From E. A. Darwin 12 November [1860–8]
Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 Nov [1860-8] |
Classmark: | DAR 105: B11 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4340 |
Matches: 11 hits
- … From E. A. Darwin 12 November [1860–8] …
- … DAR 105: B11 Erasmus Alvey Darwin London, Queen Anne St, 6 12 Nov …
- … 1860 12 Nov …
- … 1861 12 Nov …
- … 1862 12 Nov …
- … 1863 12 Nov …
- … 1864 12 Nov …
- … 1865 12 Nov …
- … 1866 12 Nov …
- … 1867 12 Nov 1868 Charles Robert Darwin …
- … 6. Queen Anne St 12 Nov Dear Charles. I send you the Tithes. Langton tells me he has …
To Charles Lyell 12 [March 1860]
Summary
Discusses the intellectual development of the ancient Greeks as an objection to evolution and gives his reply.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | 12 [Mar 1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.203) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5032 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To Charles Lyell 12 [March 1860] …
- … Mss.B.D25.203) Charles Robert Darwin Down 12 [Mar 1860] Charles Lyell, 1st baronet …
- … Elizabeth Lyell had visited Down from 9 to 12 March 1860 ( Emma Darwin’s diary). Probably …
- … Down 12 th My dear Lyell Thinking over what we talked about the high state of Intellectual …
To Daniel Oliver 12 [October 1860]
Summary
Requests DO apply carbonate of ammonia to sensitive hair of Dionaea and measure reaction time. Wants to compare Drosera and Dionaea.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
Date: | 12 [Oct 1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 261.10: 16 (EH 88206000) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2946 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To Daniel Oliver 12 [October 1860] …
- … DAR 261.10: 16 (EH 88206000) Charles Robert Darwin Eastbourne 12 [Oct 1860] Daniel Oliver …
- … 15 Marine Parade | Eastbourne 12 th My dear Sir The Drosera & leaves of Dionæa. arrived …
- … 10 October 1860] . There is a note dated 12 October 1860 (headed ‘Dionæa from Kew’) in DAR …
To John Murray 12 October [1860]
Summary
Lyell tells CD Origin still sells "pretty well", which pleases and surprises him. If a new edition should be called for, he has a good many corrections and a historical preface for it.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Murray |
Date: | 12 Oct [1860] |
Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms.42152 ff.82–83) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2947 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To John Murray 12 October [1860] …
- … Archive) (Ms.42152 ff.82–83) Charles Robert Darwin Eastbourne 12 Oct [1860] John Murray …
- … 15 Marine Parade | Eastbourne Oct 12 th My dear Sir I enclose a draft for the amount of …
- … in CD’s Account book (Down House MS) on 12 October 1860. The entry reads: ‘Murray for …
To J. D. Hooker 12 March [1860]
Summary
Lyell and CD would urge JDH to make his essays into a book, but see he has embarked on a huge project with G. Bentham [Genera plantarum, 3 vols. (1862–83)].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 12 Mar [1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 46 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2728 |
Matches: 4 hits
To Hugh Falconer 12 July [1860]
Summary
Eldest daughter [Henrietta] very ill.
CD enjoys Owen’s having had "a good setting down".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Hugh Falconer |
Date: | 12 July [1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 144 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2865 |
To Charles Lyell 12 [February 1860]
Summary
Encloses letters from H. G. Bronn, Asa Gray, and C. J. F. Bunbury, concerning the Origin.
Will send review by Gray and a notice by Bronn.
Says Bronn will superintend the German translation.
Comments on lecture by Huxley [at Royal Institution, 10 Feb 1860, Not. Proc. R. Inst. G. B. 3 (1858–62): 195–200]. Has remonstrated with him for saying sterility is "a universal and infallible criterion of species".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | 12 [Feb 1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.196) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2693 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To Charles Lyell 12 [February 1860] …
- … Mss.B.D25.196) Charles Robert Darwin Down 12 [Feb 1860] Charles Lyell, 1st baronet …
- … of their origin. The Lyells visited Down from 9 to 12 March 1860 ( Emma Darwin’s diary). …
- … Down Bromley Kent 12 th My dear Lyell I send Bronn’s letter with translation of latter …
To J. D. Hooker 12 July [1860]
Summary
Floral anatomy; pistil curvature and pistil movement. CD’s rule that bent pistils occur in "gangway" into nectaries.
The book JDH is planning, which he and CD discussed at Kew, should deal with plant reproduction.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 12 July [1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 67 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2864 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To J. D. Hooker 12 July [1860] …
- … 67 Charles Robert Darwin Wedgwood, S. E. (b) Hartfield 12 July [1860] Joseph Dalton Hooker …
- … letters to J. D. Hooker, 8 February [1860] , 14 February [1860] , and 12 March [1860] . …
- … s | Hartfield | Tonbridge Wells July 12 th My dear Hooker Many thanks for newspaper. I …
To G. V. Reed 12 November [1860]
Summary
The family was detained at Eastbourne by a setback in Henrietta’s health.
Will send Leonard for tutoring on Thursday morning. Frank is doing capitally at school.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | George Varenne Reed |
Date: | 12 Nov [1860] |
Classmark: | Buckinghamshire Record Office (D 22/39/5) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2982 |
To Joseph Prestwich 12 March [1860]
Summary
Asks if JP can send criticism of Origin.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Prestwich |
Date: | 12 Mar [1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 147 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2729 |
From John Cattell 12 May 1860
Summary
Cannot provide plants CD requested.
Has sowed several kinds of lettuce seed near each other and has never observed them to cross naturally [see Cross and self-fertilisation, p. 173 n.].
Author: | John Cattell |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 May 1860 |
Classmark: | DAR 77: 171–2a |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2796 |
To Daniel Oliver 12 [October 1860]
Summary
Wants to amend request [see 2946] if DO wants to try carbonate of ammonia experiment. Put third drop on midrib of leaf [of Dionaea] or inside upper side.
Sorry DO already has Origin. Would he like Journal of Travels [Journal of researches]?
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
Date: | 12 [Oct 1860] |
Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (Tipped into Journal of researches (1860) REF COLLECTION K SMITH WOODWARD DAR) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2946A |
To J. D. Hooker 12 [June 1860]
Summary
Progress of [Thomas?] Thomson and G. H. K. Thwaites on accepting mutability.
Bee orchid pollination.
JDH has written to CD on homologies of stigma in Goodeniaceae.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 12 [June 1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 62 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2830 |
To Edward Cresy 12 December [1860]
Summary
Asks him to thank A. S. Taylor for note.
Describes experiments on Drosera.
Discusses reviews of the Origin. By far the best is by Asa Gray.
Discusses plans for new edition of Origin.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Edward Cresy, Jr |
Date: | 12 Dec [1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 143 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3021 |
To Edward Cresy [12 November 1860]
Summary
Thanks for information about the weight of water.
Describes experiments on Drosera.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Edward Cresy, Jr |
Date: | [12 Nov 1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 143 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2620 |
To Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 12 January [1860]
Summary
Very pleased with IGStH’s approval [of Origin]. Will be proud to place IGStH’s Résumé des lecons sur la question de l’espèce (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1851) alongside his other works in his library.
Grateful for his offer to look over the difficult passages in Origin for a translator.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire |
Date: | 12 Jan [1860] |
Classmark: | Archives de l’Académie des sciences, Paris (63 J Fonds Gabriel Bertrand) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2649F |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 12 January [1860] …
- … Gabriel Bertrand) Charles Robert Darwin Down 12 Jan [1860] Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire …
- … Down Bromley Kent Jan. 12 th Sir I thank you sincerely for the honour of your kind letter. …
- … Revue et magasin de zoologie 2d ser. 3: 12–20. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Isidore. 1854–62. …
To Charles Lyell 12 September [1860]
Summary
Additional response, at length, to CL’s criticisms of natural selection. Comments on failure of rodents to develop in Australia. Argues that most species become extinct and do not develop. Discusses variability, especially variability of rudimentary organs. Extinction among ammonites. Survival of Ornithorhynchus. Descent of marsupials and placentals. Emphasises embryological argument for descent of species.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | 12 Sept [1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.226) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2915 |
To George Charles Wallich 12 December [1860]
Summary
Discusses GCW’s Notes on the presence of animal life at vast depths [1860]. Asks for information on the decay of exuviae of organisms at bottom of sea. Has GCW reason to believe extensive areas of sea-bottom are bare? Is he sure rounded pebbles were not dropped by icebergs? Curious that water at such depths retains oxygen.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | George Charles Wallich |
Date: | 12 Dec [1860] |
Classmark: | Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums (subsequently on sale at Nate D. Sanders (dealer) 25 February 2016) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3020 |
To Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 28 January [1860]
Summary
The pamphlet on the origin or variation of species sent by IGS-H has not arrived. CD is eager to see it and requests precise reference. ["Cours de zoologie (mammifères et oiseaux), fait au Muséum d’histoire naturelle, en 1850", Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée 2d ser. 3: 12–20.]
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire |
Date: | 28 Jan [1860] |
Classmark: | Uppsala University Library: Manuscripts and Music (Waller Ms gb-00521) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2665A |
From John Cattell [after 5 May 1860]
Author: | John Cattell |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [after 5 May 1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 53.2: 167r |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9213 |
letter | (108) |
Darwin, C. R. | (77) |
Lyell, Charles | (6) |
Hooker, J. D. | (4) |
Cattell, John | (2) |
Henslow, J. S. | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (30) |
Hooker, J. D. | (20) |
Lyell, Charles | (12) |
Oliver, Daniel | (7) |
Gray, Asa | (4) |
Darwin, C. R. | (107) |
Hooker, J. D. | (24) |
Lyell, Charles | (18) |
Oliver, Daniel | (8) |
Cresy, Edward, Jr | (4) |

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…