To G. H. Turnbull 12 December [1854]
Summary
Thanks for subscription to Down Coal and Clothing Club, whose finances are improving.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Henry Turnbull |
| Date: | 12 Dec [1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 261.11: 3 (EH 88206055) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1613 |
To Thomas Salt 12 July [1854]
Summary
Thanks for money paid into his account. Has not received interest payment from Lord Powis.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Salt |
| Date: | 12 July [1854] |
| Classmark: | Rachel Salt (private collection); sold by Spink’s (dealers), July 2018 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1577F |
To Daniel Sharpe 12 November [1854]
Summary
Regrets he cannot come to hear DS’s paper ["On the structure of Mont Blanc", Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 11 (1855): 11–27]. Has a lively interest in the subject.
Edward Forbes has misrepresented his view on foliation and cleavage [Athenæum 30 Sept 1854].
CD is convinced DS’s view will replace Huttonian and Lyellian view of metamorphic schists.
Recommends H. C. Sorby’s paper [probably "On the origin of slaty cleavage", Edinburgh New Philos. J. 55 (1853): 137–50].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Daniel Sharpe |
| Date: | 12 Nov [1854] |
| Classmark: | University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1599 |
To J. D. Hooker 7 July [1854]
Summary
CD’s view requires only that ancient organisms resemble embryological stages of existing ones. Thus "highness" in plants is difficult to evaluate because they have no larval stages. Would compare highest members of two groups, rather than archetype, to determine which group was higher. Against Forbes’s polarity and parallelism.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 7 July [1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 123 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1577 |
To J. W. Lubbock 28 March [1854]
Summary
Distressed to find himself in conflict with JWL on appointment of a Guardian [for the parish].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John William Lubbock, 3d baronet |
| Date: | 28 Mar [1854] |
| Classmark: | The Royal Society (LUB: D20) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1563 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. …
To A. A. Gould 9 September [1854]
Summary
Returns cirripede specimens to AAG. Encloses specimens for Louis Agassiz in same box.
Since AAG is a member of the Ray Society, will not send him a copy of Living Cirripedia, vol. 2.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Augustus Addison Gould |
| Date: | 9 Sept [1854] |
| Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (Augustus A. Gould papers, 1831–66 MS Am 1210: 225) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1591 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Dana ( ibid . , letter to J. D. Dana, 12 August [1849] ). Gould’s specimens of Tetraclita …
To John Higgins 18 March [1854]
Summary
Discusses price of a farm.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Higgins |
| Date: | 18 Mar [1854] |
| Classmark: | Lincolnshire Archives (HIG/4/2/1/75) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1560 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … pounds; & one, like my present one, at 12, or 13, or 14 thousand would suit me very …
From H. C. Watson [19 November 1854]
Summary
In response to CD’s query, HCW says he cannot supply "any list of species as the flora of a single and sterile soil". Suggests a possible source of information, and provides some figures for Britain, but these apply to diverse soils.
| Author: | Hewett Cottrell Watson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [19 Nov 1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 402 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1604 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of Hertfordshire, the county is divided into 12 sections, varying in extent from 39 to 80 …
To Japetus Steenstrup 7 September [1854]
Summary
Offers to send collection of cirripedes to Copenhagen Museum in return for assistance in his research. Mentions publication of Living Cirripedia, vol. 2.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Johannes Japetus Smith (Japetus) Steenstrup |
| Date: | 7 Sept [1854] |
| Classmark: | Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen (NKS 3460 4to); Natural History Museum of Denmark |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1589 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 10. ——— trigonus 11 ——— tulipiformis 12 ——— Capensis 13. ——— nigrescens 14 ——— Hameri …
To J. D. Hooker 1 March [1854]
Summary
Thanks JDH for dedication of Himalayan journals. CD praises the work and suggests stylistic revisions.
Lyell’s remarks on lava beds in letter from Madeira are not original – they refer exclusively to Élie de Beaumont’s data.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 1 Mar [1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 118 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1556 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. …
From J. D. Hooker [c. 25 March 1854]
Summary
JDH summarises letter from Humboldt.
JDH answers CD’s questions on glacial action in Himalayas.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [c. 25 Mar 1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 382 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1559 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1849 , n. 12. Henry Holland’s unsigned review of volumes …
To John Price 26 [August 1854]
Summary
Discusses specimen of Balanus crenatus.
Sorry JP’s children are ill.
Will come to Liverpool if well [for meeting of BAAS].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Price |
| Date: | 26 [Aug 1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 147: 272 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1582 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Coronula. ’ ( Living Cirripedia (1854): 411–12). See the discussion of the attachment of …
From J. D. Hooker [3 November 1854]
Summary
JDH’s contempt for R. I. Murchison.
There is a Cyperus species and a Pteris species endemic to hot volcanoes of Ischia. Why are there no other migrators?
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [3 Nov 1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 104: 214–15 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1629 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … to Down at the end of October 1854 (see n. 12, below), CD had evidently asked Hooker to …
From J. D. Hooker [15 November 1854]
Summary
George Bentham’s list of aberrant plant genera. JDH appended the number of species in each genus according to E. G. Steudel’s catalogue [Nomenclator botanicus (1840–1)] and according to JDH and Bentham.
JDH speculates on effect of splitting Australia longitudinally on distribution; it becomes an argument for new creations.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [15 Nov 1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 386 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1607 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 5 — 8 10 Moringa — 4 — 2 11 Fouquiera — 1 — 2 12 Trigonia — 8 — 8 13 Krameria — 9 — 9 14 …
From J. D. Hooker 5 December [1854]
Summary
Bentham’s list of aberrant genera: CD’s worry that he eliminated large genera a priori is half right. He eliminated those large, anomalous genera that virtually constitute natural orders. JDH criticises CD’s tabulations of aberrants.
Difficulty of distinguishing affinity and analogy in plants.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 Dec [1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 388–90 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1611 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … is at least a dozen species; if another 12 discovered in Pacific it w d remain equally …
To J. D. Hooker 7 September [1854]
Summary
On individuality.
Huxley’s review exquisite, but too severe on Vestiges; sorry for ridicule of Agassiz’s embryonic fishes.
Stonesfield mammals.
J. O. Westwood deserves Royal Society Medal.
Will begin species work in a few days.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 7 Sept [1854] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 124 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1588 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Hooker, [2 June 1847] , [10 June 1847] , and [12 June 1847] . The hybrid is discussed at …
From J. D. Hooker 25 August 1854
Summary
JDH and F. W. Binney identify Calamites specimens as pith casts. They are cryptogams related to, but higher than, Lycopodiaceae and contradict progression.
Insects found in coal.
Lyell says Stonesfield slate marsupials are actually placentals.
JDH reading Alexander Braun on individuality ["Das Individuum der Pflanze in seinem Verhältniss zur Species", Abh. K. Akad. Wiss. Berlin (Phys. Kl.) (1853): 19–122].
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 25 Aug 1854 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 384 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1581 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … a dozen Meconopsis flowers at Hitcham, 10–12 days before they expanded, cut away the …
To S. P. Woodward 6 May 1854
Summary
CD expresses his inability to accept the view that the Hippuritidae are in any way a connecting link between the oysters and the barnacles.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Samuel Pickworth Woodward |
| Date: | 6 May 1854 |
| Classmark: | Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (1909: 9) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1570 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Annals and Magazine of Natural History 12: 377–90. Woodward, Samuel Pickworth. 1851–6. A …
| letter | (18) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (5) |
| Watson, H. C. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (6) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| Gould, A. A. | (1) |
| Higgins, John | (1) |
| Lubbock, J. W. (b) | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | |
| Hooker, J. D. | (8) |
| Gould, A. A. | (1) |
| Higgins, John | (1) |
| Lubbock, J. W. (b) | (1) |
| Price, John | (1) |
| Salt, Thomas | (1) |
| Sharpe, Daniel | (1) |
| Steenstrup, Japetus | (1) |
| Turnbull, G. H. | (1) |
| Watson, H. C. | (1) |
| Woodward, S. P. | (1) |
Lost in translation: From Auguste Forel, 12 November 1874
Summary
You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections on your favourite topic—ants. If only you had paid attention when your mother tried to teach you English you might be able to read it. But you didn’t, and you…
Matches: 1 hits
- … barely understand a word. Writing in French on 12 November 1874 to thank Darwin for the …
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: 9 hits
- … Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] and n. 13). Initially, …
- … Stove [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March …
- … of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , Calendar no. 6661) …
- … 100 yards’ to the greenhouses ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, [25 January …
- … in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February 1863 ). The second list is …
- … Anoectochilus argenteus 12 5 s . …
- … punctatum. 11. Mormodes aurantiaca 12. ‘Anoectochilus argenteus 5 s .’ deleted in …
- … Bolbophyllum barbigerum 12 major …
- … Ampelidae. 11. Alloplectus chrysanthus. 12. Bulbophyllum barbigerum. 13. …
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: 12 hits
- … Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 February was a cause for international …
- … and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of …
- … ). The botanist and schoolteacher Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and …
- … well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard …
- … ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little …
- … Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwin’s final task …
- … inn ‘ very comfortable’, but told Leonard Darwin on 12 August that there were ‘too many human …
- … not to have come up when the Darwins lunched with him on 12 August (Darwin’s ‘Journal’). Nor did …
- … the world. At the end of the year he was awarded a prize of 12,000 francs by the Turin Academy of …
- … which greatly pleased Darwin ( letter from Grant Allen, 12 February 1879 ). One of Allen’s targets …
- … engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin’s response not …
- … accurate in its treatment’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 November 1879 ). The comment that …
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: 11 hits
- … (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material was …
- … the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 …
- … was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though containing …
- … print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Darwin's …
- … Review & in the same type’ ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). George’s letter …
- … he finally wrote a polite, very formal letter to Mivart on 12 January 1875 , refusing to hold any …
- … & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ). More …
- … vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ), but to her …
- … mechanism that Darwin agreed with ( letter to F. J. Cohn, 12 October 1874 ). Darwin’s American …
- … bank with enormous tips to his ears ( letter from Asa Gray, 12 May 1874 ). The Manchester …
- … excellent, & as clear as light’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 12 August [1874] ). Hooker …
1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…
Matches: 1 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
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: 6 hits
- … made a small omission ’. Stephen’s reply on 12 January was flattering, reassuring, and …
- … books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 May he described …
- … Darwin had difficulty in obtaining mature plants. On 12 April, he reported to Müller , ‘I have …
- … to make me happy & contented,’ he told Wallace on 12 July , ‘but life has become very …
- … fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and 12 August 1881 ). Darwin may have …
- … else’s judgment on the subject ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 July 1881 ). However, some requests …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 3 hits
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: 6 hits
- … Hooker: ‘he is no common man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ). Two sexual …
- … of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ): ‘my notions on …
- … least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ), and experimenting to …
- … passed so miserable a nine months’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 12 September [1862] ). A family …
- … ‘Botany is a new subject to me’ ( letter to John Scott, 12 November [1862] ), but, impressed by …
- … into Tyndall’s ears’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10–12 November [1862] ). Another of Darwin’s …
German and Dutch photograph albums
Summary
Darwin Day 2018: To celebrate Darwin's 209th birthday, we present two lavishly produced albums of portrait photographs which Darwin received from continental admirers 141 years ago. These unusual gifts from Germany and the Netherlands are made…
Matches: 1 hits
- … their generous sympathy. ( Letter to A. A. van Bemmelen, 12 February 1877 ) View the …
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: 5 hits
- … than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt so angry …
- … from his family, he sent a curt note to Mivart on 12 January , breaking off all future …
- … of a bill that was presented to the House of Commons on 12 May, one week after a rival bill based on …
- … The author, Fritz Schultze, contacted Darwin himself on 12 June , describing the aims of his book …
- … scientific Socy. has done in my time,’ he told Hooker on 12 December . ‘I wish that I knew what …
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 3 hits
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Rubiaceae with enclosures containing bud samples, 12 May 1878 G. H. Darwin's …
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…
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…
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
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: 3 hits
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin & Glen Roy
Summary
Although Darwin was best known for his geological work in South America and other remote Beagle destinations, he made one noteworthy attempt to explain a puzzling feature of British geology. In 1838, two years after returning from the voyage, he travelled…
