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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: 19 hits
- … year he was optimistic about publishing it that autumn, but a recurrence of illness forced him to …
- … climbing plants to make another paper. Darwin also submitted a manuscript of his hypothesis of …
- … and persuaded his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker to comment on a paper on Verbascum (mullein) by CD …
- … to be discussed in both scholarly and popular publications. A lengthy discussion written by George …
- … received news of an exchange of letters on his theory in a New Zealand newspaper; the letters were …
- … deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend of Darwin’s and prominent …
- … when illness made work impossible, Darwin and Hooker read a number of novels, and discussed them in …
- … 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] …
- … ‘able to write about an hour on most days’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 22 December [1865] ). …
- … willing to bear the expense of the woodcuts ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). After …
- … societies and in the popular press. In December 1864, George Douglas Campbell, the duke of Argyll, …
Beauty and the seed
Summary
One of the real pleasures afforded in reading Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the discovery of areas of research on which he never published, but which interested him deeply. We can gain many insights about Darwin’s research methods by following these …
Matches: 14 hits
- … about Darwin’s research methods by following these ‘letter trails’ and observing how correspondence …
- … by recent criticism or new research. In 1865, George Douglas Campbell, the eighth duke of Argyll, …
- … no better in the battle of life than spangles of the ruby. A crest of flame does not enable a …
- … p. 231. Campbell’s was only the latest statement of a common argument against Darwin’s theory …
- … which he now felt compelled to expand on as he prepared a fourth edition of the book. Darwin …
- … be admitted by every one. But this beauty serves merely as a guide to birds and beasts, that the …
- … in every instance that seeds, which are embedded within a fruit of any kind, that is within a fleshy …
- … Towards the end of September 1866 Darwin received a letter from Fritz Müller, a German naturalist …
- … composite of letter from Müller to Darwin, 2 Aug 1866, in Darwin’s experimental notebook"," …
- … that ‘in every instance’ seeds were surrounded by a fleshy pulp and ‘always disseminated by being …
- … birds. I rec d some seeds the day after receiving your letter; & I must own that the fleshy …
- … a striking one. Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. T., 25 Sept [1866] This letter …
- … brilliant red pearls. By the time he received Darwin’s letter he had found yet more examples and …
- … by our Jacús ( Penelope ) or other birds.’ ( see the letter ) By this time Darwin had already …
The Lyell–Lubbock dispute
Summary
In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…
Matches: 21 hits
- … In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his …
- … friends, some of whom took immediate action to mediate a solution. Charles Darwin had close ties …
- … In April 1860, Lubbock travelled with Joseph Prestwich, Douglas Strutt Galton, and George Busk to …
- … species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
- … 1864 issue of Natural History Review , Lubbock produced a final article on ‘Cave-men’ (Lubbock …
- … (Lubbock 1865). By 1860, Lyell had begun work on a sixth edition of Elements of geology …
- … chapter dealt with Danish kjökkenmöddings and began with a note citing the work of Morlot as the …
- … , 1861, p. 489, in which he has described the results of a recent visit to Denmark, made by him in …
- … in 1864 (C. Lyell 1864). 3 By November 1863 a third edition of Antiquity of man …
- … about Lyell’s failure to support him. In April 1863, in a letter to the Athenæum , he discussed a …
- … transmutation; he also wrote to Lyell telling him about the letter to the Athenæum . 9 …
- … 1863b, p. 213). In May 1864, Lubbock received a letter from Falconer, who reiterated his …
- … and went on to say that he intended to make a copy of his letter to show to friends. 18 In …
- … wrote to Darwin to ask what he thought of the affair ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 June 1865] ). …
- … he reiterated his admiration for Lubbock’s book ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [4 June 1865] ). A week …
- … When Hooker pressed him for an opinion ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 July 1865 ), Darwin wrote …
- … of Antiquity of man (C. Lyell 1863c; see letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 June 1865] and n. 13) …
- … 7. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] . On Lyell’s …
- … ]. 10. Correspondence vol. 11, letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] . …
- … have seen is milk & water’ (see enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 June 1865] ). …
- … by a mutual friend of ours’ (letter from John Lubbock to J. D. Hooker, 23 June 1865, in Royal …
Sexual selection
Summary
Although natural selection could explain the differences between species, Darwin realised that (other than in the reproductive organs themselves) it could not explain the often marked differences between the males and females of the same species. So what…
Matches: 15 hits
- … proposed that these characteristics were the result of a secondary mechanism operating alongside …
- … emerging ideas about sexual selection before he published a brief and cautious outline in Origin …
- … on overall ‘vigour’ – weapons such as the horns on a stag or the spurs on a cock. Sexual selection, …
- … grown so large that they hindered rather than helped in a fight? In addition to natural weapons, …
- … the evidence for the operation of sexual selection with a small group of friends, and in particular …
- … acquired their dull coloration through natural selection as a protection when nesting. The …
- … in humans . Gathering data Meanwhile, a number of correspondents, inspired by reading …
- … in 1867, that he systematically sought more information for a planned chapter on the subject. His …
- … that Darwin’s portfolio of material grew too large for a single chapter and he decided instead to …
- … to sex . It appeared in 1871. The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze …
- … and responded enthusiastically. In May 1861 he wrote a particularly detailed account of courtship …
- … later quoted at length in Descent . Darwin (whose letter to Brent is missing) seems to …
- … peacock had been bothering him for some time: 'The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail,' …
- … in nature, used by Darwin’s opponents, such as George Douglas Campbell, the duke of Argyll, as an …
- … a good deal of indirect selection improves the Lords' ( to J. D. Hooker, 25 [and 26] …
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: 20 hits
- … mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A vicious dispute over an anonymous …
- … von Humboldt’s 105th birthday, Darwin obliged with a reflection on his debt to Humboldt, whom he had …
- … one of the greatest men the world has ever produced. He gave a wonderful impetus to science by …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … world. While Darwin was in London, his son George organised a séance at Erasmus’s house. The event …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … William Henry Myers, and Thomas Henry Huxley, who sent a long report to Darwin with the spirit …
- … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
- … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
- … letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January 1874 , letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 January 1874 , and …
- … for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did …
- … Mivart (see Correspondence vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin …
- … whether he was the author of the review ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1874 ). Huxley …
- … Mivart had written the article ( enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 ). Huxley …
- … 15 th he published that shabby rejoinder’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1874] ). On …
- … removed as secretary of the Linnean Society ( letter From J. D. Hooker, 29 December 1874 ). …
- … of the bullfinch was instinctive and likened them to Douglas Spalding’s observations on the …
Was Darwin an ecologist?
Summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.
Matches: 23 hits
- … I gave two seeds to a confounded old cock, but his gizzard ground them up; at least I cd. not find …
- … merely by birds accidentally dropping them. The case is a sore puzzle to me.— Charles …
- … Despite the difference in language between Darwin’s letter and the modern scientific paper quoted …
- … the activities of earthworms; the mix of species in a plot of grass; pollination. Was Darwin, then, …
- … from the ones we tend to take for granted today. Ecology as a discipline did not then exist: even …
- … in universities that Darwin’s ‘held together with a piece of string’ experiments could seem suspect …
- … explained’ (quoted in Chadarevian 1996, pp. 17–18). As a gentleman amateur, observing his …
- … and at the same time also challenged the notion that only a laboratory could serve as the place in …
- … tradition in the field. Modern ecology A great deal is wrapped up in our modern idea …
- … which draws on the other three strands just mentioned, is a broadly based political movement which …
- … it is an idea – or set of ideas – with many roots, and a correspondingly complex history. …
- … to T. H. Huxley on 22 December 1866 . ‘He seems to have a passion for defining, I daresay very …
- … doing just that, and call it, if not ecology, then perhaps a precursor to ecology. People had been …
- … to their environment for some time before Haeckel thought of a word for the activity; such thoughts …
- … it is important. When we try to understand what people do, a grasp of what they think they are doing …
- … Haeckel coined the term ecology he intended it as part of a redrawing of disciplinary boundaries …
- … p. 141). Our modern ecological science is descended from a combination of Haeckel’s ecology and …
- … our own point of view how important it might be to retain a sense of past categories. Suppose that …
- … for atheism, but as Darwin himself acknowledged in a letter to Mary Boole, it was more satisfactory …
- … as a result of the direct intervention of God. See the letter We may contrast Darwin’s …
- … sucks it, must have! It is a very pretty case.’ See the letter Darwin was confident …
- … nature as she really is.’ It seems from Haeckel’s letter that what most struck him about …
- … of his great discovery is by contrast extremely modest. In a letter written in 1864 and …
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: 26 hits
- … to correct proofs, and just when completion seemed imminent, a further couple of months were needed …
- … oversized two-volume Variation and instead write a short (as he then expected) ‘Essay on Man’. …
- … selection in forming human races, and there was also to be a chapter on the meaning and cause of the …
- … ), published in 1871, and the chapter on expression into a book, The expression of the emotions in …
- … for decades, it was only now that he began to work with a view to publishing his observations. …
- … his work on expression in 1867, as he continued to circulate a list of questions on human expression …
- … Darwin corrected them. Closer to home, two important works, a book by the duke of Argyll, and an …
- … self-sterility, pollination, and seed dispersal with a growing network of correspondents who worked …
- … atmosphere that he so much needed in what was becoming a highly combative and emotional arena. …
- … chapter and remained doubtful whether or not to include a chapter ‘on Man’. After a few days, he …
- … 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 …
- … seems to me, if true, a wonderful physiological fact’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). …
- … attack it & me with unparalleled ferocity’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 November [1867] ). …
- … In January 1867, the duke of Argyll, George Douglas Campbell, published The reign of law (G. D. …
- … had read it and whether it was worth reading ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 4 February 1867 ). In a …
- … judgement he would subdue; that is yours’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). Darwin …
