From J. L. H. Down 20 December 1873
Summary
Describes an ear from a microcephalous idiot, which does not lend support to Ludwig Mayer’s view [that points on ears are mere variations; see Descent, 2d ed., pp. 15–16].
Is working on involution rather than evolution, with results confirming CD’s teaching.
| Author: | John Langdon Haydon Down |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Dec 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 87: 61–2 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9188 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Welbeck Street, | Cavendish Square. W. 20. 12. 73 Dear Sir, So far as I can judge from the …
To George Cupples 7 June [1873]
Summary
Thanks for report on J. V. Carus’ lecture.
Glad to hear suspicion about J. H. Stirling groundless.
CD has not seen R. W. Emerson. In last two or three years has seen several Yankees. Saw a good deal of the Nortons [Charles Eliot and Susan Ridley Sedgwick].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Cupples |
| Date: | 7 June [1873] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.428) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8936 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … III and Caroline Sarah Wedgwood , from 4 to 12 June (‘Journal’ (Appendix II)). CD refers …
To T. H. Farrer 10 August [1873]
Summary
Asks THF to examine old flowers of Coronilla for holes bored by bees.
Is investigating whether drops of water injure leaves.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st baronet and 1st Baron Farrer |
| Date: | 10 Aug [1873] |
| Classmark: | Linnean Society of London (LS Ms 299/20) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9003 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … letter and the letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 August 1873 . Farrer was investigating the …
To J. D. Hooker [before 20 October 1873?]
Summary
Lists plants in which he is interested, including Neptunia and Mimosa species.
Do any strictly tropical plants have glaucous leaves?
Asks for observations on irritable plants.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [before 20 Oct 1873?] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (JDH/3/6 Insectivorous plants 1873-8 f.39b) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9107 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Correspondence vol. 21, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 September [1873] ). CD discussed the …
From Albert Günther 11 June 1873
Summary
Apologises for having given CD some unreliable information.
| Author: | Albrecht Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (Albert) Günther |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 11 June 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 254 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8942 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … to lunch ( letter to Albert Günther, 12 April [1873] ). Günther was assistant keeper at …
From J. D. Hooker [1 November 1873]
Summary
Sends leaves and names by post.
Is writing everywhere for Drosophyllum.
Is deeply interested in Desmodium.
Had no intention of publishing on Nepenthes, the experiments were solely for CD’s "eating". Will continue with egg and raw meat experiments. Asks for advice on how to prove fluid is secreted by the glands.
Searles Wood’s letter is confused and would deny atavism if his principles were accepted.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [1 Nov 1873] |
| Classmark: | DAR 103: 178–80, DAR 209.12: 3 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9123 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … celastrifolia 8. a. verniciflua var latifolia? 12 a. pycnantha 13 a. cultriformis 19 …
From S. J. Pozzi 11 May 1873
Summary
French translation of Expression [1874].
| Author: | Samuel Jean Pozzi |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 11 May 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 174: 60 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8908 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … letter in its original French, see pp. 211–12. Pozzi had been proposed as the translator …
To John Downing 20 October [1873]
Summary
Gratified that a man of JD’s experience agrees with him.
Would enjoy seeing him at Down but it could only be for a half-hour’s talk at most, because of his health.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Downing |
| Date: | 20 Oct [1873] |
| Classmark: | DAR 143: 418 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9104 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … is my best time in the day. We will lunch at 12 o 45’ & then you can leave at 1 o 20’ for …
From W. F. Collier 7 March 1873
Summary
Opposes all corporal punishment. Pleased CD agrees with his pamphlet.
| Author: | Collier, W. F. |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Mar 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 211 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8801 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 15, Frederick, aged 13, and George, aged 12. Henry William Collier had died at the age of …
From M. D. Conway 10 September [1873]
Summary
Comparative study of "ethnical scriptures" shows that natural selection has operated in the evolution of religion.
| Author: | Moncure Daniel Conway |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Sept [1873] |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 220 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9049 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … to Conway (see letter to M. D. Conway, 12 September [1873] ); it was probably section …
From J. E. Boehm 4 July 1873
Summary
Reports cases from his family of inheritance of turning in sleep, sleep-walking at full moon, and eyes giving out red light at early age.
| Author: | Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 4 July 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 235 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8964 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … d
〉 I observed that my eldest daughter (now 12 years old) was some years ago with her〈 …
To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 4 December 1873
Summary
Wishes to identify a species of Cassia whose movements interest him.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
| Date: | 4 Dec 1873 |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Thiselton-Dyer, W. T., Letters from Charles Darwin 1873–81: 1–2) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9171 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … The whole leaf is also raised up about 12 o . When I saw that it possessed such complex …
To A. G. Dew-Smith 19 October [1873]
Summary
Sends Dionaea plant for experiment involving temperature.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Albert George Dew-Smith |
| Date: | 19 Oct [1873] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.434) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9101 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … on no object it does not generally open for 12 o to 24 o . If it closes over a large fly …
To J. S. Burdon Sanderson 9 September [1873]
Summary
Pleased JSBS has decided to work on Drosera; sends plants. Does not know whether thermo-electric pile could detect temperature change when leaves close.
CD’s experiment with very weak hydrochloric acid repeated with success: the plants digest albumen more quickly.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Scott Burdon Sanderson, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 9 Sept [1873] |
| Classmark: | University of British Columbia Library, Rare Books and Special Collections (Darwin - Burdon Sanderson letters RBSC-ARC-1731-1-14) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9047 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … temp. , I sh d expect it w d occur some 8 to 12 or 24 hrs after the leaf has been given a …
From Friedrich Hildebrand 23 May 1873
Summary
Sends results of his observations of cross- and self-fertilisation of Hypecoum grandiflorum and Eschscholzia californica [see Cross and self-fertilisation, pp. 331–2].
| Author: | Friedrich Hermann Gustav (Friedrich) Hildebrand |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 23 May 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 76: B179–80 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8920 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 17, 9, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 5, 11, 9, 0, 1, 0, 2, 12, 9, 7, 10, 27 66 n. of s. after fert. …
From T. W. Higginson 30 March 1873
Summary
Pleased CD enjoyed his book [Outdoor papers (1871)].
Rejoices at CD’s kindly feelings toward the coloured race.
The Index is in financial trouble due to F. E. Abbot’s unworldliness.
Agassiz is setting up a summer school for natural history off the Massachusetts coast. His pupils develop more liberal scientific opinions than Agassiz’s.
Encloses some notes on expression.
| Author: | Thomas Wentworth Higginson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 30 Mar 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 198 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8830 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Correspondence vol. 19, letter from Asa Gray, 12 October 1871 ). In Expression , pp. 6– …
From W. T. Thiselton-Dyer [after 20 October 1873?]
Summary
Composition of the residue left on evaporation of the fluid in Nepenthes.
| Author: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 20 Oct 1873?] |
| Classmark: | DAR 60.2: 58 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9792 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … fluid in the ascidia of Nepenthes . [Read 12 July 1849. ] Transactions and Proceedings of …
From Gerard Krefft 8 August 1873
Summary
Sends paper to be published in Sydney Mail on primitive man.
Sends lists of earth [castings] made by worms [see Earthworms, p. 127],
and a catalogue of Australian Lepidoptera.
| Author: | Johann Louis Gerard (Gerard) Krefft |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 8 Aug 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 169: 119 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9002 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 2d ed. , pp. 432–6). In his letter of 12 July [1873] , CD had asked for information about …
From Henry Reeks 3 March 1873
Summary
Praise for and detailed comments on Expression.
Two cases of coloration in animals – one from sexual selection, the other helping to procure prey [see Descent, 2d ed., pp. 542–3].
| Author: | Henry Stephen (Henry) Reeks |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Mar 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 88: 105 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8703 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … London: Archibald Constable and Company. 1900–12. ‘Recollections’: Recollections of the …
From J. D. Hooker 25 October 1873
Summary
Describes his experiments on Nepenthes; finds action analogous to that in Drosera.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 25 Oct 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 103: 175 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9113 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … fluid in the ascidia of Nepenthes . [Read 12 July 1849. ] Transactions and Proceedings of …
| letter | (107) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (39) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (9) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (4) |
| Moggridge, J. T. | (4) |
| Müller, Hermann | (4) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (66) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (7) |
| Burdon Sanderson, J. S. | (5) |
| Farrer, T. H. | (4) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (105) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (16) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (6) |
| Farrer, T. H. | (6) |
| Burdon Sanderson, J. S. | (5) |
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…
