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Hermann Müller
Summary
Hermann (Heinrich Ludwig Hermann) Müller, was born in Mühlberg near Erfurt in 1829. He was the younger brother of Fritz Müller (1822–97). Following the completion of his secondary education at Erfurt in 1848, he studied natural sciences at Halle and Berlin…
Matches: 13 hits
- … Hermann (Heinrich Ludwig Hermann) Müller, was born in Mühlberg near Erfurt in 1829. He was the …
- … beetle; it was the subject of his first scientific paper (Müller 1856). In the autumn of 1855 …
- … from her first marriage; the couple had three more children. Müller had become a full teacher by …
- … in the whole province. As a scientific researcher, Müller did not need to look further than …
- … to focus on Crustacea in his book, Für Darwin , so Hermann chose to study mosses from the …
- … In early spring 1867, Darwin initiated a correspondence with Müller, but that letter has not been …
- … replied encouragingly and in the summer of 1867, Müller began working on fertilisation of orchids …
- … unwanted visitors from gaining access. In October 1867, Müller sent Darwin a letter describing …
- … research along these lines led to the publication in 1873 of Müller’s seminal work on co-adaptation, …
- … Darwin could not wait to finish the book before sending Müller his reaction, noting that he had …
- … was the introduction he wrote to the English edition of Müller’s book, published in 1883. …
- … (known as ultramontanists by their opponents). Throughout, Müller received the support of the …
- … resulted in a limiting of the kind of teaching that Müller advocated. Müller fought against this …
A fly on the flower: From Hermann Müller, 23 October 1867
Summary
In March 1867, Hermann Müller, a young teacher of natural sciences at a provincial Realschule (a type of secondary school that emphasised the natural sciences) in Lippstadt in the Prussian province of Westphalia, sent Darwin two papers on the mosses of…
Matches: 9 hits
- … In March 1867, Hermann Müller , a young teacher of natural sciences at a provincial …
- … Darwin two papers on the mosses of that province. In one, Müller described features of the mosses …
- … of Darwin’s letters survive, this has to be gleaned from Müller’s side of the correspondence, which …
- … adaptations of flowers for promoting cross fertilisation, Müller began to look closely at the …
- … their adaptations for collecting nectar and pollen. A letter he wrote in October 1867 contained the …
- … mouthparts that are specially adapted for pollen eating. Müller’s discovery seemed even more …
- … with their characteristic yellow and black stripes. In his letter, Müller described and figured in …
- … of the pollen eaten by each type of fly. It is amazing that Müller, writing in English, found words …
- … out more about these adaptations can do so. Looking at Müller’s rough but accurate sketches, readers …
Cross and self fertilisation
Summary
The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…
Matches: 16 hits
- … of self-fertility over subsequent generations. In June 1869, Müller remarked, on receiving a new …
- … 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
- … relationship had lessened the fertility of the offspring (F. Müller 1868b, p. 629). Darwin urged …
- … To J. D. Hooker, 23 July [1871] ). Darwin also informed Müller of this fact. It had taken only one …
- … will be published’ ( To J. V. Carus, 8 May [1873] ). Hermann Müller also wrote from Germany, …
- … will decide in a great measure my further working’ ( From Hermann Müller, 10 June 1873 ). Darwin, …
- … though we have reached them by different routes’ ( To Hermann Müller, 30 May 1873 ). Although …
- … [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
- … to intercross’ ( To Thomas Meehan, 3 October 1875 ). Hermann Müller had also read Meehan’s work …
- … their best work in order to obscure this matter’ ( From Hermann Müller, 23 October 1875 ). The …
- … for half a century after Kölreuter’s papers’ ( To Hermann Müller, 26 October 1875 ). Darwin’s copy …
- … worth reading. ( To Otto Zacharias, 5 October [1876] ). Hermann Müller, in contrast, wrote that …
- … silence writers like Meehan, Pedecino, and Comes ( From Hermann Müller, 4 October 1876 ). …
- … ( From Friedrich Hildebrand, 18 January 1877 ). Hermann Müller enthused that Darwin’s references …
- … most efficacious encouragement for further work’ ( From Hermann Müller, 6 December 1876 ). …
- … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …
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: 24 hits
- … his publishers, he warned that it was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
- … turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June …
- … home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26 …
- … many blessings, was finding old age ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
- … wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
- … itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
- … office to complete Horace’s marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
- … but they were ‘as nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
- … on your life’s work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
- … party in the German house of representatives had accused Müller of corrupting his students by …
- … the statement ‘In the beginning was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). …
- … as the ‘organ of “uncultivated materialism”’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). …
- … up the glory & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 …
- … wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879 …
- … known philosopher and poet’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter from Francis Beaufort to Robert …
- … these things with the when & the where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May …
- … paternal grandparents thought ‘perfect in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). …
- … heard of him ‘constantly, & always with pride’ ( letter from Reginald Darwin, 29 March 1879 ). …
- … essay might end up ‘interfering with each other’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 27 March 1879 ). Darwin …
- … made such an introduction ‘almost indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin …
- … everything into ridicule. He hates scientific men’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 May 1879 ). …
- … must be ‘in some degree interesting to the public’ ( letter to Reginald Darwin, 10 April [1879] ). …
- … ‘very tastefully and well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and …
- … or working for the public good. Darwin promoted Fritz Müller’s discoveries in Brazil by enabling the …
Fritz Müller
Summary
Fritz Müller, a German who spent most of his life in political exile in Brazil, described Darwin as his second father, and Darwin's son, Francis, wrote that, although they never met 'the correspondence with Müller, which continued to the close of…
Matches: 16 hits
- … in Life and letters of Charles Darwin , wrote of Fritz Müller They never met, but the …
- … him. My impression is that of all his unseen friends Fritz Müller was the one for whom he had the …
- … a second father.” Fritz (Johann Friedrich Theodor) Müller was born in the small Thuringian …
- … his studies and where, under the supervision of Johannes Müller, he received his PhD in 1844. Müller …
- … his family broke off direct contact; only his two brothers, Hermann and August, maintained close …
- … After four years of living a frontier existence, Müller left the mainland and got a job in Destêrro …
- … It was in large part through his contact with Schultze that Müller’s own original research was given …
- … eventually came to Darwin’s attention. Earlier in 1861, Müller had discovered a new group of …
- … and development that would, as he told his brother Hermann, provide important evidence in support of …
- … Darwin), appeared in 1864, and Darwin received a copy from Müller. Darwin found the German too …
- … Linnean Society ( Botany ). Having now read Müller’s book, Darwin initiated a …
- … a complete stranger, Darwin’s tone in this first letter was already collegial; he was clearly …
- … him that he had sent a copy of ‘Climbing plants’, hoping Müller would have received it. …
- … supplementary material on many areas of research from Müller, and encouraged him to publish his own …
- … pursuits altogether. Thanks to a change in government, Müller was appointed to the position of …
- … society of London in 1879 on Darwin’s suggestion . Müller continued to produce a range of …
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
- … theory. Three important new correspondents in 1867 were Hermann Müller and Anton Dohrn in Germany, …
- … 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 …
- … books, Descent 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 brother’s 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 …
- … tell me, at what rate your work will be published’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). This …
- … & sent to him, he may wish to give up the task’ ( letter to Carl Vogt, 12 April [1867] ). …
- … fit person’ to introduce the work to the German public ( letter from J. V. Carus, 15 April 1867 ). …
- … Vogt should translate my book in preference to you’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 18 April [1867] ). …
- … varieties at the eye, which resulted in a mottled hybrid ( letter from Robert Trail, 5 April 1867 …
- … In a letter of 22 February [1867] to Fritz Müller in Brazil, in which he asked for information …
- … differences in mammals and birds. In his letter to Fritz Müller of 22 February [1867] , Darwin …
- … in males and females. In his reply of 1 April 1867 , Müller supplied Darwin with information …
- … and he gained a valuable new correspondent in this area, Hermann Müller. Darwin had already …
- … with Darwin and had even suggested research projects that Hermann, a secondary-school teacher in …
- … first extant letter to Darwin, that of 23 March 1867 , Hermann told Darwin of his research plans. …
- … the fertilisation of flowers by insects.’ By the summer, Hermann was already making observations on …
- … are fertilised by insects ( Orchids ). In October, Müller wrote to thank Darwin for his …
- … an observation that he thought might be of some interest. Müller had observed the special adaptation …
- … well as suck nectar from flowers they visited ( letter from Hermann Müller, 23 October 1867 ). The …
- … the first known depiction of this singular adaptation. Müller’s work not only confirmed many of …
- … continued to receive a wealth of information from Fritz Müller in Brazil. As well as providing …
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: 23 hits
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
- … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
- … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
- … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
- … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
- … find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
- … sooner or later write differently about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The …
- … leaves into their burrows ( Correspondence vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 …
- … on the summit, whence it rolls down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The …
- … light on it, which would have pleased me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, …
- … annelid seemed to have rather the best of the fight’ ( letter from G. F. Crawte, 11 March 1882 ). …
- … by the American educator Emily Talbot (Talbot ed. 1882). His letter to Talbot written the previous …
- … by the flippant witlings of the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice …
- … men, and their role as providers for the family. In his letter, he conceded that there was ‘some …
- … of our homes, would in this case greatly suffer’ ( letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … she be fairly judged, intellectually his inferior, please ( letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 January …
- … he has allied himself to so dreadful a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 February 1882 …
- … Would my actions be the same without my consciousness?’ ( letter from John Collier, 22 February …
- … a solid scientific foundation cannot be overestimated’ ( letter to William Jenner, 20 March [1882] …
- … some of whom drew substantially on his theory. In 1869, Hermann Müller (brother to Fritz) sent …
- … investigated the stomach contents of bats?’ ( letter to Hermann Müller, 14 March 1870 ). …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 25 hits
- … What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 November [1872] …
- … anything more on 'so difficult a subject, as evolution’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 27 July …
- … best efforts, set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 February 1872 ) …
- … condition as I can make it’, he wrote to the translator ( letter to J. J. Moulinié, 23 September …
- … translation remained unpublished at the end of the year ( letter from C.-F. Reinwald, 23 November …
- … to the comparative anatomist St George Jackson Mivart ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January …
- … comparison of Whale & duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ) …
- … a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 5 January 1872 ). …
- … Darwin would renounce `fundamental intellectual errors’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 6 January …
- … was silly enough to think he felt friendly towards me’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 8 January [1872 …
- … hoping for reconciliation, if only `in another world’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 10 January …
- … have been ungracious in him not to thank Mivart for his letter. He promised to send a copy of the …
- … partly in mind, `chiefly perhaps because I do it badly’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 3 August [1872] …
- … Darwinism is to be the theme. Surely the world moves!’ ( letter from Mary Treat, 13 December 1872 …
- … to find that Weismann accepted it at least in part ( letter to August Weismann, 5 April 1872 ). ‘I …
- … reached the buzzing place where I myself was standing’ ( letter to Hermann Müller, [before 5 May …
- … ‘as for myself it is dreadful doing nothing’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 October [1872] ). He was …
- … to stand closer (a serried mass) and to be more erect’ ( letter to Briton Riviere, 19 May [1872] ) …
- … and amused rather than offended by `that clever book’ ( letter to J. M. Herbert, 21 November 1872 …
- … wrote offering Arthur May’s drawings shortly afterwards ( letter from Samuel Butler to Francis …
- … 'exactly where, from his ignorance, he feels no doubts’ ( letter to F. C. Donders, 17 June …
- … music provided by her husband, Richard Buckley Litchfield ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 13 May 1872 …
- … to Henrietta; 'I know that I am half-killed myself’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 25 July 1872 …
- … fellow’ was Darwin’s wholeheartedly partisan reply ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 May 1872 ). On 13 …
- … was delivered to Gladstone a week later ( enclosure to letter from John Lubbock to W. E. Gladstone, …
Forms of flowers
Summary
Darwin’s book The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, published in 1877, investigated the structural differences in the sexual organs of flowers of the same species. It drew on and expanded five articles Darwin had published on the…
Matches: 5 hits
- … exhibited different forms . With typical enthusiasm, Müller had reported finding several new …
- … proves the absolute distinctness of the parents ’. Fritz Müller was enthusiastic, commenting, ‘ …
- … of Linum’ (p. 82) and clarified the meaning to Fritz Müller in a letter in September 1866, ‘ What I …
- … without comparing pollen-grains & stigmas’. When Hermann Müller wrote to say that, in his …
- … than in the short-styled form ’, Darwin annotated this letter, wondering, ‘Would it be worth while …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 28 hits
- … ‘my wife … poor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
- … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
- … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
- … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
- … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
- … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
- … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
- … him ‘basely’ and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
- … disgrace’ of blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
- … must have been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February …
- … mind, able to investigate them to such extent?’ enthused Hermann Hoffmann on 10 January , while …
- … her questions were ‘too silly to deserve an answer’ ( letter from S. B. Herrick, 12 February 1876 …
- … on Dionaea ‘to test the insect eating theory’ ( letter from Peter Henderson, 15 November 1876 …
- … sending Darwin small amendments to his results ( letter from Moritz Schiff, 8 May 1876 ). …
- … to get positive results in this year’s experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March …
- … in the Encyclopaedia Britannica the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September …
- … and to promote work he admired. He was so interested in a letter from Fritz Müller in Brazil …
- … with the ants that inhabited the trunk that he sent the letter to Nature for publication. ‘It …
- … communicated this information in an article in Nature ( letter from Johann von Fischer, [before …
- … phyllotaxis by the mutual pressure of very young buds’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 June [1876] ). …
- … Scottish shoemaker and ardent naturalist Thomas Edward ( letter from F. M. Balfour, 11 December …
- … live blood-hound which shall hunt it to the death’ ( letter from James Torbitt, 19 April 1876 …
- … the public to consider Torbitt an untrustworthy fanatic ( letter to James Torbitt, 21 April 1876 ) …
- … request, with the ‘awful job’ of informing the author ( letter to G. G. Stokes, 21 April [1876] ). …
- … thought the paper was ‘not worthy of being read ever’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 28 January 1876 …
- … to William Thiselton-Dyer on 26 April that Tait’s letter about his ‘accursed paper’ had quite …
- … On receiving a copy of Cross and self fertilisation , Hermann Muller looked forward to reading it …
- … he had, he declared it a ‘wonderful work’ (letters from Hermann Muller, 6 December 1876 and 28 …
Scientific Networks
Summary
Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…
Matches: 23 hits
- … and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
- … in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
- … botanist Asa Gray. Darwin and Hooker Letter 714 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
- … and he is curious about Hooker’s thoughts. Letter 729 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., …
- … to Hooker “it is like confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
- … wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … and asks him to append the ranges of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. …
- … and relationships of alpine flora in the USA. Letter 2125 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
- … and their approach to information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D …
- … first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … ends with a discussion of lamination of gneiss. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
- … up his doubts about Darwin’s doctrines. In his second letter he talks about his visit with Falconer. …
- … was on the Beagle voyage and afterwards. Letter 152 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. …
- … is Henslow’s “bounden duty to lecture me”. Letter 196 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, C. R. …
- … sends home a copy of his notes on the specimens. Letter 249 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, …
- … sends news of Cambridge and mutual friends. Letter 251 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S …
- … illness and specimens are sent to Henslow. Letter 272 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S. …
- … collection and plans to cross the Cordilleras. Letter 1189 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
- … and the second is between Darwin and German naturalist Hermann Müller. Darwin and Lubbock …
- … and it has reawakened his passion for entomology. Letter 1720 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … R. Soc. Lond. 147 (1857): 79–100]. Darwin and Müller Letter 5457 — Müller, H. …
- … Darwin learns that German botanist Fritz Müller is Hermann Müller’s brother. Letter 5481 …
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
- … , and, arising from this, the editing of excerpts from Fritz Müller’s letters on climbing plants to …
- … The death of Hugh Falconer Darwin’s 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] …
- … for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
- … gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … ineffective, and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] …
- … of anything, & that almost exclusively bread & meat’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 August [1865] …
- … better, attributing the improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] …
- … he was ‘able to write about an hour on most days’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 22 December [1865] ). …
- … others very forward, except the last & concluding one’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 March [1865] …
- … my book will be ready for the press in the autumn’ ( letter to John Murray, 4 April [1865] ). In …
- … however, ‘I am never idle when I can do anything’ ( letter to John Murray, 2 June [1865] ). It was …
- … might be more willing to bear the expense of the woodcuts ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865 …
- … people two whom Darwin sent a copy of the paper was Fritz Müller, in Destêrro (now Florianópolis), …
- … in difficult German, he had it translated, and wrote to Müller in August 1865 that he had just …
- … in October to the Linnean Society for publication in Müller’s name ( see letter from Fritz Müller, …
- … 20 October [1865] ). Darwin was particularly interested in Müller’s observations of tendrils formed …
- … to the second edition of Climbing plants reflecting Müller’s findings. Although he wrote to …
- … observations for him in India (John Scott) and Brazil (Fritz Müller). Although not well enough to …
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, …
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: 29 hits
- … shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
- … 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] ) …
- … 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 …
- … thro’ apes & 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 Duchenne’s 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 …
- … . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
- … or crying badly; but I fear he will not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] …
- … Lucy Wedgwood, who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). …
- … is the inclination to finish my note on this subject’ ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). …
- … the previous year (see Correspondence vol. 17, letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). His …
- … (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …
- … towards each other, though in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). …
- … version of the theory of descent by natural selection in a letter to Darwin, prompting much anxiety …
- … But who is to criticise them? No one but yourself’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 20 May 1870 ). …
- … me to be able to say that I never write reviews’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] ). …
- … design. Darwin commented on Mivart’s essay in a letter to William Henry Flower: ‘I am glad …
- … time wd be wasted if I once began to answer objectors’ ( letter to W. H. Flower, 25 March [1870] ) …
- … laborious & valuable labours on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). …
- … Ape than such an Ape differs from a lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 …
- … his “end” whatever may have been his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In …
- … by you in this manner than praised by many others’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 28 May [1870 …
- … Co-adaptation Darwin encouraged the German naturalist Hermann Müller to continue his work on …
- … have now attended to the converse relation’ ( letter to Hermann Müller, 14 March 1870 ). …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
Matches: 27 hits
- … of the five physicians Darwin had consulted in 1863. In a letter of 26[–7] March [1864] , Darwin …
- … and he received more letters of advice from Jenner. In a letter of 15 December [1864] to the …
- … As Darwin explained to his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of 30 November [1864] , ‘the …
- … observations indoors ( Correspondence vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin …
- … gradation by which leaves produce tendrils’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [8 February 1864] ). …
- … fearfully for it is a leaf climber & therefore sacred’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 June [1864] …
- … matters which routinists regard in the light of axioms’ ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864 …
- … long series of changes . . .’ When he told Asa Gray in a letter of 29 October [1864] that he was …
- … paper was published, Darwin remarked to Hooker in a letter of 26 November [1864] that nothing …
- … of the two species with the common oxlip. In a letter of 22 October [1864] , Darwin triumphantly …
- … the ‘splendid case of Dimorphism’ in Menyanthes ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. …
- … this interest. At the start of the year, he received a letter, insect specimens, and an article on …
- … that it was ‘the best medicine for my stomach’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 17 February [1864] ). …
- … at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in 1862 with a letter regarding the fertilisation of the …
- … two years, with his stipend being paid by Darwin himself ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [1 April 1864] …
- … is difficult enough to play your part over them’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 April 1864] ). …
- … troublesome … they do require very careful treatment’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 8 April 1864 ). …
- … the conclusion that in giving I am hastening the fall’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 April 1864 ) …
- … his indomitable perseverance, and his knowledge’ ( letter to John Scott, 10 June 1864 ). Hooker …
- … basis he recommended a first-class cabin for the journey ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 August …
- … and curators at a great distance. Gray forwarded a letter from Charles Wright, a plant collector in …
- … work was being read with particular enthusiasm in Germany. Hermann Kindt, a German living in England …
- … to the materialist philosophy of Ludwig Buchner ( letter from Hermann Kindt, 5 September 1864 ). …
- … himself. Haeckel’s scientific life, he reported in a letter of 9 [July 1864] , had been …
- … often called me her German “Darwin–Mann” ’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 10 August 1864 ). Haeckel …
- … to listen to any thing from him except á la Darwin!’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 November 186[4] …
- … 1864a, p. 567). In 1864, Darwin received his first letter from Benjamin Dann Walsh, a new …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 27 hits
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
- … I d have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
- … completed revisions of the ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was …
- … him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
- … with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
- … doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
- … weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
- … with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
- … in an additional & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 …
- … orang-utan, and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ) …
- … does himself an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
- … geological structures of the South American cordillera ( letter to Charles Lyell, 20 May 1869 ), …
- … of the same species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February …
- … role of earthworms in the formation of the soil ( letter to Gardeners’ Chronicle , 9 May [1869] …
- … sundew), a genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March …
- … for either the fourth or the fifth English editions ( see letter from Victor Masson, 29 September …
- … not employ [her] to translate “Domestic Animals”’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 November [1869] ). …
- … for himself: William Sweetland Dallas’s edition of Fritz Müller’s Für Darwin (Dallas trans. 1869 …
- … than Christian’. Müller confessed to his brother Hermann that he thought this a rather good joke, …
- … before offering my book to English readers.—’ ( letter from Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 26 hits
- … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
- … of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
- … book would take the form of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But …
- … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
- … would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from Dallas to …
- … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
- … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
- … reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from the Isle of Wight on the formation …
- … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
- … ignorant article… . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] …
- … ‘he is a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] …
- … wrote of the colour of duck claws on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d C. …
- … proved very fruitful. On 1 May , Darwin received a letter from George Cupples, who was encouraged …
- … with the enthusiastic breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous …
- … of science On 27 February , Darwin sent a letter of thanks to the naturalist and …
- … he later added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). …
- … to various classes, a dim ray of light may be gained’ ( letter to H. T. Stainton, 21 February [1868 …
- … as well as of ‘victorious males getting wives’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 25 February [1868] ). …
- … of females was remarked upon by other entomologists ( letter from Roland Trimen, 20 February 1868 …
- … waltz and was much admired for it by other birds. Fritz Müller sent information on the auditory …
- … for as sure as life he wd find the odour sexual!’ ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] …
- … George Robert Crotch, writing to his mother Emma in a letter dated [after 16 October 1868] : ‘I …
- … box of preparations to papa … I will write a less beetley letter soon.’ Other relations …
- … and the comparative fertility of different flower forms. Müller offered observations of orchids, …
- … which you have communicated to me’ ( letter to Fritz Müller, 3 June 1868 ). it is a …
- … information in the second printing of the book in February. Hermann Müller remarked in a letter …
Discussion Questions and Essay Questions
Summary
There are a wide range of possibilities for opening discussion and essay writing on Darwin’s correspondence. We have provided a set of sample discussion questions and essay questions, each of which focuses on a particular topic or correspondent in depth.…
Photograph album of German and Austrian scientists
Summary
The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade, and contained 165 portraits of German and Austrian scientists. The work was lavishly produced and bound in blue velvet with metal embossing. Its ornate…
Matches: 6 hits
- … is by far the greatest honour which I have ever received ( Letter to Ernst Haeckel, 16 February …
- … to them when first laid before the scientific world.— ( Letter from Leonard Blomefield, 12 March …
- … to see the picture of the German schoolteacher and botanist Hermann Müller in the album. He had …
- … which I don’t feel myself worth to give you ( Letter from J. V. Carus, 22 March 1877 ) …
- … man is to my understanding his scientific work. ( Letter from C. G. Semper, 26 April 1877 ) …
- … Sir, will kindly incorporate it in the German album ( Letter from Carl Kraus , 10 February 1878 …
A tale of two bees
Summary
Darwinian evolution theory fundamentally changed the way we understand the environment and even led to the coining of the word 'ecology'. Darwin was fascinated by bees: he devised experiments to study the comb-building technique of honey bees and…
Matches: 4 hits
- … John Lubbock seems very much ahead of his time when, in a letter to Darwin in 1867 , he commented …
- … technique of honey bees and in 1872 described to Hermann Müller how he deployed his children as …
- … the buzzing place where I myself was standing. (letter to Herman Müller, [before 5 May …
- … as an example of acquired knowledge in insects. The letter was in response to one from a disgruntled …
