To ? 12 February [1870–82]
Summary
Send information about the bust of himself by Thomas Woolner and suggests applying to the sculptor himself about a cast.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Unidentified |
Date: | 12 Feb [1870-82] |
Classmark: | Erbengemeinschaft Alberts (private collection) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6611F |
Matches: 15 hits
- … To ? 12 February [1870–82] …
- … Erbengemeinschaft Alberts (private collection) Charles Robert Darwin 12 Feb …
- … 1870 12 Feb …
- … 1871 12 Feb …
- … 1872 12 Feb …
- … 1873 12 Feb …
- … 1874 12 Feb …
- … 1875 12 Feb …
- … 1876 12 Feb …
- … 1877 12 Feb …
- … 1878 12 Feb …
- … 1879 12 Feb …
- … 1880 12 Feb …
- … 1881 12 Feb 1882 Down Unidentified …
- … Down. | Beckenham. Feb 12 Dear Sir, I regret that I cannot give you much assistance, …
From Jacob Heinrich Schmick 12 November 1870
Summary
Sends CD two books outlining a new geological theory. Believes his theory explains the discontinuities in the fossil record.
Author: | Jacob Heinrich Schmick |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 Nov 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 177: 55 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7368 |
From Francis Galton 12 May 1870
Author: | Francis Galton |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 May 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 105: A17–18 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7185 |
To J. D. Hooker 12 July [1870]
Summary
Has not heard of Curtis on Dionaea.
Duke of Argyll is clever, but it is a sin to speak of a real old Duke as a "little beggar".
"My theology is a simple muddle: I cannot look at the Universe as the result of blind chance, yet I can see no evidence of beneficent Design."
On spontaneous generation and Bastian.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 12 July [1870] |
Classmark: | DAR 94: 179–180 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7273 |
From Albert Günther 12 April 1870
Author: | Albrecht Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (Albert) Günther |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 Apr 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 165: 245 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7164 |
From J. D. Hooker 12 October 1870
Summary
Bentham has translated Miquel’s Sumatran supplement to his Flora van Nederlandsch Indie. It should be published. What does CD think is best vehicle? Nature is wretched and too ephemeral. What about Popular Science Review?
Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 Oct 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 103: 60 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7343 |
From V. O. Kovalevsky 12 December [1870]
Summary
Progress on his Russian translation of Descent.
Alexander Kovalevsky is at Tor in Sinai, where C. G. Ehrenberg was in 1827.
Has CD seen Ernst Haeckel’s new book [Biologische Studien (1870–7)]?
Author: | Vladimir Onufrievich Kovalevsky (Владимир Онуфриевич Ковалевский) |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 Dec [1870] |
Classmark: | DAR 169: 68 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7389 |
To Fritz Müller 12 May 1870
Summary
Crossing experiments and self-sterility [in Eschscholzia].
Pangenesis.
Hermann Müller on insect adaptations for fertilisation of flowers.
CD working on book on man and sexual selection.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) Müller |
Date: | 12 May 1870 |
Classmark: | The British Library (Loan MS 10 no 32) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7184 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To Fritz Müller 12 May 1870 …
- … Loan MS 10 no 32) Charles Robert Darwin Down 12 May 1870 Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) …
- … April 1870 (see letter from Albert Günther, 12 April 1870 ). CD refers to Descent , which …
- … Down Beckenham | Kent May 12. 1870 My dear Sir I thank you for your two letters of Dec …
From Worthington George Smith 4 November 1870
Summary
Describes his children, who all seem to have inherited both dark hairs from their mother and light hairs from WGS with the latter greatly outnumbering the former.
Author: | Worthington George Smith |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 4 Nov 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 177: 200 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7358 |
From G. H. Darwin [20 April 1870]
Author: | George Howard Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [20 Apr 1870] |
Classmark: | DAR 210.2: 12 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7046 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … DAR 210.2: 12 George Howard Darwin New University Club [20 Apr 1870] Charles Robert Darwin …
From Francis Galton 31 March 1870
Author: | Francis Galton |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 31 Mar 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 105: 11–12 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7156 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … DAR 105: 11–12 Francis Galton London, Rutland Gate, 42 31 Mar 1870 Charles Robert Darwin …
From Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet 15 December 1870
Summary
CD elected Associate Member of the Royal Belgian Academy.
Author: | Lambert Adolphe Jacques (Adolphe) Quetelet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 15 Dec 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 175: 12 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7390 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … DAR 175: 12 Lambert Adolphe Jacques (Adolphe) Quetelet Brussels 15 Dec 1870 Charles Robert …
To H. H. Vivian 11 May [1870]
Summary
Thanks for HHV’s interest in the census [CD’s plan to add questions on consanguineous marriage to the census] on which CD hopes to persuade Sir J. Lubbock to speak.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Henry Hussey Vivian, 1st baronet |
Date: | 11 May [1870] |
Classmark: | Invercargill City Libraries and Archives (Alex Robertson Collection, vol. 12: A0444 S12450012) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7183 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Archives (Alex Robertson Collection, vol. 12: A0444 S12450012) Charles Robert Darwin Down …
To Mr Dorrell 9 August 1870
Summary
Sends instructions to Messrs Clowes concerning typesetting and printing of proof-sheets of Descent.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Mr. Dorrell; William Clowes & Sons |
Date: | 9 Aug 1870 |
Classmark: | The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature. |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7298 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … numbering of chapters over the two volumes and the second volume began with chapter 12. …
To A. R. Wallace 7 March [1870?]
Summary
Would like to call at 10 o’clock on Wednesday morning.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
Date: | 7 Mar [1870?] |
Classmark: | David Schulson (dealer) (Catalogue 46, June 1988) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7127A |
Matches: 1 hit
- … the fact that CD was in London from 5 to 12 March 1870 ( Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)). …
From Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke 30 November 1870
Summary
Encloses a few answers to CD’s queries on expression. Continues to observe the expressions and habits of the Malays, Dyaks, and Saribus tribes [See Expression, pp. 21, 209].
Author: | Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 30 Nov 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 160: 322, 322/1 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7386 |
From Hermann Müller 8 March 1870
Summary
HM intends studying bees to find evidence supporting CD’s theories. His work has shown him there are problems in separating species from varieties, and has also revealed many surprising instances of variation in habits.
Author: | Heinrich Ludwig Hermann (Hermann) Müller |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 8 Mar 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 171: 296 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7130 |
To J. D. Hooker 14 October [1870]
Summary
Does not think so poorly of Nature as JDH does, by any means; fears Popular Science Review is rather ephemeral but more durable than Nature.
The case of the charlock.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 14 Oct [1870] |
Classmark: | DAR 94: 184–5 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7344 |
To John Murray [after 1 July 1870]
Summary
Wants to keep "The origin of man" as first part of title of book.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Murray; John Murray |
Date: | [after 1 July 1870] |
Classmark: | DAR 143: 273 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7050 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … in January 1871 ( Correspondence vol. 19, letter to Robert Cooke, 12 January [1871] ). …
From T. H. Farrer 5 June 1870
Author: | Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st baronet and 1st Baron Farrer |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 5 June 1870 |
Classmark: | DAR 164: 64 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7219 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … February 1870 , and letter to Fritz Müller, 12 May 1870 ). On Farrer’s notions about the …
letter | (62) |
Darwin, C. R. | (24) |
Hooker, J. D. | (5) |
Galton, Francis | (4) |
Darwin, G. H. | (2) |
Delpino, Federico | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (35) |
Hooker, J. D. | (5) |
Kölliker, R. A. von | (2) |
Murray, John (b) | (2) |
Bartlett, A. D. | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (59) |
Hooker, J. D. | (10) |
Galton, Francis | (4) |
Darwin, G. H. | (2) |
Delpino, Federico | (2) |

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…