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Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad

Summary

At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…

Matches: 17 hits

… that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
… persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
… from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
… ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
… animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin reiterated in a later …
… the origin of species particularly, worried Darwin; he told Hooker that he had once thought Lyell …
… wished his one-time mentor had not said a word ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] ). …
… old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Nevertheless, Darwin …
… lack of expertise in the subject. ‘The worst of it is’, Hooker wrote to Darwin, ‘I suppose it is …
… difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] ). Hugh …
… credit to his own research and that of Joseph Prestwich. Hooker wrote: ‘I fear L. will get scant …
… of Lyell’s book being written by others’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] ). …
… to see men fighting so for a little fame’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). …
… a fitting opportunity’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January [1863] ). …
… in the fossil record ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January [1863] ). Only until March did …
… to capture his and others’ attention ( see letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , and letter …
… 29 May [1863] , and letter to Hugh Falconer, [25–6 August 1863] ). Sterility and …

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: 19 hits

… species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
… below, ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). On 6 February 1863, Antiquity of man (C. Lyell …
… Galton. In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, evidently in response …
… over the comparative anatomy of human and ape brains. 6 Many of Lyell’s supporters were …
… discussed the book in correspondence with Joseph Dalton Hooker, Asa Gray, and Huxley but he never …
… complaint about the book was more personal. He confided to Hooker that he was ‘deeply disappointed’ …
… 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 …
… but had tried, indirectly, to influence him. He told Hooker: 10 Do see Falconer …
… Falconer to tone down his attack on Lyell and agreed, on Hooker’s advice, to soften a passage in the …
… allude to Sir C’s explanation of the matter’. 23 Hooker, who had also been sent copies of the …
… 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) …
… Lyell, see Bynum 1984 and L. G. Wilson 1996. 6 . Owen’s complaints about C. Lyell 1863a …
… 7. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] . On Lyell’s …
… See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] and n. 7. 9. …
… T. H. Huxley, 7 June 1865, Imperial College, Huxley papers 6 : 110). For more on the X-club, see …
… to Huxley, 5 June 1865 (Imperial College, Huxley papers 6 : 104). 27. Rough draft of a …

Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments

Summary

1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…

Matches: 16 hits

… to be referred to routinely. In November, Joseph Dalton Hooker told him: ‘you are alluded to in no …
… but really I do think you have a good right to be so’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 and] 20 …
… species. Darwin attempted to dissuade him from this view ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 14 [January 1862 …
… partially sterile together. He failed. Huxley replied ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 January 1862 …
… and pronounced them ‘simply perfect’, but continued ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 18 December [1862] ) …
… resigned to their difference of opinion, but complained ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 28 December [1862 …
… letters, Darwin, impressed, gave him the commission ( see letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] …
… of dimorphism. Towards the end of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 …
… students to make observations on American species. Hooker and George Bentham at Kew were also …
… became increasingly frustrated, telling Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 March [1862] ): ‘I am …
… from his ‘ enormous labour over them’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 [October 1862] ; see ML 2: …
… case warranted a paper for the Linnean Society ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 6 October [1862] ). …
… about anything I published’, he told Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 [May 1862] ). But he did …
… different translator ( see letter from Edouard Claparède, 6 September 1862 ). In Germany, …
… of the human species ( see letter from John Lubbock, 6 January 1862 ). Ramsay’s was not the …
… of the pot of life’? ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 May 1862 ). In his address, Huxley also …

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: 15 hits

… for evaluation, and persuaded his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker to comment on a paper on Verbascum …
… committed suicide at the end of April; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic …
… thriving, and when illness made work impossible, Darwin and Hooker read a number of novels, and …
… 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] …
… griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 ). …
… Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
… know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). He …
… and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] ). In …
… modification of structure’ (G. D. Campbell 1864, pp. 275–6 ). Campbell argued further that natural …
… observations to high scientific account’ (A. Gray 1865–6 , pp. 273-4). Darwin had also written to …
… to the Anthropologicals?’ ( letter from F. H. Hooker, 6 September [1865] ). Before he returned …

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: 12 hits

… be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
… 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 …
… to believe in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 …
… for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did …
… on the outcome ( enclosure to letter from G. H. Darwin, 6 [August] 1874 ): I think you …
… & it had been refused’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, [6 or 7 August 1874] ). When the letter was …
… Mivart (see Correspondence vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin …
… views. In December, he sought advice from Huxley and Hooker, sending them a draft letter that …
… had written the article ( enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 ). Huxley’s …

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: 21 hits

… On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, …
… 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] ) …
… the accursed Index-maker’, Darwin wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker on 6 January . Darwin had sent …
… 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 ). …
… to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). But such …
… away’ that sparked the most discussion. Darwin wrote to Hooker on 23 February , ‘did you look at …
… thought it was by Gray himself, but Darwin corrected him: ‘D r Gray would strike me in the face, …
… editor of the London and Westminster Review . When Hooker later tried to refute the claims of the …
… a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] ). …
… on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d C. Darwin M.d’; Binstead evidently …
… but never fulfilled. He was sent a news clipping on 6 July from the Maryport Weekly Advertiser …
… House of Commons than any assembly in the world’ (from ?, 6 April 1868). On 21 May , Darwin …
… The Swiss botanist Alphonse de Candolle described on 6 July the inheritance over eight …
… information on colour changes in the canary (letters from J. J. Weir, [26] March 1868 and 3 …
… added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). Sexual …
… Wallace that he had begun the previous year, writing to Hooker on 21 May , ‘I always distrust …
… is too short for so long a discussion’, he wrote on 6 April . Yet Wallace continued to press him, …

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: 20 hits

… writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring Gray Louis Agassiz, Adam …
… this actor uses the words of Jane Loring Gray, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Hugh Falconer, Louis Agassiz, …
… of natural selection to his friend, the botanist, Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles …
… he was the most charming of hosts. DARWIN: 6 My life goes on like Clockwork, and …
… year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs Lyell and Hooker in 1844, being a part of …
… DARWIN: 7 January 1844. My dear Hooker. I have been …engaged in a very presumptuous work …
… his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
… the opportunity I enjoyed of making your acquaintance at Hooker’s three years ago; and besides that …
… sheet of note-paper! DARWIN: 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind …
… be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
… on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
… 22 Hurrah I got yesterday my 41st Grass! Hooker is younger than Darwin and Gray by …
… a brace of letters 25 I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
… might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
… Atlantic. HOOKER: 28 Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
… of the origin of species by variation. GRAY: 60 I fear the variation hypothesis …
… which he distributes liberally… DARWIN: 63 My dear Gray. I have directed a copy …
… I should be extremely grateful. HOOKER: 64 Darwin’s book is out and created a …
… I fear that it will be abominable in your eyes. 67 My dear [Professor Agassiz]…. I …
… C DARWIN, 18–19 AUGUST 1862 149 C DARWIN TO J. D. HOOKER 26 JULY 1863 150 …

Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings

Summary

‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…

Matches: 20 hits

… work of preparing new Editions’, he complained again to Hooker on 18 August. Finally, by …
… much more than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt …
… the matter to his satisfaction. On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & …
… during the affair by the loyalty of his close friends, Hooker and Thomas Henry Huxley. …
… ‘How grandly you have defended me’, Darwin wrote on 6 January , ‘You have also greatly honoured …
… & if he speaks to me should let him feel it .’ Hooker also directed some of his anger …
… to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
… thirst for vengeance is now quite Satisfied’, he told Hooker on 17 January , ‘I feel now like a …
… offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
… book had to go along on the excursion,’ he reported on 6 July , ‘and it did us excellent service. …
… & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
… that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
… pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
… Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
… signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
… firm. Darwin was impressed by the device, remarking to Hooker on 13 October : ‘Horace has made a …
… both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
… laurel in the wreath of your fame ’, Haeckel wrote on 6 June , ‘to have a predecessor in the …
… her presentation copy of Insectivorous plants ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 15 July [1875] ). Such …
… of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). …

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest

Summary

The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…

Matches: 18 hits

… on publishers, decried on one occasion by Joseph Dalton Hooker as ‘Penny-wise Pound foolish, …
… Fuller consideration of Darwin’s work was given by Hooker in an evening speech on insular floras at …
… able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
… once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
… see you out with our beagles before the season is over’ ( letter from John Lubbock, 4 August 1866 …
… work doing me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). …
… production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
… continued to refine his hypothesis in 1866. He wrote to Hooker on 16 May [1866] , ‘I … am at work …
… it was too big. ‘You must congratulate me’, he wrote to Hooker, ‘when you hear that I have sent M.S. …
… Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] ). When …
… of Darwin’s closest scientific friends and correspondents. Hooker’s research on alpine floras, Henry …
… more than the belief of a dozen physicists’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 February 1866] ). Darwin …
… ‘Your father … entered at the same time with Dr B. J. who received him with triumph. All his friends …
… me to worship Bence Jones in future—’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 May 1866 ). Darwin himself …
… then went for ¾ to Zoolog. Garden!!!!!!!!!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 April 1866] ). …
… tell him the truth how little exertion I can stand. I sh d like very much to see him, though I …
… forth against Origin (J. D. Hooker 1866a, pp. 50, 75–6 ). The progress of reception …
… ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7? January 1866] ), and Darwin …

Women’s scientific participation

Summary

Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…

Matches: 19 hits

… Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
… silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
… observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
… to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
… be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
… Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
… Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
… expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
… of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] …
… Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to Darwin, [17 December 1872] …
… little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 March 1864] …
… and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von to Darwin, [4 December 1867] …
… in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869] John …
… Men: Letter 385 - Wedgwood, S. E. & J. to Darwin, [10 November 1837] …
… at Maer Hall, Staffordshire. Letter 1219 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, [3 February …
… The experiments were carried out “at the suggestion of Dr Hooker” and what little he has ascertained …
… Women: Letter 2345 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [20 October 1858] Darwin …
… of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859] Darwin …
… Letter 2475 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [2 July 1859] Darwin returns the manuscript of …

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: 11 hits

… and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
… tapping into the networks of others, such as Joseph Dalton Hooker and Asa Gray, who were at leading …
… in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
… of face-to-face contact. His correspondence with Joseph Hooker and Asa Gray illustrates how close …
… The first is between Darwin and his friend Kew botanist J. D. Hooker. The second is between Darwin …
… 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. …
… Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct [1848] Darwin catches up on personal …
… to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., 3 Feb 1849 In this …
… Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., 6 & 7 Apr 1850 Hooker apologises for the …

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: 23 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 …
… that the volume should be affordable: ‘do you not think 6s is too dear for a cheap Edit? Would not …
… Darwin’s best efforts, set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 …
… 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 ). …
… `fundamental intellectual errors’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 6 January 1872 ). Darwin …
… to think he felt friendly towards me’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 8 January [1872] ). Despite …
… if only `in another world’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 10 January 1872 ). Darwin, determined …
… but asked Mivart not to acknowledge it ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). 'I …
… dispute involving his close friend Joseph Dalton Hooker came to a head. Hooker, director of the …
… system in the glasshouses had escalated to the point where Hooker applied over Ayrton’s head direct …
… your enemies be cursed, is my pious frame of mind Hooker’s cause was taken up by his …
… the independence of science from bureaucratic interference. Hooker had kept Darwin well informed: …
… Darwin’s wholeheartedly partisan reply ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 May 1872 ). On 13 June, a …
… to make one turn into an old honest Tory’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 July [1872] ). …
… effect on my mind’ ( letter to Chauncey Wright, 6 April 1872 ). A competing theory on the …
… in his `Literary Banquet’ (letters from John Murray, 6 November [1872] and 9 November 1872 ). …
… of the microscope led his head to `fail’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 29 October [1872] ) he had begun …
… by hearing about Panagæus!’ Darwin wrote ( letter to W. D. Fox, 16 July [1872] ). I …

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: 18 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] ). …
… peduncles to test sensitivity, and in his request to Hooker for another specimen: ‘I want it …
… matters which routinists regard in the light of axioms’ ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864 …
… plant morphology. Many of his other correspondents, such as Hooker and Gray, had grown accustomed to …
… the Lythrum paper was published, Darwin remarked to Hooker in a letter of 26 November [1864] …
… letter of 22 October [1864] , Darwin triumphantly wrote to Hooker: ‘I will fight you to the death, …
… with his stipend being paid by Darwin himself ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [1 April 1864] ). …
… often at odds with one another: ‘Gardeners are the very d—l, & where two or three are gathered …
… enough to play your part over them’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 April 1864] ). …
… … they do require very careful treatment’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 8 April 1864 ). Nevertheless …
… that in giving I am hastening the fall’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 April 1864 ). In his …
… a first-class cabin for the journey ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 August 1864] ). Darwin …
… deity for the use of humankind ( letter from John Beck, 6 October 1864 ). Theological …
… he thought him ‘sanguine & unsafe’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 February 1864 ). Hooker …

Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics

Summary

On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…

Matches: 18 hits

… learn that the book was on sale even in railway stations ( letter to Charles Lyell, 14 January …
… the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
… Henry Huxley, William Benjamin Carpenter, and Joseph Dalton Hooker. Others were not quite as …
… cannot expect fairness in a Reviewer’, Darwin commented to Hooker after reading an early notice that …
… of the geological record; but this criticism, he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main …
… his theory would have been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A …
… from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
… a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 18 February [1860] ). …
… phenomena it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] …
… considered it more a failure than a success ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 February [1860] ). …
… two physiologists, and five botanists ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 March [1860] ). Others, like …
… distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 ). But Baer in fact …
… ‘topics of the day’ at the meeting in a letter from Hooker written from Oxford. Hooker’s letter , one …
… Hooker attended the fabled Saturday session of Section D. He told Darwin how ‘between 700 & 1000 …
… ‘master of the field after 4 hours battle’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, 2 July 1860). Other …
… were already proved) to his own views.—’ ( letter from J. S. Henslow to J. D. Hooker, 10 May 1860 …
… critique of his geological argument, he wrote to Lyell on 6 June [1860] : 'I am beginning to …
… visits have led to changed structure.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 27 April [1860] ). Tracing the …

Natural Selection: the trouble with terminology Part I

Summary

Darwin encountered problems with the term ‘natural selection’ even before Origin appeared. Everyone from the Harvard botanist Asa Gray to his own publisher came up with objections. Broadly these divided into concerns either that its meaning simply wasn’t…

Matches: 5 hits

… confounded ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell 6 June [1860 ]) Darwin …
… of twenty years, Natural Selection . With that letter to Gray, Darwin enclosed a …
… explainer. ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell, 6 June [1860]) To Lyell, Darwin …
… Nevertheless, regret lingered, and he wrote in a later letter to Lyell: ' Talking of “Natural …
… used natural preservation '. (There is now a hole in the letter where Darwin wrote ' …

Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants

Summary

Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…

Matches: 14 hits

… purposes’ (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1862] , and …
… his botanical work, at Down House since the winter of 1855–6 (see CD’s Classed account book (Down …
… its sensitivity to touch (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December …
… his employer’s hothouses over the previous two years. In a letter of 24 December [1862] ( …
… of prizes & is very observant. He believes that we sh d succeed with a little patience; …
… mid-January, and completed by mid-February (see letters to J. D. Hooker, 13 January [1863] and …
… he had had, he would ‘probably have made a mess of it’ (letter to G. H. Turnbull, [16? February …
… plants for use in a wide variety of experiments. He told Hooker that he was ‘looking with much …
… shall keep to curious & experimental plants’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January [1863] ). …
… plants you want before going to Nurserymen’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 January 1863] ). …
… to William Erasmus Darwin, [22 February 1863] in DAR 210.6 : 109). There were other teething problems …
… advice on cultivation (see letter from J. D. Hooker, [6 March 1863] ). Darwin derived …
… Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , Calendar no. 6661). Darwin’s greenhouse complex, …
… § Asclepias currasavica 3 1.6 …

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: 18 hits

… & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
… he remarked to his best friend, the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, ‘If I lived 20 more years, & …
… Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
… Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now missing) to Hooker, remarking: ‘I should be extremely …
… made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
… principle (Nägeli 1865, pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical …
… 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 …
… retrench that position following criticism from his friend Hooker, by admitting that the survival of …
… would always exist. In Origin 5th ed., pp. 450–61, Darwin accounted for the survival of tropical …
… do fairly well, though if I had read you first, perhaps I d have been less deferential towards …
… males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November [1869] ). Yet …
… & contempt—almost hatred—’ ( from Asa Gray and J. L. Gray, 8 and 9 May [1869] ). James …
… by Wallace’s assertions: ‘If you had not told me I d have thought that they had been added by …
… Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a letter to the …
… [her] to translate “Domestic Animals”’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 November [1869] ). Angered by …
… poured boiling oil over the bumptious man’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 7 September 1869 ). Huxley …
… suggestions to its publisher, Macmillan ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 November 1869 ). Darwin …

'An Appeal' against animal cruelty

Summary

The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…

Matches: 11 hits

… was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 …
… of the pamphlet in August and September 1863 (see letter from G. B. Sowerby Jr to Emma Darwin, 22 …
… 1863, pp. 821–2, under the title `Vermin and traps' ( Letter no. 4282). The wording of the …
… and to 'a good many persons Squires Ladies & MPs' (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D …
… more success with the campaign than she expected (see the letter from Emma Darwin to William Erasmus …
… MS), 20 August 1863, recording a payment of £2 11 s. 6 d. for distributing the 'cruelty …
… L. Darwin, 7 September 1863, letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December [1863], and Animal …
… against the use of steel traps in 1877 ( Spectator , 6 January 1877, p. 15, and Emma Darwin 2: …
… 44, 54–5, 78, and Correspondence vol. 2, letter to W. D. Fox, 28 August [1837]). Later he …
… E. Darwin, 22 [September 1858], and this volume, letter to J. B. Innes, 1 September [1863]). …
… pheasants, and other game-birds (Carr 1981, pp. 475–6, Mackenzie 1988, p. 18, Allen 1994, p. 127.). …

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: 23 hits

… which I can do’, he wrote despondently to Joseph Dalton Hooker on 15 June , concluding, ‘I must …
… in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
… memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
… publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
… the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
… whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
… about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
… for more suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March …
… made clear the veneration in which he was held. ‘I’d give one year of my life for one hours …
… showing his appreciation of those who were courteous. On 6 February, he wrote to Carl Semper , …
… which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In these ways, …
… friends, however, did not agree. Both John Lubbock and Hooker asked for Darwin’s advice when writing …
… ( letter to John Lubbock, [18 September 1881] ). When Hooker, anxious about his address on …
… one’ and had ‘gone much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling …
… approach to omniscience than for originality’, and telling Hooker, ‘Your long letter has stirred …
… we had many a discussion & many a good fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and …
… atrocious a manner on all physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 April 1881 ). A letter he …
… would be with a less intelligent man’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 1 July [1881] ). Despite this, …
… it; & I now wish that I had not done so’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 8 December 1881 ). …
… power’ ( letter from M. C. Stanley, 16 October 1881 ). Hooker thanked Darwin for the ‘diet of …
… have a domestic life & public duties!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 October 1881] ). …
… and approach. The geologist Thomas Reade wrote on 6 November , ‘It seems strange that the …
… in the world’, William declared to his father on 6 January , after hearing how Darwin intended …

Scientific Practice

Summary

Specialism|Experiment|Microscopes|Collecting|Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of scientific communication, rather than as integral to knowledge making. This section shows how correspondence could help to shape the practice of science, from…

Matches: 20 hits

… | Microscopes | Collecting | Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of …
… with detailed correspondence about barnacles. Letter 1514 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. …
… of one idea. – cirripedes morning & night.” Letter 1480 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, …
… on embryological stages than Huxley thinks. Letter 1592 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. H …
… and difficulties of botanical experimentation

Darwin Correspondence Project

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