From Arthur Mellersh 13 February 1879
Summary
Birthday wishes.
Author: | Arthur Mellersh |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 13 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 171: 149 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11880 |
To Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879
Summary
Discusses heliotropism in plant cotyledons. Asks for information.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Hugo de Vries |
Date: | 13 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | Artis Library (De Vries 5) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11881 |
To John Tyndall 14 February 1879
Summary
Has been asked to contribute to W. K. Clifford memorial fund. Asks JT’s advice on how much the committee hopes to raise. Would like to give handsomely but feels bound "with such a lot of children, not to be extravagant".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Tyndall |
Date: | 14 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 261.8: 30 (EH 88205968) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11882 |
From Hermann Müller 14 February 1879
Summary
HM’s teaching methods and his ideas are under attack in Germany along with the works of Ernst Krause.
Author: | Heinrich Ludwig Hermann (Hermann) Müller |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 14 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 171: 313 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11883 |
To Francis Darwin [before 25 February 1879]
Summary
CD cannot find his pincers and other tools for microscopical dissection. Does FD know where he should look?
Hopes FD will feel better after "so complete a change" [trip to North Africa].
Sends his love to George.
Bernard gets more charming every day.
CD has been put on a committee for a memorial fund for W. K. Clifford.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
Date: | [before 25 Feb 1879] |
Classmark: | DAR 271.4: 12 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11883A |
From Francis Darwin [c. 25 February 1879]
Summary
Directs CD where to find tools in his room. Has been looking at agave and aloe flowers. Thanks family for their letters.
Author: | Francis Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [c. 25 Feb 1879] |
Classmark: | DAR 274.1: 60 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11883F |
To Friedrich Ludwig 16 February 1879
Summary
Sends thanks to the Masters for congratulations on his birthday, saying "the approbation & sympathy of one’s fellow-workers in the acquisition of knowledge is the highest possible reward which any man ought to desire".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Friedrich Ludwig |
Date: | 16 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11884 |
From C. A. Lindvall 16 February 1879
Summary
Outlines his theory to explain the form of certain Swedish sandhills and puts forward his ideas regarding the geological history of the earth.
Author: | Carl August Lindvall |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 16 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 170: 4 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11885 |
To John Tyndall 17 February [1879]
Summary
Thanks JT for his information. Sends £50 to the W. K. Clifford memorial fund.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Tyndall |
Date: | 17 Feb [1879] |
Classmark: | DAR 261.8: 31 (EH 88205969) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11886 |
From W. B. Cheadle 17 February 1879
Summary
Second request that CD sign a Cambridge memorial [i.e., petition]. The heading has been amended to include graduates who have formerly studied medicine.
Author: | Walter Butler Cheadle |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 17 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 161: 136 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11887 |
To Carlos Ribeiro 17 February 1879
Summary
Thanks for having sent prehistoric remains.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Carlos Ribeiro |
Date: | 17 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia (Records of the Portuguese Geological Commission 1857–1918) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11887F |
From A. G. Butler 19 February 1879
Summary
Requests testimonial from CD for position of Assistant Keeper, Zoological Dept, British Museum.
Author: | Arthur Gardiner Butler |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 19 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 160: 389 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11888 |
To A. G. Butler 20 February [1879]
Summary
"I do not know whether the enclosed will be of any use to you.– I can say nothing of your fitness for the desired office, as I know nothing whatever of its duties.
I am sincerely sorry to hear of Mr F. Smith’s death."
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Arthur Gardiner Butler |
Date: | 20 Feb [1879] |
Classmark: | Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (General Special Collections MSS DAR 71) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11889 |
From Anton de Bary 20 February 1879
Summary
Since he was innocent of sending the Botanische Zeitung to CD, he inquired of the editor, who informs him that it is sent every week by post by order of Williams and Norgate.
Author: | Anton Heinrich (Anton) de Bary |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 20 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 162: 133 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11890 |
To Grant Allen [before 21 February 1879]
Summary
Read GA’s book [The colour-sense] with "great interest". Makes criticisms and suggestions.
Cannot believe in GA’s theory of the origin of pleasure and pain.
Is glad he defends sexual selection;
CD finds A. R. Wallace’s explanations "mere empty words" and for many years he has "quite doubted [ARW’s] scientific judgment".
Considers the possible effect of environmental colour on the colour tastes of animals.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Grant Blairfindie (Grant) Allen |
Date: | [before 21 Feb 1879] |
Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11891 |
To R. B. Sharpe 21 February [1879]
Summary
Sends short testimonial [missing] for RBS, but doubts its value as he has has already given one for the same office [to A. G. Butler, see 11888].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Richard Bowdler Sharpe |
Date: | 21 Feb [1879] |
Classmark: | McGill University Library, Rare Books and Special Collections (Manuscript Collection: Folio A.L.S. Charles Darwin) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11892 |
To the British Museum 21 February 1879
Summary
Letter of recommendation for Richard Bowdler Sharpe, ornithologist.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | British Museum |
Date: | 21 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | Wellcome Collection (MS.7781/1–32 item 17) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11893 |
From Grant Allen 21 February [1879]
Summary
Thanks for criticisms of Colour-sense.
Clarifies his views that actions desirable for species result in development of nervous organs capable of pleasurable stimulation.
Believes that all "tastes" occurring in nature are explicable with reference to ancestral habits and that none is purely arbitrary.
Author: | Charles Grant Blairfindie (Grant) Allen |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 21 Feb [1879] |
Classmark: | DAR 159: 44 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11894 |
To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 21 February [1879]
Summary
Wants to borrow Duchartre’s Éléments de botanique [1867].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
Date: | 21 Feb [1879] |
Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Darwin: Letters to Thiselton-Dyer, 1873–81: ff. 160–1) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11895 |
To the Darwin children 21 February 1879
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Elizabeth (Bessy, Lizzy) Darwin; Francis Darwin; George Howard Darwin; Horace Darwin; Leonard Darwin; William Erasmus Darwin; Henrietta Emma Darwin; Henrietta Emma Litchfield |
Date: | 21 Feb 1879 |
Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 153 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11896 |
letter | (652) |
Darwin, C. R. | (320) |
Krause, Ernst | (22) |
Dallas, W. S. | (19) |
Darwin, Francis | (14) |
Darwin, Reginald | (10) |
Darwin, C. R. | (317) |
Krause, Ernst | (27) |
Darwin, Francis | (23) |
Thiselton-Dyer, W. T. | (19) |
Darwin, G. H. | (18) |
Darwin, C. R. | (637) |
Krause, Ernst | (49) |
Darwin, Francis | (37) |
Darwin, G. H. | (27) |
Thiselton-Dyer, W. T. | (24) |
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: 29 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
- … Press . Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back …
- … was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). He was also unsatisfied with his …
- … me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June 1879] ). Even the prospect of a holiday in the Lake …
- … ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] ). From July, Darwin had an additional …
- … ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ). He may have been consoled to learn …
- … pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 ). The year ended with the start of …
- … or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and the …
- … marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). Seventy years old …
- … could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of Greiz College …
- … with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). The botanist and schoolteacher …
- … was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). Carus Sterne was the …
- … ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). As one of Darwin’s most ardent admirers, …
- … he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 ]). Meanwhile, Darwin began searching …
- … my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879 ). While searching for Seward …
- … time Darwin came to investigate his grandfather’s life in 1879, however, not only was Erasmus Darwin …
- … where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the Galton side of the …
- … in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). She suggested that Darwin contact their …
- … with pride’ ( letter from Reginald Darwin, 29 March 1879 ). It was from Reginald that …
- … with each other’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 27 March 1879 ). Darwin’s aim was ‘to give some sort of …
- … indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin welcomed Krause’s suggestion, but …
- … He hates scientific men’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 May 1879 ). From the start of his …
- … to the public’ ( letter to Reginald Darwin, 10 April [1879] ). However, even members of Darwin’s …
- … with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard Darwin, …
- … life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little consolation that …
- … his ‘tether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July …
- … of his ‘proper work’ ( letter to James Paget, 14 July 1879 ). At this time, his proper work was …
- … they intended to publish their results as a book. By June 1879, Darwin was completing an …
- … roots of seedlings ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 June [1879] ). Francis in Würzburg …
1879 Letters now online
Summary
In 1879, Darwin continued his research on movement in plants and researched, wrote, and published a short biography of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin as an introduction to a translation of an essay by Ernst Krause on Erasmus’s scientific work. Darwin’s son…
Matches: 8 hits
- … In 1879, Darwin continued his research on movement in plants and researched, …
- … of over 640 letters written to and from Darwin in 1879 are now online. Read more about Darwin& …
- … such a job. ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 December [1879] ) In early 1879, as a tribute …
- … . ( Letter to the Darwin children, 21 February 1879 ) Just over a week after his …
- … irritations ( Letter t o Francis Darwin, 2 July [1879] ) Darwin regarded his …
- … the country . ( Letter to T. H. Farrer, 23 October 1879 ) During the year Darwin …
- … of the theory of natural selection. Nothing came of it in 1879, but it was to bear fruit later. He …
- … strong health . ( Letter to T. H. Farrer, 13 October 1879 ) Darwin wrote this to his …
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,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … map of the sandhills in central Sweden, 16 February 1879 C. W. Hamilton's …
Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms
Summary
‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…
Matches: 8 hits
- … book, Erasmus Darwin , had been published in November 1879. It was received well by his relations …
- … he had written for the German journal Kosmos in February 1879, an issue produced in honour of …
- … Butler, Evolution old and new , which had appeared in May 1879. Krause wanted to correct Butler’s …
- … Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 , and letter to Ernst Krause, 9 …
- … Darwin stated that Krause’s piece had been written in 1879 (before Evolution old and new was …
- … had raised the plant from seeds sent by Asa Gray in December 1879. His observations differed, …
- … by Gray in an article and textbook (A. Gray 1877 and A. Gray 1879, pp. 20–1). ‘I think you cannot …
- … vol. 27, letter from J. D. Hooker, 18 December 1879 ). For some years, Wallace’s main source of …
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: 12 hits
- … Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers of 1878 and 1879, he encountered some of the most …
- … couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin, 28 February 1879 ). Darwin was especially keen for his …
- … so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879 ). He was reassured by De Vries, who …
- … When Francis spent a month in Algiers in early 1879, Darwin asked him to visit the botanist Gaetano …
- … seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February – 8 March 1879] ). He continued to write up the …
- … ’. The lull in experimental work continued into March 1879, and Darwin seemed weary when he told …
- … the subject of bloom from his book. In mid-June 1879, Darwin was pleased to get back to …
- … and growth ( letter from Hugo de Vries, 7 August 1879 ). Darwin replied, ‘ I thank you much for …
- … the Spring ’. Luckily, De Vries published two papers in 1879 and 1880 that Darwin was later able to …
- … ‘A horrid bore’ In late October 1879, Darwin told Gray, ‘ I have written a rather big …
- … bodies’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 29 October 1879 ). Thiselton-Dyer, who had assisted in …
- … earlier ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 20 November 1879 ). Hooker offered to write to Egypt for …
Darwin’s student booklist
Summary
In October 1825 Charles Darwin and his older brother, Erasmus, went to study medicine in Edinburgh, where their father, Robert Waring Darwin, had trained as a doctor in the 1780’s. Erasmus had already graduated from Cambridge and was continuing his studies…
Matches: 1 hits
- … it was first published in 1804. On rereading this work in 1879 Darwin judged it ‘a wretched …
1.14 William Richmond, oil
Summary
< Back to Introduction William Blake Richmond’s portrait of Darwin, dating from 1879, celebrated his honorary degree of LL.D (Doctor in Laws), awarded by Cambridge University in 1877. Darwin’s return to his alma mater for the presentation ceremony…
Matches: 4 hits
- … William Blake Richmond’s portrait of Darwin, dating from 1879, celebrated his honorary degree of LL …
- … Oxford in this same year. In a letter of 18 June 1879, Darwin told Thiselton-Dyer (Hooker’s …
- … William Blake Richmond date of creation 1879-80 computer-readable date 1879 …
- … in DAR 215.31b. Letters from Darwin to John Fiske, 10 June 1879 (DCP-LETT-12098) and to Thiselton …
Life of Erasmus Darwin
Summary
The Life of Erasmus Darwin (1879) was a curious departure for Darwin. It was intended as a biographical note to accompany an essay on Erasmus's scientific work by the German writer Ernst Krause. But Darwin became immersed in his grandfather's…
Matches: 5 hits
- … The Life of Erasmus Darwin (1879) was a curious departure for Darwin. It was intended as a …
- … the book into grist for controversy. In February 1879, Darwin received an unusual birthday …
- … my grandfathers life ', Darwin wrote to Krause on 14 March 1879. He made contact with family …
- … my tether '. The book was published in November of 1879. Darwin filled his notice with …
- … whose Evolution Old and New had been published in May of 1879, had not failed to find the …
Power of movement in plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Family experiments Darwin was an active and engaged father during his children's youth, involving them in his experiments and even occasionally using them as observational subjects. When his children…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 12152 - Francis Darwin to Darwin, 12 July 1879 Francis writes to his father …
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 ones, …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from scientific admirers in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Hester Loeff for identifying and researching them. No. …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…
3.18 Elliott and Fry photos, c.1869-1871
Summary
< Back to Introduction The leading photographic firm of Elliott and Fry seems to have portrayed Darwin at Down House on several occasions. In November 1869 Darwin told A. B. Meyer, who wanted photographs of both him and Wallace for a German…
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: 1 hits
- … Letter 12041 — Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, John, 7 May 1879 In this letter marked “private”, …
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Litchfield to a family servant as her leaving present in 1879. Henry Eeles Dresser’s album of …
3.14 Julia Margaret Cameron, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction In the summer of 1868 Darwin took a holiday on the Isle of Wight with his immediate family, his brother Erasmus, and his friend Joseph Hooker. The family’s accommodation at Freshwater was rented from the photographer Julia…
Matches: 1 hits
- … in his journal after an encounter with the great man in 1879, ‘his features are not good’; yet ‘his …
4.24 'Daily Graphic', Nast satire
Summary
< Back to Introduction In 1874 the Harvard philosopher John Fiske published his magnum opus, Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, in which he set out to explain the far-reaching significance of Darwin’s and Herbert Spencer’s evolutionary theories. He…
Suggested reading
Summary
Contemporary writing Anon., The English matron: A practical manual for young wives, (London, 1846). Anon., The English gentlewoman: A practical manual for young ladies on their entrance to society, (Third edition, London, 1846). Becker, L. E.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Buckley, A., The fairy-land of science , (London, 1879; Philadelphia 1888). Holmes, M. …
1.12 Marian Huxley, drawing
Summary
< Back to Introduction Portrayals of Darwin by women in his social circle cannot be lumped together as the products of adoring amateurs. In 1878 he was sketched by Marian (‘Mady’) Huxley, who was then only in her late teens, but already a trained and…
Matches: 1 hits
- … her early teens (she won several prizes there); nor that in 1879 she had parental blessing for her …
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
- … 1872 208 JD HOOKER TO C DARWIN, 29 NOVEMBER 1879 209 A GRAY, 1882, …