To T. H. Farrer 18 January [1874]
Summary
Thanks THF for information from Colonial Office on population statistics showing the inhabitants of some areas are far from becoming sterile.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer |
| Date: | 18 Jan [1874] |
| Classmark: | Linnean Society of London (LS Ms 299/25) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10362 |
From T. L. Brunton 23 May 1874
Summary
Comments on his examination of slides [of milk casein?] sent by CD.
Surprised by CD’s finding that a drop of one per cent hydrochloric acid stops digestion of albumen by Drosera.
| Author: | Thomas Lauder Brunton, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 23 May 1874 |
| Classmark: | DAR 58.1: 120–2 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10512 |
To Williams & Norgate [November 1874 – May 1880]
Summary
Orders a copy of Dassen 1837, Onderzoek aangaande de bladbewegingen (research on leaf movements), published in Tijdschrift voor Natuurlijke Geschiedenis en Physiologie IV p. 106.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Williams & Norgate |
| Date: | [1 Nov 1874–28 May 1880] |
| Classmark: | Ms Caroline Waid (private collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11028F |
From Emma Darwin to ? [October 1874 – April 1882]
Summary
CD cannot come to London to sit for photograph. Sends one taken by son [Leonard], which family considers the best likeness. CD would be glad to give a sitting at Down.
| Author: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | [Oct 1874 – April 1882] |
| Classmark: | Archives of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University (bMs 62.10.1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13792 |
To Francis Darwin [after 23 July 1874]
Summary
Asks for a specimen of Pinguicula.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
| Date: | [after 23 July 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 211: 9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13796 |
To Francis Galton [November 1874 – April 1882]
Summary
Invites FG to visit.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | [Nov 1874 – Apr 1882] |
| Classmark: | The British Library (IOL Mss Eur F127) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13811 |
To Japetus Steenstrup 23 May [1874 or 1875?]
Summary
"With kind regards, & many thanks for Prof. Steenstrup’s Photograph, which is most highly valued by C. Darwin"
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Johannes Japetus Smith (Japetus) Steenstrup |
| Date: | 23 May [1874-5] |
| Classmark: | Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen (tipped into a copy of Orchids) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5098 |
From Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes 24 June [1874]
Summary
Kind to send seeds of Aquilegia Brodii. Gives news on her sons. Glad of recent rain to help the hay.
| Author: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Brodie Innes |
| Date: | 24 June [1874] |
| Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6405F |
To G. H. Darwin 30 January [1874?]
Summary
Returns and sends comments on Clarke Hawkshaw’s essay ‘The persistence of forms of life in the depths of the sea’.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Howard Darwin |
| Date: | 30 January [1874?] |
| Classmark: | DAR 185: 152 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7466F |
To H. E. Litchfield 16 February [1874?]
Summary
On the "doubtful & obscure" subject of marriage of cousins, CD believes, that judging from the analogy of animals, no direct evil would follow from their marriage. He would, however, expect the offspring of unrelated parents to be somewhat superior in size and vigour. The injury from the increase of any bad tendency common to the family seems to CD more to be feared than mere consanguinity; "the good effects of crossing distinct families I look at as great & undoubted".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Henrietta Emma Darwin; Henrietta Emma Litchfield |
| Date: | 16 Feb [1874?] |
| Classmark: | The John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8207 |
To C. S. Tomes 16 February [1874]
Summary
Thanks for facts on inheritance
Thinks CST’s paper (C. S. Tomes 1874) about the enamel on the teeth of the armadillo is most remarkable.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Sissmore Tomes |
| Date: | 16 Feb [1874] |
| Classmark: | Andrusier Autographs (dealer) (Spring 2013) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8216F |
To John Lubbock 8 April [1874]
Summary
Encloses a statement and circular he has been asked to send to JL.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Lubbock, 4th baronet and 1st Baron Avebury |
| Date: | 8 Apr [1874] |
| Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8283 |
To J. W. Spengel 27 November [1874]
Summary
Thanks for JWS’s updatings to his Darwinian bibliography and regrets he is a poor German scholar.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Johann Wilhelm Spengel |
| Date: | 27 Nov [1874] |
| Classmark: | Sächsische Landesbibliothek (SLUB) (Mscr. Dresd. s 762) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8650F |
From Leonard Darwin [after 14 February 1874]
Summary
Statistics showing rate of decline of population in Sandwich Islands, 1832–72.
| Author: | Leonard Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 14 Feb 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 90: 8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8709 |
From H. H. Howorth 3 January [1874]
Summary
On the extinction of populations. [See Descent, 2d ed., p. 183.]
| Author: | Henry Hoyle Howorth |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Jan [1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 90: 28–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8722 |
From ? [after 14 January 1874]
Summary
Extract from the Honolulu Gazette on the decreasing population of the Sandwich Islands.
| Author: | Unidentified |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 14 Jan 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 120 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8794 |
From T. H. Farrer [before 10 April 1874]
Summary
Observations on Coronilla.
| Author: | Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 10 Apr 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 164: 77 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8854 |
From C. S. Tomes [before 16 February 1874]
Summary
Inherited dental abnormalities in man. [Enclosed are proofs of pp. 113–16 from J. Tomes, A system of dental surgery, 2d ed. (1873).]
| Author: | Charles Sissmore Tomes |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 16 Feb 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 129 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9195 |
From Leonard Darwin [before 27 June 1874]
Summary
LD has misplaced some figures on which he was to work.
| Author: | Leonard Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 27 June 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 186: 31 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9196 |
From W. de W. Abney to Leonard Darwin [before 27 June 1874]
Summary
Answers questions about chemistry (see 9202).
| Author: | William de Wiveleslie Abney |
| Addressee: | Leonard Darwin |
| Date: | [before 27 June 1874] |
| Classmark: | DAR 58.1: 148 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9196F |
| letter | (668) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (332) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (25) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (15) |
| Burdon Sanderson, J. S. | (11) |
| Huxley, T. H. | (9) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (306) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (30) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (22) |
| Unidentified | (11) |
| Burdon Sanderson, J. S. | (10) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (638) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (55) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (37) |
| Burdon Sanderson, J. S. | (21) |
| Carus, J. V. | (15) |
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: 23 hits
- … The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the …
- … intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August 1874] ). The death of a Cambridge friend, …
- … and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to …
- … much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). I feel very old & …
- … old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor …
- … on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and …
- … Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] ). Later in the month, …
- … and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin agreed that it was ‘all …
- … perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874] ). This did not stop word getting …
- … at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). Back over old ground New …
- … Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January 1874 , letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 …
- … of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). The book came out in June with the …
- … Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did not retract his …
- … dog breeders (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material …
- … Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 ; letters …
- … islanders ( letter from William Dealtry, 16 January 1874 ). One of the most significant …
- … enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). The technical nature of Huxley’s …
- … mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). The second edition of …
- … would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Darwin's son George …
- … of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). The Mivart affair …
- … mental and physical disorders (G. H. Darwin 1873b). In July 1874, an anonymous essay appeared in the …
- … libel’ on his son ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [27 July 1874] ). George, however, consulted with his …
- … [a] lying scoundrel’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). He drafted a brief statement of …
Darwin's 1874 letters go online
Summary
The full transcripts and footnotes of over 600 letters to and from Charles Darwin in 1874 are published online for the first time. You can read about Darwin's life in 1874 through his letters and see a full list of the letters. The 1874 letters…
Matches: 9 hits
- … of over 600 letters to and from Charles Darwin in 1874 are published online for the first time. …
- … ( Letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ) The Mivart affair highlights …
- … are some other highlights from Darwin's correspondence in 1874: I feel as old as …
- … signifying so much. ( Letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ) At the age of 65, Darwin …
- … more quietly was severely tested by some of the events of 1874. He had a clear idea of the shape of …
- … must be enough for me ( Letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ) During the year he …
- … the positive ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 August [1874] ) – he mourned after several …
- … day’s work ( Letter to D. F. Nevill, 18 September [1874] ) Darwin’s family continued …
- … have to do— ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 November [1874] ) Darwin’s continuing …
St George Jackson Mivart
Summary
In the second half of 1874, Darwin’s peace was disturbed by an anonymous article in the Quarterly Review suggesting that his son George was opposed to the institution of marriage and in favour of ‘unrestrained licentiousness’. Darwin suspected, correctly,…
Matches: 16 hits
- … In 1874, the Catholic zoologist St George Jackson Mivart caused Darwin and his son …
- … appeared to have created very little stir, until, in July 1874, Mivart published an anonymous review …
- … of the Quarterly ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 29 July 1874 ). Darwin hastily advised against …
- … to wish to circulate ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). Darwin provided a draft of the …
- … to endorse them ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 5 August 1874 ). He sent a second draft, which Darwin …
- … a fair copy of his letter with his letter of 6 [August] 1874 . George and Darwin were also …
- … George’s letter to Murray with his letter of 11 August 1874 , and was no doubt relieved to …
- … to all he asked ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). In October, George’s letter …
- … a Pickwickian sense’ ( letter to John Murray, 18 October 1874 ). In other words, Mivart had used …
- … reaction was savage ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [6 December 1874] ). Hooker and Huxley between them …
- … the attack on George ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1874 ). Huxley met Mivart at an evening …
- … ( Enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 .) A reply soon came from Mivart . …
- … of a gentleman’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 23 December 1874 ). However, Huxley still wrote to …
- … this. 124 Gower St W.C. Dec. 24th 1874. Private & Confidential …
- … to John Tyndall ( letter from John Tyndall, 28 December 1874 , and letter from J. D. Hooker, 29 …
- … 16 January 1875, p. 66, signed, ‘The Quarterly Reviewer of 1874’. In it he reiterated his claim that …
Joseph Simms
Summary
The American doctor and author of works on physiognomy Joseph Simms wrote to Darwin on 14 September 1874, while he was staying in London. He enclosed a copy of his book Nature’s revelations of character (Simms 1873). He hoped it might 'prove…
Essay: Evolution & theology
Summary
—by Asa Gray EVOLUTION AND THEOLOGY The Nation, January 15, 1874 The attitude of theologians toward doctrines of evolution, from the nebular hypothesis down to ‘Darwinism,’ is no less worthy of consideration, and hardly less diverse, than that of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … EVOLUTION AND THEOLOGY The Nation, January 15, 1874 The attitude of theologians toward …
Essay: What is Darwinism?
Summary
—by Asa Gray WHAT IS DARWINISM? The Nation, May 28, 1874 The question which Dr. Hodge asks he promptly and decisively answers: ‘What is Darwinism? it is atheism.’ Leaving aside all subsidiary and incidental matters, let us consider–1. What the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Gray WHAT IS DARWINISM? The Nation, May 28, 1874 The question which Dr. Hodge …
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: 7 hits
- … attack upon Darwin’s son George, in an anonymous review in 1874 (see Correspondence vol. 22, …
- … had also considered taking up the issue with Murray in 1874, even threatening to break off future …
- … laid to rest, another controversy was brewing. In December 1874, Darwin had been asked to sign a …
- … botanical research and had visited Down House in April 1874 (see Correspondence vol. 22, letters …
- … A scientific friendship had developed between the men in 1874, and this was enhanced by Romanes’s …
- … white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 November 1874] ). Testing Pangenesis …
- … had learned of Lyell’s failing health from Hooker in 1874 and January 1875. On 22 February, he was …
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: 5 hits
- … 9426 - Story-Maskelyne , T. M. to Darwin, [23 April 1874] Thereza Story-Maskelyne …
- … Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] Theodosia Marshall sends …
- … 9606 - Harrison, L. C. to Darwin, [22 August 1874] Darwin’s niece, Lucy, sends a …
- … Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] Theodosia Marshall details …
- … Letter 9485 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [8 June 1874] Mary Treat details her experiments …
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: 1 hits
- … started ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] ). Darwin took Emma to a Sunday afternoon at …
Photograph album of Dutch admirers
Summary
Darwin received the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the Netherlands. He wrote to the Dutch zoologist Pieter Harting, An account of your countrymen’s generous sympathy in having sent me on my…
Matches: 1 hits
- … to Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen, 18 February 1874 ) Zouteveen’s editions of …
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: 1 hits
- … A GRAY 3 AUGUST 1871 201 TO A GRAY 3 JUNE [1874] 202 FROM A GRAY 16 …
Darwin as mentor
Summary
Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…
Darwin’s first love
Summary
Darwin’s long marriage to Emma Wedgwood is well documented, but was there an earlier romance in his life? How was his departure on the Beagle entangled with his first love? The answers are revealed in a series of flirtatious letters that Darwin was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … months earlier. Although Sarah visited Darwin in Down in 1874 , their connection lapsed until …
Darwin’s Photographic Portraits
Summary
Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of photography for the study of Expression and Emotions in Man and Animal, but can be witnessed in his many photographic portraits and in the extensive portrait correspondence that…
Matches: 5 hits
- … later, would take his camera across the globe to observe the 1874 transit of Venus. Tommy, …
- … Perfilieff , a member of the Tolstoy family in March of 1874, Darwin included the line “I have the …
- … newly-produced carte . Image: Charles Darwin, 1874, Elliot and Fry, Dar 257:11, …
- … ©Cambridge University Library Between 1874 and 1878 Darwin was very busy – too busy, …
- … Darwin’s Pictures: Views of Evolutionary Theory, 1837-1874 . New Haven, USA: Yale University Press, …
Darwin and vivisection
Summary
Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 9377 : Darwin, C. R. to Abbott, F. E. A., 30 March 1874 Writing to the American …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 1 hits
- … 9633 - Nevill, D. F. to Darwin, [11 September 1874] Dorothy Nevill tells Darwin …
Clémence Auguste Royer
Summary
Getting Origin translated into French was harder than Darwin had expected. The first translator he approached, Madame Belloc, turned him down on the grounds that the content was ‘too scientific‘, and then in 1860 the French political exile Pierre…
Lydia Becker
Summary
Becker was a leading member of the suffrage movement, perhaps best known for publishing the Women’s Suffrage Journal. She was also a successful biologist, astronomer and botanist and, between 1863 and 1877, an occasional correspondent of Charles Darwin. …
Matches: 1 hits
- … Becker was a leading member of the suffrage movement, perhaps best known for publishing the …
Titus Coan
Summary
In 1874, when Darwin was preparing the second edition of Descent of Man, he received letters from all over the world in reply to his queries about human behaviour; one in particular would have stirred up unexpected memories of his own time among the native…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In 1874, when Darwin was preparing the second edition of Descent of Man , he …
