F. W. …
- … (28) Fitzgerald, R. D. (7) Fitzmaurice, Edmond …
- … (2) Forel, Auguste (7) Forster, L. M. …
- … (3) Gordon, George (b) (7) Goschen, G. J. …
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: 5 hits
- … 31 January [1881] and 19 February [1881] ). On 7 March , Darwin sent his discussion of the …
- … its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). The difficulty with …
- … judge this seems true’, Darwin reported to Romanes on 7 August . Family joys An …
- … 1881 ). The publication date was 10 October, but by 7 October Darwin learned that 1200 copies …
- … in 1881, the year ended with the happy news of a birth. On 7 December, Charles and Emma Darwin’s …
Interview with Randal Keynes
Summary
Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and the author of Annie’s Box (Fourth Estate, 2001), which discusses Darwin’s home life, his relationship with his wife and children, and the ways in which these influenced his feelings about…
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 19 hits
- … at the end of Congo voyage [R. Brown 1818]. (Hooker 923) 7 read Decandolle Philosophie …
- … 1835] read Marcel de Serres Cavernes d’Ossements 7 th Ed. 10 8 vo . [Serres 1838] …
- … de S t Hilaire 1832 [I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1832–7] contains all his fathers views Quoted by …
- … 3 vols. 8vo. et atlas de 20 planches. ibid, 1832–36. £1 7 s . 25 [I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire …
- … of Agriculture by Loudon [Loudon 1831]. Book I. ch. 7 & Book II. Ch. 8. Book. VII. ch 8, 11. …
- … Vestiges of Nat: Hist: of Creation. Churchill: 1844. 7 s ” 6 d . [Chambers] 1844] in which …
- … Birds of Himalaya [Gould 1834] (& of Europe?) [Gould 1832–7] & of Australia [Gould 1848]; …
- … Campbells Lives of Chancellors [J. Campbell 1845–7] last vol. Ludlows Memoirs …
- … 1849] (read) Knox. Ornithological Ramble in Sussex. 7. 6. [A. E. Knox 1849] J. Lubbock has …
- … Gresly Mem. of Helvetic Soc. of Neuchatel on Jura. 1846, or 7, or 8 [?Marcou 1845]. 46 Morris …
- … Vol. V of Campbells Chancellors [J. Campbell 1845–7] Lives of the Lindsays [Lindsay 1849] …
- … Scott’s life [Lockhart 1837–8] 1 st 2 nd & 7 th vols. Abercrombie on the …
- … ] Oct 3 Lavater’s Phisiognomy [Lavater 1806–7] Malthus on Population [Malthus 1826] …
- … added notes from 2 d Edit [Holland 1840].— Feb 7 th . Lord Brougham Dissertation …
- … 1687 to 1766 inclusive, and from beginning to 1674 7 th Skimmed Burn’s Poems [Burns 1786]. …
- … Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar ]. Vol 1— to 7. M.S. Translat.— from 1740. 2 d . vol …
- … S. Romilly’s Memoirs [Romilly 1840]. moderate Feb. 7 th Sartor Resartus [Carlyle 1834] …
- … marriage [S. E. Ferrier] 1824 and 1818].— 18 th . 7 th & 8 th . Vol of Hume’s …
- … Essays [Bacon 1825–36]— dull, & crabbid style May 7 th Skimmed a little of Tucker’s …
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: 5 hits
- … ‘almost indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin welcomed Krause’s …
- … meet the local celebrity, John Ruskin. Marshall wrote on 7 September that Ruskin, the day after …
- … dogma’, Mary Jung, a young Austrian woman, wrote on 7 January . ‘When my reason agrees with your …
- … be an atheist, Darwin told the clergyman John Fordyce on 7 May , ‘It seems to me absurd to doubt …
- … work in such an outstanding way’, Würtenberger wrote on 7 February , after receiving £100 from …
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: 3 hits
- … The power of movement in plants , published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work …
- … the works in a single volume ( letter to J. V. Carus, 7 February 1875 ). While Climbing plants …
- … turgescence and growth ( letter from Hugo de Vries, 7 August 1879 ). Darwin replied, ‘ I thank …
