To G. J. Romanes 24 June [1881]
Summary
Discusses possible case of inherited memory involving Pompilus. Cites similar example of electric eel.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George John Romanes |
| Date: | 24 June [1881] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.530) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10813 |
From Fritz Müller 31 May 1881
| Author: | Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) Müller |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 31 May 1881 |
| Classmark: | Möller ed. 1915–21, 2: 410–11 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11385A |
To John Lubbock 12 November [1881]
Summary
JL’s sentence about glaciation will do excellently. Is glad JL thought about dimorphism of butterflies.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Lubbock, 4th baronet and 1st Baron Avebury |
| Date: | 12 Nov [1881] |
| Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (11 July 2017) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11743F |
To G. J. Romanes [17 December 1881]
Summary
Asks him to visit.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George John Romanes |
| Date: | [17 Dec 1881] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.578) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12382 |
From W. E. Darwin 1 January [1881]
Summary
Discusses possible investments.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 75) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12392G |
From T. H. Farrer 2 January [1881]
Summary
Concerning subscriptions raised for Torbitt’s experiments on potato disease.
Comments on CD’s latest book [Movement in plants].
| Author: | Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st baronet and 1st Baron Farrer |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 2 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 164: 96 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12395 |
From Lawrence Ruck 12 January [1881]
Summary
Discusses the grazing habits of sheep and cattle on steep hillsides.
| Author: | Lawrence Ruck |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 12 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 176: 224 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12417 |
From J. D. Hooker 24 February [1881]
Summary
The debt of plant geography to voyages may be JDH’s topic at BAAS meeting [at Swansea].
Photographs from New Zealand forwarded.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 24 Feb [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 104: 138–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12498 |
From W. R. Browne [20–2] November [1881]
Summary
Announces intention to hold a private conference with the Archbishop of Canterbury with the aim of encouraging men of science to reaffirm their religious beliefs and also to publish a series of articles in the Contemporary Review on the state of the various sciences.
| Author: | Walter Raleigh Browne |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [20–2] Nov [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 334 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12789 |
To Julius Lippert [May 1881 or later]
Summary
Thanks JL for copy of Die Religionen [1881].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Julius Lippert |
| Date: | [May 1881 or later] |
| Classmark: | Wellcome Collection ((MS.7781/1–32 item 23) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12959 |
From L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield [11 June 1881]
Summary
On flowers bending towards light reflected in a mirror.
| Author: | Laura Mary Forster |
| Addressee: | Henrietta Emma Darwin; Henrietta Emma Litchfield |
| Date: | [11 June 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 164: 158 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12960 |
To G. H. Darwin [before 25 October 1881]
Summary
Will GHD ask Lord R[ayleigh] whether "gas-men in testing light, exclude the diffused light".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Howard Darwin |
| Date: | [before 25 Oct 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.1: 115 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12961 |
From Wilhelm Breitenbach [before 20 June 1881]
Summary
Arrived in Brazil three months ago. Studying insects and plants, but work suffers from lack of scientific literature.
Fritz Müller has written to him to observe relations between ants and plants.
Writing popular articles about evolution for German newspaper in Brazil.
Sends paper from Kosmos.
Expects to spend several years in Brazil.
| Author: | Wilhelm Breitenbach |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 20 June 1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 202: 16 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12962 |
To V. O. Kovalevsky 1 and 6 January 1881
Summary
Thanks VOK for the Russian tea.
Rejoices at his prosperity and appointment at Moscow [Associate Professor, Moscow University, 1880–3].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Vladimir Onufrievich Kovalevsky (Владимир Онуфриевич Ковалевский) |
| Date: | 1 and 6 Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | Institut Mittag-Leffler (Sophie Kowalevski collections, box 3) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12963 |
From A. R. Wallace 1 January 1881
Summary
ARW’s view of migration of plants from mountain to mountain gains support from case described in Nature [23 (1880): 125–6] by J. G. Baker. Identical species of alpine plants found in African mountains and Madagascar.
| Author: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 271.6: a6 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12964 |
To Alexander Agassiz 1 [June] 1881
Summary
Thanks AA for letter on coral reefs. "I used to think … that areas of elevation and of subsidence must – as a general rule be separated by a single great line of fissure, or rather of several".
Suggests that AA urge again his views on reappearance of old characters.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Alexander Agassiz |
| Date: | 1 [June] 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 143: 10 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12965 |
To James Torbitt [5] January 1881
Summary
T. H. Farrer and James Caird express great interest in JT’s report. Have instructed CD to hold £90 for use by JT in spring. Caird asks that potatoes be sent to his gardener for trials.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | James Torbitt |
| Date: | [5] Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 148: 127 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12966 |
To A. R. Wallace 2 January 1881
Summary
On land migration of plants. The case in Nature is striking but CD doubts that seeds of plants could be blown from mountains of Abyssinia to mountains of Madagascar.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
| Date: | 2 Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 46434) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12968 |
From Ernst Krause 2 January 1881
Summary
Encloses reply to Butler [Kosmos 8 (1881): 321–2]. Has also written a reply intended for English reader. Will have it translated for Popular Science Review if CD thinks suitable.
Report of Jäger accident was an error.
Kosmos has been purchased by Eduard Koch in Stuttgart and will continue as in the past.
| Author: | Ernst Ludwig (Ernst) Krause |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 2 Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 92: B61; DAR 221.2: 27 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12969 |
To H. W. Bates 3 January 1881
Summary
Alarm over Wallace’s memorial; asks HWB if he has received it and forwarded it to Hooker. Wanted to get it to Gladstone before Parliament met.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Henry Walter Bates |
| Date: | 3 Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12970 |
| letter | (732) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (367) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (22) |
| Darwin, Francis | (14) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (14) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (12) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (352) |
| Darwin, Francis | (26) |
| Romanes, G. J. | (22) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (17) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (16) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (719) |
| Darwin, Francis | (40) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (39) |
| Romanes, G. J. | (33) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (30) |
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: 28 hits
- … In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, …
- … was another source of pleasure in the early months of 1881. This book had been a major undertaking …
- … making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ). Unlike Darwin’s other books, …
- … case is to me’ (letters to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] and 19 February [1881] ). On 7 …
- … individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). The difficulty with earthworms …
- … were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] ). Although results from earlier …
- … ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 May he described his work on …
- … annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March [1881] ). Darwin thought flowers of the semi- …
- … sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The degree of Darwin’s distress …
- … period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). Darwin gave in. ‘I am now uneasy …
- … teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), while H. M. Wallis, who sent …
- … general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). Josef Popper, an expert on …
- … any criticism’ ( letter to C. G. Semper, 19 July 1881 ). He continued his friendly disagreement …
- … of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). Darwin received news about the …
- … on the shoulder (l etter from B. J. Sulivan, 18 March 1881 ). Among numerous new …
- … ( letter from Francisco de Arruda Furtado, 29 July 1881 ). Likewise, among the many books …
- … excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In these ways, Darwin kept up with …
- … conscious of it’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 5 May 1881 ). His scientific friends, however, did …
- … on all our minds’ ( letter to John Lubbock, [18 September 1881] ). When Hooker, anxious about his …
- … much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling ‘awfully guilty’ for …
- … & many a good fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and 12 August 1881 ). …
- … on all physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 April 1881 ). A letter he had written to the …
- … & tear of controversy’ ( letter to G. R. Jesse, 23 April 1881 ). Later in the year, Darwin …
- … judgment on the subject ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 July 1881 ). However, some requests were …
- … intelligent man’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 1 July [1881] ). Despite this, Darwin thanked ‘all …
- … ‘go to the wall’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 19 November [1881] ). Darwin was as solicitous about …
- … no pretensions’ (l etter from W. E. Darwin, 13 January [1881 ]), Darwin immediately prepared a …
- … have occurred to him’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 29 January 1881 ). While Francis was …
Volume 29 (1881) is published!
Summary
In October 1881, Darwin published his last book, The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. A slim volume on a subject that many people could understand and on which they had their own opinions, it went…
Matches: 8 hits
- … From the start of 1881, Darwin had his demise on his mind. He increasingly relied on his son …
- … now available. Read more about Darwin's life in 1881 in our Life in letters series …
- … received. Letter t o Francis Darwin, 9 November [1881] In October 1881, Darwin …
- … Letter to A. B. Buckley, 4 January 1881 In January, Darwin heard that …
- … do. Letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 June 1881 The Darwins spent June in the …
- … Letter to W. E. Darwin, 4 August [1881] In early August, Darwin …
- … Letter to T. H. Farrer, 28 August 1881 Darwin’s elder brother, …
- … Letter t o B. J. Sulivan, 1 December 1881 …
Intellectual capacities: From Caroline Kennard, 26 December 1881
Summary
We might assume that among female admirers of Darwin’s work, many would have been disappointed by his views on the comparative intellectual capacities of the sexes expressed in The Descent of Man (1872). This was certainly true of the American feminist…
Terms of engagement: To Julius Wiesner, 25 October 1881
Summary
Thomas Huxley’s pugnacious public defence of evolution led to his nickname ‘Darwin’s bulldog’ and to a view of Darwin as an evader of controversy. Darwin firmly believed that controversy rarely did any good, but this did not mean that he avoided challenges…
Matches: 1 hits
- … however, was tempered. Writing to Wiesner on 25 October 1881 , Darwin stated ‘I have no doubt …
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: 11 hits
- … in Down, where his brother Erasmus had been interred in 1881. But some of his scientific friends …
- … vol. 29, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 28 December 1881 ). Darwin had a long-running …
- … last book, Earthworms , had been published in October 1881. It proved to be very popular, with …
- … vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 ). He remarked on the ‘far reaching …
- … Correspondence vol. 29, letter to Emily Talbot, 19 July 1881 ) was also published in the …
- … American, Caroline Kennard, had written on 26 December 1881 (see Correspondence vol. 29) to …
- … on the topic of science and art. He had sat for Collier in 1881 for a portrait commissioned by the …
- … letter from John Collier, 22 February 1882 ; T. H. Huxley 1881, pp. 199–245). Huxley used …
- … discoverer of tidal evolution’ ( Nature , 24 November 1881, p. 81). Darwin boasted to Rich: …
- … the birth of his first child (Erasmus Darwin) on 7 December 1881. Finally, Darwin had a second …
- … by Lyell’s sister-in-law Katherine (see K. M. Lyell ed. 1881, 2: 445–6). A complete draft and …
Alexander Burns Usborne
Summary
Alexander Burns Usborne was born in Kendal, Westmorland, in 1808, the son of Alexander and Margaret Usborne; his father died in 1818 and in his will was described as the purser on HMS Hannibal. His son joined the navy in 1825 aged 16 as a second-class…
1.18 John Collier, oil in Linnean
Summary
< Back to Introduction By 1881 it was clear to Darwin’s intimates that he was increasingly frail, and that, as he approached death, he had finally escaped from religious controversy to become a heroic figure, loved and venerated for his achievements…
Matches: 7 hits
- … < Back to Introduction By 1881 it was clear to Darwin’s intimates that he was …
- … Society in 1858. Moreover, the Society was now, in May 1881, dominated by Darwinians. Its President …
- … work and any other subject that cropped up.’ On 7 August 1881 Darwin was able to report to Romanes …
- … of image John Collier date of creation 1881 computer-readable date …
- … archive, manuscript letter LL/8, Darwin to Romanes, 27 May 1881. Correspondence between Darwin and …
- … Letter from Darwin to his son George, 23 July 1881, telling him the picture was finished (DCP-LETT …
- … pp. 118–121, correspondence between Romanes and Darwin in 1881 (DCP-LETT-13173, 13229, 13282). …
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: 3 hits
- … from scientific debate. The matter spilled over into January 1881. With Henrietta’s aid, the advice …
- … bags ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [6, 13, or 20] March 1881 ). Romanes was at work on a lengthy …
- … memorial was eventually submitted to Gladstone in January 1881 and was successful. For a copy of the …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 3 hits
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
- … and the fertilisation of figs by Hymenoptera, 9 January 1881 CD's instructions to …
4.41 'Punch', Sambourne cartoon 2
Summary
< Back to Introduction In October 1881, Darwin was included in Linley Sambourne’s series of ‘Punch’s Fancy Portraits’ of celebrities as No. 54. While the caption recurs to the old theme of Darwin’s views on human ancestry, the drawing contains a more…
3.20 Elliott and Fry, c.1880-1, verandah
Summary
< Back to Introduction In photographs of Darwin taken c.1880-1, the expression of energetic thought conveyed by photographs of earlier years gives way to the pathos of evident physical frailty. While Collier’s oil portrait of this time emphasises…
Matches: 5 hits
- … and Letters of his father (1887), and there it was dated 1881. However, another photograph from …
- … by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG X5938) to 29 November 1881. However, Janet Browne points out …
- … of sadness at that time. In a letter to Hooker of 15 June 1881, echoed in another to B.J. Sulivan of …
- … of Elliott and Fry date of creation c.1880-1881 computer-readable date c …
- … and bibliography letters from Darwin to Hooker, 15 June 1881 (DCP-LETT-13207) and to B.J. Sulivan, …
Darwin's bad days
Summary
Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and experimenting, even Darwin had some bad days. These times when nothing appeared to be going right are well illustrated by the following quotations from his letters:
Matches: 1 hits
- … Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and …
Exercise: Caricatures of Science
Summary
Caricatures provide intriguing insights into both ideals and transgressions of gender. The following six images show caricatured representations of nineteenth-century men and women of science. They provide insight into the boundaries of what was deemed …
Matches: 1 hits
- … align="aligncenter" width="206"] Clémence Royer (1881)[/caption] …
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…
Matches: 3 hits
3.21 Herbert Rose Barraud, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction The successful portrait photographer Herbert Rose Barraud, who had studios in London and Liverpool, photographed Darwin in the summer of 1881, in a group of four or so close-up head-and-shoulders portraits. This was probably at…
Matches: 3 hits
4.42 'Punch' Sambourne cartoon 3
Summary
< Back to Introduction Linley Sambourne’s last caricature of Darwin, ‘Man is But a Worm’, was published in Punch’s Almanac for 1882 on 6 December 1881, only four months before Darwin’s death. Like Sambourne’s ‘Punch’s Fancy Portraits. No. 54. Charles…
Matches: 4 hits
- … published in Punch’s Almanac for 1882 on 6 December 1881, only four months before Darwin’s death …
- … No. 54. Charles Robert Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S.’ of October 1881, it is an affectionate and whimsical …
- … date of creation November-December 1881 computer-readable date 1881-11-01 to 1881-12-5 …
- … Punch’s Almanac for 1882 , issued 6 December 1881 (unpaginated). Janet Browne, Charles Darwin: …
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…
Earthworms
Summary
As with many of Darwin’s research topics, his interest in worms spanned nearly his entire working life. Some of his earliest correspondence about earthworms was written and received in the 1830s, shortly after his return from his Beagle voyage, and his…
Dipsacus and Drosera: Frank’s favourite carnivores
Summary
In Autumn of 1875, Francis Darwin was busy researching aggregation in the tentacles of Drosera rotundifolia (F. Darwin 1876). This phenomenon occurs when coloured particles within either protoplasm or the fluid in the cell vacuole (the cell sap) cluster…
Matches: 1 hits
- … again, for I am sure that it is worth it.’ As late as 1881, less than a year before his death, …
