From Charles Lyell 25 September 1860
Summary
Returns "excellent" MS in which CD favours hybrid origin of domestic dog, which CL believes strengthens case for common progenitor of wild species.
Doubts CD’s authorities for antiquity of dingo.
Variation will raise many points for investigation.
"Leporine" hare–rabbit hybrid should be investigated.
Has re-read passages in Origin that CD suggested.
Annals of Natural History would probably reprint Gray’s review of Origin at their own expense.
CD’s thought that modern reptiles could not develop into existing Mammalia but only into another high form is a "grand notion" compatible with "the infinite capacity of the creative power".
Comments on New Guinea marsupials.
Still thinks that the Australian genera and species are so well fitted for extraordinary droughts that they would get the better of the dingo.
Suggests that once there were more races of man, though from common stock. Competition and then hybridity checked divergence.
Falconer’s views on elephant classification. CL attaches little value to Falconer’s objection that mastodons and elephants do not come in chronologically, as they should in CD’s view.
Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 25 Sept 1860 |
Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/7: 3–12) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2927A |
From Charles Lyell 30 November 1860
Summary
Satisfied that CD finds his conjectured rate of elevation and long periods of stasis reasonable, even if these periods cannot be estimated. Explaining upheaval by subterranean lava flow makes these pauses plausible. Suspects that mountainous areas move more than lowland and coastal areas. General upheavals or subsidence in Europe in glacial period are unlikely. Believes with Jamieson that there was glacial action in Scotland before its submergence and that it was equally mountainous then. Subterranean upheaval visits different countries by turn. Horizontal Silurian strata must have been submerged and upheaved. Rest has always been the general surface character. Believes, however, that the quantity of late Tertiary movement is against CD’s belief in the constancy of continents and oceans: perhaps since the Miocene period, but not since the Cretaceous.
Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 30 Nov 1860 |
Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/7: 49–57) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3001A |
From Robert Patterson 18 October 1860
Author: | Robert Patterson |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 18 Oct 1860 |
Classmark: | DAR 46.1: 89–90 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2954 |
To C. J. F. Bunbury 9 February [1860]
Summary
Responds to CJFB’s criticisms of the Origin [see 2669].
If CD’s theory is a satisfactory explanation of the "principles of Homology, and of Embryology, and Rudimentary organs", the difficulty in imagining the transitions between classes of beings should not weigh against the understanding it provides such large classes of facts. Defends natural selection against criticism that it is not a vera causa. Comments on "Degeneracy", extinction of intermediate forms, and the effect of theory in natural history in opening up new fields of inquiry and giving rational instead of theological explanations of facts.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th baronet |
Date: | 9 Feb [1860] |
Classmark: | Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds (Bunbury Family Papers E18/700/1/9/6) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2690 |
From Charles Lyell 18 September 1860
Summary
It is strange that Agassiz, who is for the "sanctity of species", should favour Pallas’s view of hybrid origin of domestic dog.
CL has not meant to advocate successive creation of types but to question assumption that all mammals descended from single stock. Why should a Triassic reptile or bird not move towards mammalian form because an ancestral marsupial has appeared? Believes recent appearance of rodents and bats in Australia explains their lack of development.
Can CD supply a reference on plant extinction on St Helena?
Believes marsupials better adapted for surviving drought in Australia than higher mammals.
Will not press argument about lack of development of mammalian forms on islands, but CD should note objection.
Does CD’s belief in multiple origin of dogs affect faith in single primates in different regions?
Does time lapse between putative independently descended mammalian forms mean first form will "keep down" later incipient one? Thus Homo sapiens has prevented improvement of other anthropomorphs; bats and rodents on islands would prevent improvement of lower forms into mammalian.
Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 18 Sept 1860 |
Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/6: 187–95d) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2920C |
From Edward Cresy 30 October 1860
Summary
Sends CD passages from A. S. Taylor’s book [On poisons in relation to medical jurisprudence and medicine, 2d ed. (1859)], citing smallest portions of poisons that are chemically detectable. "Drosera beats the chemists hollow."
Author: | Edward Cresy, Jr |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 30 Oct 1860 |
Classmark: | DAR 58.1: 6, 58.2: 49–52 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2968 |
To Smith, Elder, and Company? 17 February [1860]
Summary
Arranges to send ear-trumpet to Syms Covington.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Smith, Elder & Co |
Date: | 17 Feb [1860] |
Classmark: | The Morgan Library and Museum, New York (Gordon N. Ray Collection MA 13959) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2702 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Beagle voyage and for some years afterwards. In 1842 he had emigrated to Australia (see …
To Williams and Norgate 29 [January 1860]
Summary
Orders copy of book by Louis Agassiz [Nomenclatoris Zoologici Index Universalis (1846)].
Mentions book sent by Quatrefages de Bréau.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Williams & Norgate |
Date: | 29 [Jan 1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.194) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2666 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … part of the Nomenclator zoologicus ( Agassiz 1842 ). CD’s copy of Agassiz 1848 is in the …
From Charles Lyell 28 August 1860
Summary
Objections to Origin which Owen and Wilberforce could have used. Why have incipient mammalian forms not arisen from lower vertebrates on islands separated since Miocene period? Knows CD would not derive Eocene Mammalia from higher reptiles, but would bats not be modified into other mammalian forms on an ancient island? This is not the case in New Zealand. Why have island seals not become terrestrial? Assumes rate of change is greatest in mammals. Difficulties are small compared with ability to explain absence of Mammalia in pre-Pliocene islands. Asks about descent of Amblyrhynchus. Believes objections apply equally well to independent creation of animal types, but not if the First Cause is allowed completely free agency.
Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 28 Aug 1860 |
Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/6: 164–71) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2900A |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1842. Correspondence : The correspondence of …
To Charles Lyell 1 September [1860]
Summary
Discusses at length CL’s criticisms of natural selection.
Comments on possible former connection between the Galapagos and South America.
Discounts survival of mammals on atolls.
Discusses reptile origin of mammals.
Discounts development of a mammal on an island and the descent of mammals from a bird.
The antiquity of islands.
Comments on bats of New Zealand. Geographical distribution of seals. Discusses Amblyrhynchus.
Glad CL will read his MS on origin of dogs [Variation 1: 15–43].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | 1 Sept [1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.225) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2903 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1842. Correspondence : The correspondence of …
To S. P. Woodward 9 [July 1860]
Summary
Regrets he cannot answer SPW’s questions.
Discusses antiquity of subaerial volcanoes.
Disagrees "entirely & absolutely" with L. von Buch’s "elevation-crater-theory".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Samuel Pickworth Woodward |
Date: | 9 [July 1860] |
Classmark: | Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (General Special Collections MSS DAR 2) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2630 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1842. Correspondence : The correspondence of …
From Henry Doubleday 3 May 1860
Summary
Has read Origin with pleasure.
Has performed many experiments which confirm his opinion that primrose, oxlip, and cowslip are three distinct species.
Author: | Henry Doubleday |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 3 May 1860 |
Classmark: | DAR 162.2: 237 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2781 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … CD cited Doubleday’s paper on oxlips ( Doubleday 1842 ) several times in his study of the …
To Charles Lyell [24 March – 3 April 1860]
Summary
Discusses letter of recommendation for Edward Blyth.
Sedgwick’s review of the Origin in the Spectator [24 Mar 1860].
Mentions breaks between geological formations.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | [24 Mar – 3 Apr 1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.204) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2734 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … was governor-general of India from 1836 to 1842. He had also served as president of the …
To T. H. Huxley 2 [February 1860]
Summary
H. G. Bronn offers to superintend a German translation of Origin.
Bronn has reviewed Origin [Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie (1860), p. 112].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
Date: | 2 [Feb 1860] |
Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 80) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2679 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … CUL, the first volume being a reprint dated 1842. Volume two, which contains an extensive …
To J. M. Rodwell 5 November [1860]
Summary
Comments on relationship between eye-colour and deafness in cats [discussed in Origin]. Asks for more information.
Mentions criticism of Origin.
Thanks for information about horses.
Hopes JMR writes his book on language. Mentions Hensleigh Wedgwood’s work [A dictionary of English etymology, 3 vols. (1859–65)].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Medows Rodwell |
Date: | 5 Nov [1860] |
Classmark: | DAR 147: 328; Bradford Museums and Galleries: Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley (NH.6.40 p. 641) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2976 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … p. 12). Eudes-Deslongchamps 1835 and 1842. CD mentioned the case in his ‘big book’ on …
To Charles Griffin & Co. 29 January [1860]
Summary
Returns MS [of biography for Dictionary of contemporary biography (1861)]. Part was inaccurate, and there was an important omission so CD has had a new copy made.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Griffin |
Date: | 29 Jan [1860] |
Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 28509: 408) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2667 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the countries visited by the Beagle. In 1842 his work on the Structure and Distribution …
From Charles Lyell 7 May 1860
Summary
Saw Salter’s Spirifer specimens; a very good proof of indefinite modifiability.
Beginning to think gap between Cambrian and Lower Silurian enormous.
Édouard Lartet to give paper before Geological Society ["On coexistence of man with certain extinct quadrupeds", Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 16 (1859–60): 471–5].
Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 7 May 1860 |
Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 396 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2787 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … story of the geological survey of Canada, 1842–1972. Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada …
From William Henry Harvey 24 August 1860
Summary
Continues earlier discussion, admitting his opinions have been modified. Still regards natural selection as one agent of several. States areas of disagreement.
Author: | William Henry Harvey |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 24 Aug 1860 |
Classmark: | DAR 98 (ser. 2): 33–40 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2898 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … having resided in Cape Town from 1835 to 1842. During this time he probably also became …
letter | (18) |
Darwin, C. R. | (9) |
Lyell, Charles | (5) |
Cresy, Edward, Jr | (1) |
Doubleday, Henry | (1) |
Harvey, W. H. | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (9) |
Lyell, Charles | (2) |
Bunbury, C. J. F. | (1) |
Griffin, Charles | (1) |
Huxley, T. H. | (1) |
Bunbury, C. J. F. | (1) |
Cresy, Edward, Jr | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (18) |
Doubleday, Henry | (1) |
Griffin, Charles | (1) |
Harvey, W. H. | (1) |
Huxley, T. H. | (1) |
Lyell, Charles | (7) |
Patterson, Robert | (1) |
Rodwell, J. M. | (1) |
Smith, Elder & Co | (1) |
Williams & Norgate | (1) |
Woodward, S. P. | (1) |
Darwin and Down
Summary
Charles and Emma Darwin, with their first two children, settled at Down House in the village of Down (later ‘Downe’) in Kent, as a young family in 1842. The house came with eighteen acres of land, and a fifteen acre meadow. The village combined the…
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…
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…
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
- … heading in the earliest outline of his theory written in 1842 , and, as he told Asa Gray in …
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…
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: 30 hits
- … Illustrations of the Domestic animals of Gt. Britain [D. Low 1842].— 23 must be read carefully. …
- … Erasmus—— Lavater. Life & Correspondence [?Heisch 1842] Coleridge. Literary …
- … Cicero [Middleton 1741] W. Meister’s Life [Goethe 1842].— Malcolm’s History of Persia …
- … [DAR *119: 15] Zanoni by Bulwer [Bulwer-Lytton 1842]. Life of D. of Marlborough [A. …
- … organs read A. Alison on Population. 2 vols. Feb. 1842 [A. Alison 1840].— Youatt in …
- … 1836]: worth looking at. Low has probably told all [D. Low 1842] Madras Journal [ Madras …
- … Soc. appears to be good Papers on Sewalik Fossils in 1842 [Cautley 1840 and Cautley and Falconer …
- … Read “Bronn’s Geschicte der Natur.” [Bronn 1842–3] Kingdons translat …
- … Jussieus introduct to Bot. price 6 s [Jussieu 1842] [DAR *119: 20v.] …
- … Cerealia [Loiseleur Deslongchamps 1842–3] Phytologist [ …
- … (List from Muller & Bronn [Müller 1837–42 and Bronn 1842–3] in this Book) 52 Royle …
- … . Smollets William & Mary. & Anne [Smollett 1805].— 1842 Jan 10 M rs …
- … —— 17 th Laing notes of a Traveller 1 vol [Laing 1842] —— Finished Wordsworth 6 vols. …
- … such instincts .— [DAR 119: 12b] 1842 March. 26 th Holcroft’s Memoirs …
- … [Hyde 1704] Feb. Vol. of Madame D’Arblay [Burney 1842–6] Mar 1. Lieut. Eyres Narrative …
- … nothing —— Doubleday on Population [Doubleday 1842] —— Ramond’s voyage in Pyrenees …
- … 1774] —— F. Bremer’s little novels [Bremer 1842, 1843b, 1844a, 1844c] March 7 th M …
- … 1839] 14 th Arnolds lectures on History [Arnold 1842] —— History of Civilization by …
- … very poor Oct 1 Owen on Mylodon Robustus [R. Owen 1842]. References at end. 7 th . …
- … June 8 th Wilson Voyage Round Scotland [J. Wilson 1842] (poor) M. Gerard sur l’Espece …
- … [Chambers 1845] —— Bronn’s Gesickte [Bronn 1842–3] 2 d . Vol [DAR 119: 16b] …
- … [M. G. Lewis 1834] Nov 7. Life of Lavater [?Heisch 1842] —— 25. M rs . Meredith. N.S …
- … April VI & VII. vol. of Madame d’Arblay [Burney 1842–6]. —— 15 th . Phillip’s life of W …
- … —— Jussieu. Cours Elementaire Botanique [Jussieu 1842] —— Transactions of Amer. Philosoph Soc …
- … des Naturalistes de Moscou ]. Vols for 1833, 1837, 1838, 1842, 43, 44—not all these latter vols: …
- … 17 th Thompson’s Birds of Ireland [W. Thompson 1842] Part I. Sept. 17. Sir J. Ross. Voyage …
- … Nov. 15 th Wilson Voyage. Scotland [J. Wilson 1842] —— Southey. Book of the Church [R. W. …
- … Keppell. 1853 [Keppel 1853] Dickens America [Dickens 1842] Thackerays Lectures on …
- … et exp. pages 248. 8 vo [Loiseleur Deslongchamps 1842–3] Linn. Soc.? must be read.— not in Royal. …
- … of Indies [Acosta 1604].— Report, Brit. Assoc. 1842 . Richardson N.Z. Fish [J. Richardson …
3.1 Antoine Claudet, daguerreotype
Summary
< Back to Introduction This daguerreotype of Darwin with his firstborn child, William, was, according to a label on the glass, taken on 23 August 1842, just before the family moved from London to Down. It is generally attributed to the French…
Matches: 4 hits
- … was, according to a label on the glass, taken on 23 August 1842, just before the family moved from …
- … daguerreotype of the Darwins. Darwin’s account book for 1842 records the purchase of a daguerreotype …
- … this information does not tally with the dating: in August 1842, William would have been only two …
- … Claudet date of creation 23 August 1842 computer-readable date 1842-08-23 …
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: 7 hits
- … their first child, William Erasmus, was born. In September 1842, the family, now increased by a …
- … and explore new avenues of thought, and by the summer of 1842 he felt that his research had …
- … of species was published, but the general outline of 1842 is, to a surprising degree, present in …
- … far from their original locations. The following year, 1842, having heard of evidence of glaciation …
- … research required. The trip to North Wales in June 1842 was his last field trip: thereafter his …
- … stays at Shrewsbury and Maer during the summers of 1841 and 1842 show that he was making botanical …
- … obvious relevance to the theory of descent (Pencil sketch of 1842, in Foundations , p. 74). …
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…
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: 14 hits
- … his mouth to do so.—[35] 25v. Feb. 20 th . 1842. Anny (, same age) has learned to shake …
- … 28v. [39] Anny was to day March 1 st 1842 rather amused, at a wafer sticking first to one hand …
- … case of my watch.— 29v. March 1 st 1842— Anny says Papa pretty clearly—[40] A few days …
- … pretty & Papa for a week past perfectly clear Feb 1842 I have long observed that the …
- … for their feelings— 31 [42] In Jan ry . 1842 it was first perceived that Willy began to …
- … “bub my crumps” & 31v. March 29 th . 1842.— I have some months remarked how much …
- … gabble nonsense words,— 33 March 20: th .— 1842 Doddy is a great adept at throwing …
- … the eyes & is a full face.— 36 March 26 th 1842 2 years & 3 mth— Doddy was …
- … not the “beast in house”.— 37v. [50] May 1. 1842. 14 months old It is curious to see how …
- … down the corners of his mouth[51] June 1 st . 1842 Observed the first day I put on a new …
- … stuck to it, “no Doddy did not”. Aug 26 th .. 1842 About a fortnight ago, I met Willy …
- … at Upper Gower Street between 12 February and 16 March 1842. [43] Stammering ran in the …
- … [51] Emma Darwin and the children went to Maer on 3 May 1842; CD joined them on 18 May (Emma Darwin …
- … of bees in pollination, made in the summers between 1840 and 1842, are in DAR 46.2 and DAR 205.5: 53 …
Species theory outlined
Summary
Darwin writes a 32-page outline of his ideas on species change, known as 'the pencil sketch'
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin writes a 32-page outline of his ideas on species change, known as 'the pencil sketch' …
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…
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, …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from scientific admirers in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Hester Loeff for identifying and researching them. No. …
Matches: 5 hits
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
- … had also completed two outlines of his ‘species theory’ (1842 Pencil sketch and 1844 Essay). …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … obst. doct. 35 Den Haag 20 December 1842 Rotterdam 23 …
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
- … should be denied him. After prolonged illnesses in 1841 and 1842, years poorly represented in the …
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…
Moves to Down, Kent
Summary
The Darwins move to Down House, in the village of Down (later 'Downe'), Kent. Darwin, who spent the rest of his life there, described it as a "good, very ugly house".
Matches: 1 hits
- … The Darwins move to Down House, in the village of Down (later 'Downe'), Kent. Darwin, who spent …
Alexander Burns Usborne
Summary
Alexander Burns Usborne was born in Kendal, Westmorland, in 1808, the son of Alexander and Margaret Usborne; his father died in 1818 and in his will was described as the purser on HMS Hannibal. His son joined the navy in 1825 aged 16 as a second-class…
Matches: 1 hits
- … with his mother and his older sister Ann Amelia. In 1842 he returned to surveying around the British …