To Charles Lyell 25 June [1856]
Summary
Criticises at length the concept of submerged continents attaching islands to the mainland in the recent period. Notes drastic alteration of geography required, the dissimilar species on opposite shores of continents, and differences between volcanic islands and mountains of mainland areas. Admits sea-bed subsidence, but not enough to engulf continents. Denies that theory can explain island flora and fauna.
Considers Edward Forbes’s idea a check on study of dissemination of species.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 25 June [1856] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.132) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1910 |
To Asa Gray 14 July [1856]
Summary
Asks whether Allegheny Mountains are sufficiently continuous so that plants could travel from north to south along them.
Hopes AG’s work on geographical distribution is progressing, as he has questions on plants common to Europe which do not range up to Arctic.
Are intermediate varieties less numerous in individuals than the varieties they connect?
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Asa Gray |
| Date: | 14 July [1856] |
| Classmark: | Archives of the New York Botanical Garden (Charles Finney Cox Collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1926 |
From H. C. Watson 5 June 1856
Summary
Answers CD’s questions about plants common to U. S. and Britain and their distribution in Europe.
Variability of agrarian weeds.
| Author: | Hewett Cottrell Watson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 June 1856 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 32 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1891 |
To J. D. Hooker 13 July [1856]
Summary
Has found no case of Huxley’s eternal hermaphrodites.
Cruelty and waste in nature.
CD does not believe in hybrids.
One proven case of multiple creations would smash CD’s theory.
Asks JDH to read MS on alpine and Arctic distribution.
Lyell’s "conversion" to mutability.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 13 July [1856] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 169 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1924 |
To J. D. Hooker 11 May [1856]
Summary
CD is unsure about JDH’s recommendation that he publish a separate "Preliminary Essay". It is unphilosophical to publish without full details.
CD will work for Huxley’s admission to Athenaeum.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 11 May [1856] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 162 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1874 |
From George Gulliver 20 January [1856]
Summary
Discusses the similarity in size, shape, and structure of the blood corpuscles of the Aves. Notes differences between the corpuscles of the domestic dog and some wild species.
| Author: | George Gulliver |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Jan [1856] |
| Classmark: | DAR (CD library – Gulliver, George 1846) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1632 |
To George Bentham 26 November [1856]
Summary
Asks GB for help in clearing up his problems about Leguminosae, in connection with his "wild bit of speculation on the crossing of plants" [see Natural selection, p. 71].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Bentham |
| Date: | 26 Nov [1856] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Bentham Correspondence, Vol. 3, Daintree–Dyer, 1830–1884, GEB/1/3: f. 684) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2003 |
To R. H. Bakewell 30 April [1856–68]
Summary
Thanks for case of inherited malconformation.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Hall Bakewell |
| Date: | 30 Apr [1856-68] |
| Classmark: | Christie’s, London (dealers) (4 June 2008) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13770F |
To T. C. Eyton 31 August [1856]
Summary
Asks whether number of incisors varies in domestic pigs. Is testing views of J. M. Bechstein.
Comments on TCE’s book [Herd book of Hereford cattle (1846–59)]. Mentions variations in the breed.
Will quote TCE on geese [Mag. Nat. Hist. 4 (1840): 90–2].
Problem of geographical distribution; his seed-salting experiments. Asks about distribution of seeds to islands. Do water-birds ever have dirty feet?
Could Eyton’s gamekeepers collect owl and hawk pellets? Asks for dace stomachs and contents.
Asks for cats’ skeletons.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Campbell Eyton |
| Date: | 31 Aug [1856] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.137) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1948 |
To J. D. Hooker 1 December [1856]
Summary
Questions JDH on separation of sexes in trees in New Zealand flora.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 1 Dec [1856] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 185 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2008 |
From Charles Lyell [1 July 1856]
Summary
To cast doubt on CD’s view that volcanic action is associated with elevation of land, CL suggests that local oscillations in strata underlying volcanoes could also explain how active volcanoes have uplifted fossil deposits of marine shells. Overall he is more inclined to believe that recent volcanoes belong to areas of subsidence rather than of elevation.
| Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [1 July 1856] |
| Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/2: 132–6) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1915A |
To C. J. F. Bunbury 21 April [1856]
Summary
CD writes on geographical distribution – "a grand game of chess with the world for a board".
Gives his hypothetical explanation why zoology of Cape [of Good Hope] is not so peculiar as its botany: it was once a group of islands – later united.
Tries hard to set forth the difficulties of his [species] theory.
Tells CJFB in confidence of his theory of the glacial epoch and its effect on plant distribution, such as identical species being found on summits of mountains in the tropics. Invites him to attack his "doctrine".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th baronet |
| Date: | 21 Apr [1856] |
| Classmark: | Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds (Bunbury Family Papers E18/700/1/9/6) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1856 |
To Leonard Horner [1856–7]
Summary
Thanks LH for memorandum [missing] by K. R. Lepsius.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Leonard Horner |
| Date: | [1856–7] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2618 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Letters from Egypt (1853). CD probably refers to Lepsius’ s great illustrated work on the monuments of ancient Egypt ( Lepsius 1849–58 ). This work was entered in CD’s list of books to be read ( Correspondence vol. 4, Appendix IV, *128: 165). From other entries in the list, it appears that CD recorded the work early in 1856 when he was reading widely in the history of domesticated animals; another entry dated January 1856 indicates that he read a review of a different work by Lepsius ( Lepsius 1842 ) …
From J. D. Dana 8 September 1856
Summary
Responds to CD’s query about the blind fauna of Mammoth Cave.
Gives information from L. Agassiz. Distribution of Crustacea, especially along southern coastlines.
| Author: | James Dwight Dana |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 8 Sept 1856 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.3: 269 (Letters), DAR 162: 38 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1951 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … letter to J. D. Dana, 14 July [1856] ( Correspondence vol. 6), CD had asked for information on the geographical distribution of northern and southern species of Crustacea. See also Origin , pp. 374–81, and Natural selection , pp. 556–7. Adam White was a naturalist employed in the zoological department of the British Museum ( DNB ). Dana refers to his Crustacea ( Dana 1852 ), volume 13 of the reports of the United States exploring expedition between 1838 and 1842. …
| letter | (14) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (10) |
| Dana, J. D. | (1) |
| Gulliver, George | (1) |
| Lyell, Charles | (1) |
| Watson, H. C. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (4) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| Bakewell, R. H. | (1) |
| Bentham, George | (1) |
| Bunbury, C. J. F. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (14) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| Lyell, Charles | (2) |
| Bakewell, R. H. | (1) |
| Bentham, George | (1) |
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 …
Natural Selection: the trouble with terminology Part I
Summary
Darwin encountered problems with the term ‘natural selection’ even before Origin appeared. Everyone from the Harvard botanist Asa Gray to his own publisher came up with objections. Broadly these divided into concerns either that its meaning simply wasn’t…
Matches: 1 hits
- … I suppose “natural selection” was bad term but to change it now, I think, would make confusion …
Darwin & coral reefs
Summary
The central idea of Darwin's theory of coral reef formation, as it was later formulated, was that the islands were formed by the upward growth of coral as the Pacific Ocean floor gradually subsided. It overturned previous ideas and would in itself…
Matches: 1 hits
- … No other work of mine was begun in so deductive a spirit as this; for the whole theory was …
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: 1 hits
- … In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to …
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: 1 hits
- … The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of …
Darwin’s Photographic Portraits
Summary
Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of photography for the study of Expression and Emotions in Man and Animal, but can be witnessed in his many photographic portraits and in the extensive portrait correspondence that…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of photography for the …
Darwin’s observations on his children
Summary
Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children, 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 Mind…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children,[1] began the research that …
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…
Matches: 1 hits
- … This list includes papers read by Darwin to the Geological Society of London, his books on the …
Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions
Summary
Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...
Matches: 1 hits
- … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, …
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: 1 hits
- … The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early …
Living and fossil cirripedia
Summary
Darwin published four volumes on barnacles, the crustacean sub-class Cirripedia, between 1851 and 1854, two on living species and two on fossil species. Written for a specialist audience, they are among the most challenging and least read of Darwin’s works…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin published four volumes on the crustacean sub-class Cirripedia between 1851 and 1854, two on …
Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but …
Before Origin: the ‘big book’
Summary
Darwin began ‘sorting notes for Species Theory’ on 9 September 1854, the very day he concluded his eight-year study of barnacles (Darwin's Journal). He had long considered the question of species. In 1842, he outlined a theory of transmutation in a…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin began ‘sorting notes for Species Theory’ on 9 September 1854, the very day he concluded his …
Darwin in letters, 1851-1855: Death of a daughter
Summary
The letters from these years reveal the main preoccupations of Darwin’s life with a new intensity. The period opens with a family tragedy in the death of Darwin’s oldest and favourite daughter, Anne, and it shows how, weary and mourning his dead child,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The letters from these years reveal the main preoccupations of Darwin’s life with a new intensity. …
Controversy
Summary
The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Disagreement & Respect | Conduct of Debate | Darwin & Wallace The best-known …
Alfred Russel Wallace
Summary
Wallace was a leading Victorian naturalist, with wide-ranging interests from biogeography and evolutionary theory to spiritualism and politics. He was born in 1823 in Usk, a small town in south-east Wales, and attended a grammar school in Hertford. At the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Wallace was a leading Victorian naturalist, with wide-ranging interests from biogeography and …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet …
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 …
About Darwin
Summary
To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But even before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was publicly known through his popular book about the voyage of the Beagle, and he was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But …
About Darwin
Summary
To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But even before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was publicly known through his popular book about the voyage of the Beagle, and he was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But …
