To Alexander Burns Usborne [c. 1–5 September 1835]
Summary
Memorandum of geological instructions to guide ABU during a voyage of [Constitucion] to survey the coast of Peru.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Alexander Burns Usborne |
Date: | [c. 1–5 Sept 1835] |
Classmark: | DAR 207: 14 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-285 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. South America : Geological observations …
From Catherine Darwin 30 October 1835
Summary
Erasmus has received CD’s journal and two boxes; six large boxes are at Plymouth. Had feared them lost in wreck of Challenger.
News of family and friends.
Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 30 Oct 1835 |
Classmark: | DAR 97 (ser. 2): 22–3 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-287 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … and 1836. [Edited by Robert FitzRoy. ] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …
To Susan Darwin 23 April 1835
Summary
His trip across the Andes and back was his most successful excursion: can clearly demonstate that the western part of the double line of mountains is much older, with fossil shells at 12000ft; the eastern line may be as modern as the Patagonian plains. If proved, this is an important fact in the theory of the formation of the world. Has found petrified trees.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
Date: | 23 Apr 1835 |
Classmark: | DAR 223 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-275 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … and 1836. [Edited by Robert FitzRoy. ] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …
To Susan Darwin 3 [September] 1835
Summary
Living quietly on the ship and eating good food has been good for him. He longs for home. Peru is in a miserable state.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
Date: | 3 [Sept] 1835 |
Classmark: | DAR 223 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-286 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. Voyage : Charles Darwin and the voyage of …
To J. S. Henslow 18 April 1835
Summary
Has just returned from crossing the Cordilleras. Geological observations of formations representing great epochs of violence which broke up the earth’s crust. Shells at over 12000 feet. Silicified trees in sandstone formations at great heights. Red snow and viviparous lizards. Botanical specimens.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
Date: | 18 Apr 1835 |
Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-274 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. Reptiles : Reptiles. Pt 5 of The zoology …
From R. H. Corfield 26–7 June 1835
Summary
Greatly enjoyed CD’s company; has worried about his health. Adds some European and English news.
Author: | Richard Henry Corfield |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 26 & 27 June 1835 |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 130 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-278 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … and 1836. [Edited by Robert FitzRoy. ] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …
From Charles D. Douglas 24 February 1835
Summary
Sends CD large beetles from Chiloé.
Describes an earthquake at Caucague.
Gives exact location and measurements of two blocks of granite; has seen and heard of others; will report if he surveys the Potrero on Chiloé.
Author: | Charles D. Douglas |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 24 Feb 1835 |
Classmark: | DAR 35.1: 329–30 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-269 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … and 1836. [Edited by Robert FitzRoy. ] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …
letter | (7) |
Darwin, C. R. | (4) |
Corfield, R. H. | (1) |
Darwin, Catherine | (1) |
Douglas, C. D. | (1) |
Langton, Catherine | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (3) |
Darwin, S. E. | (2) |
Henslow, J. S. | (1) |
Usborne, A. B. | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
Darwin, S. E. | (2) |
Corfield, R. H. | (1) |
Darwin, Catherine | (1) |
Douglas, C. D. | (1) |

Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 21 hits
- … to read in Notebook C ( Notebooks , pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in …
- … in the Royal Society of London (Royal Society of London 1839) has been heavily marked, and quite a …
- … Pierquin, published in Paris (in 2 vols.), so long ago as 1839 4 [Pierquin de Gembloux 1839]. …
- … 1814–29] D r Royle on Himmalaya types [Royle 1839] (read) Smellie Philosophy of …
- … 12 by Owen in Encyclop. of Anat. & Physiology [R. Owen 1839] Dampier probably worth …
- … on subjects of science connected with Nat. Theol: [Brougham 1839] on instinct & animal …
- … 1808] Brit. & Foreign Medical Rev. N o 14. Ap 1839 [Anon. 1839b] Rev. on Walker on …
- … Smart 17 Beginning of a New School of metaphysic. [Smart 1839] about connection of language & …
- … Babbington on Flora of Channel Isl d . [Babington 1839] says he has remarks on affinities of …
- … 1816 [Gallesio 1816]— quoted by D r . Holland [Holland 1839] (p. 27) as good— Decandoelle …
- … [Thacker 1834–5] p. 291 Athenæum 1839. p. 546— M r Conrad has published …
- … Arboretum [Loudon 1838] in Edinburgh Review July 1839 [Anon. 1839a]— there are pencil remarks on it. …
- … would contain facts for me [DAR *119: 9v.] 1839. Decemb. Advertised . …
- … Dog with illustrations of about 100 varieties [?C. H. Smith 1839–40] 24 Flourens “Resume …
- … publishing Travels into interior of N. America [Wied-Neuwied 1839–41]— in Geograph Soc …
- … 1840. Octob & Jan. Papers on Instinct by Flourens [Flourens 1839] (read) Index of Clarkes …
- … S. Bellamy on Nat. Hist. of S. Devonshire [Bellamy 1839] chiefly on distribution of forms said to be …
- … at end of Catalogue of Royal Soc. [Royal Society of London 1839]— Meckel’s Anatomy. French …
- … ed. 1834] read Vol. (2 d ) on Dogs [C. H. Smith 1839–40] /on Ruminants [Jardine ed. 1835–6] …
- … on the Obligations of man to the inferior animals’ [Youatt 1839] discusses their minds. …
- … by Hooker . [A. P. de Candolle 1839–40] Jussieus …

Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 5 hits
- … they show for one another’s sensibilities. Early in 1839 the couple set up house in London and at …
- … and set in type by November 1837, though not published until 1839, when it appeared as the third …
- … of species” ( Letter to J. S. Henslow, [November 1839] ). note book, after note …
- … Marriage Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in January 1839. His hopes and fears about married life …
- … to act’ ( Letter from Emma Darwin, [ c. February 1839] ). These are not matters that she would …

Science: A Man’s World?
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 489 - Darwin to Wedgwood, E., [20 January 1839] Written shortly before their …

Natural Science and Femininity
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 542 - Darwin to Wedgwood, C. S., [27 October 1839] Darwin details his typical …

Darwin’s observations on his children
Summary
Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children,[1] began the research that culminated in his book The Expression of the emotions in man and Animals, published in 1872, and his article ‘A biographical sketch of an infant’, published in…
Matches: 4 hits
- … races, lunatics, the blind, and animals. And as early as 1839 Darwin had begun to collect …
- … development from the day of his birth, 27 December 1839, until September 1844. Parallels in the …
- … 1 [9] W. Erasmus. Darwin born. Dec. 27 th . 1839.—[10] During first week. yawned, streatched …
- … vol. 2, letter from Emma Wedgwood, [23 January 1839] . [7] Correspondence vol. 2, …

The evolution of honeycomb
Summary
Darwin recognised that explaining the evolution of the honey-bee’s comb-building abilities was essential if his theory of natural selection was to be taken seriously, and in the 1850s he carried out his own experiments at his home at Down House in Kent,…
Matches: 3 hits
- … on subjects connected with natural theology (1839), Brougham commented that bees acted with a …
- … suppose when we recollect who is her teacher’ (Brougham 1839, 1: 35, 77). William Kirby wrote of the …
- … no bee in the world ever made cylindrical cells (Brougham 1839, 1: 32). However, Darwin knew that …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. R., [c. Feb 1839] Emma discusses Darwin’s religious …

Journal of researches
Summary
The Journal of researches, Darwin’s account of his travels round the world in H.M.S. Beagle, was his first published book. The circumstances of its publication were not shaped by Darwin, however, but by the Beagle’s captain, Robert FitzRoy, who, according…
Matches: 3 hits

York Minster (Elleparu)
Summary
York Minster was known as Elleparu among the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. He was captured by FitzRoy in 1830 after one the small boats used for surveying the narrow inlets of the coast of Tierra del Fuego had been…
Matches: 1 hits
- … FitzRoy.] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …

Bibliography of Darwin’s geological publications
Summary
This list includes papers read by Darwin to the Geological Society of London, his books on the geology of the Beagle voyage, and other publications on geological topics. Author-date citations refer to entries in the Darwin Correspondence Project’s…

Fuegia Basket (Yokcushlu)
Summary
Fuegia Basket was known as Yokcushlu among the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. She was one of the hostages seized by Robert FitzRoy, after the small boat used for surveying the narrow inlets of the coast of Tierra del…
Matches: 1 hits
- … FitzRoy.] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …

Jemmy Button (Orundellico)
Summary
Jemmy Button was known as Orundellico among the Yahgan, or canoe people of the southern part of Tierra del Fuego. He was the fourth hostage taken by FitzRoy in 1830 following the theft of the small surveying boat. This fourteen-year old boy was called…
Matches: 1 hits
- … FitzRoy.] 3 vols. and appendix. London: Henry Colburn. 1839. …

Darwin in letters, 1821-1836: Childhood to the Beagle voyage
Summary
Darwin's first known letters were written when he was twelve. They continue through school-days at Shrewsbury, two years as a medical student at Edinburgh University, the undergraduate years at Cambridge, and the of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … until FitzRoy completed his volume of the Narrative in 1839. London scientific society …
William Darwin born
Summary
The Darwins' first child, William Erasmus Darwin, is born. His father immediately starts to record observations on his behaviour and development. Years later these are published in the journal Mind.
Matches: 1 hits
- … The Darwins' first child, William Erasmus Darwin, is born. His father immediately starts to …

Syms Covington
Summary
When Charles Darwin embarked on the Beagle in 1831 Syms Covington was ‘fiddler & boy to Poop-cabin’. Covington died in 1861 reportedly 47 years old, so he would have been 17; although if he was the Simon Covington born in Bedford on 30 January 1809,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … employ, paying him extra for secretarial duties. In January 1839 CD married his cousin, Emma …

Journal of Researches published
Summary
Darwin's account of the Beagle voyage, based on his personal diaries, is published and is a great success. It appeared as the third volume of the Narrative of the surveying voyage of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle, with the title Journal and remarks but…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin's account of the Beagle voyage, based on his personal diaries, is published and is a …

Darwin and Fatherhood
Summary
Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten children. It is often assumed that Darwin was an exceptional Victorian father. But how extraordinary was he? The Correspondence Project allows an unusually…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten …
Darwin's works in letters
Summary
To celebrate Darwin's 210th birthday, we present a new section on Darwin's works in letters, featuring Journal of researches, Living and fossil cirripedia, Descent of man, and Expression of emotions. And here is a song with lyrics based on…
Matches: 1 hits
- … the hidden life of: Journal of researches (1839; better known as The voyage of the …

Marriage
Summary
Charles Darwin and Emma Wedgwood are married. They were first cousins. Darwin had proposed on 11 November 1838, describing it as the 'day of days!'.
Matches: 1 hits
- … Charles Darwin and Emma Wedgwood are married. They were first cousins. Darwin had proposed on 11 …

Darwin on marriage
Summary
On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written …