From William Henry Harvey 3 January 1857
Summary
Sexes of algae.
| Author: | William Henry Harvey |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Jan 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 115 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2035 |
From James Tenant 31 March 1857
Summary
Sends account of his successful experiments in feeding wheat seeds to minnows.
| Author: | James Tenant |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 31 Mar 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 257 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2069 |
From Asa Gray [c. 24 May 1857]
Summary
Discusses difficulties involved in deciding which genera are protean in the light of some comments by H. C. Watson.
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [c. 24 May 1857] |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 97 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2104 |
From Asa Gray 7 July 1857
Summary
Believes, with CD, that extinction may be an important factor in explaining plant distributions, but sees no reason why the several species of a genus must ever have had a common or continuous area. "Convince me of that, or show me any good grounds for it … and I think you would carry me a good way with you". It is just such people as AG that CD has to satisfy and convince.
Feels that the crossing of individuals is important in repressing variation and perhaps in perpetuating the species, but instances some plants in which it cannot, apparently, take place.
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 July 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.9: 381; DAR 165: 98 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2120 |
From Asa Gray 16 February 1857
Summary
Discusses the ranges of alpine species in U. S. and considers the possible migration routes of such species from Europe.
Lists those U. S. genera which he considers protean and describes the U. S. character of some genera which are protean in Europe.
Describes how he distinguishes introduced and aboriginal stocks of the same species.
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 Feb 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 96 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2053 |
From J. D. Dana 27 April 1857
Summary
In reply to CD’s query [see 2072], JDD describes what little is known about the crustacea of the Antarctic and southern lands.
Knows of no species of the cold temperate south identical with those of the cold temperate north.
| Author: | James Dwight Dana |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 27 Apr 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 39 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2083 |
Matches: 2 hits
- … letter from J. D. Dana, 8 December 1856 . In his letter to J. D. Dana, 5 April [1857] , …
- … 1856 describing these and other specimens was destroyed, along with his and Dana’s type specimens and other valuable manuscripts, in the great Chicago fire of 1871 ( DSB ). In 1907, the Smithsonian Institute published what materials remained. See letter …
From Asa Gray 1 June 1857
Summary
Comments on species with disjoined ranges; does not feel, despite CD’s expectations, that they tend to belong to small families.
Gives the proportion of U. S. trees in which the sexes are separate [see Natural selection, p. 62].
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 June 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 8: 47bA |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2098 |
From H. C. Watson 14 June [1857]
Summary
Sends a reference to Subularia which bears on a query CD made some time ago [see 2002]. Subularia was seen to flower in the air in a remarkably dry season.
| Author: | Hewett Cottrell Watson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 June [1857] |
| Classmark: | DAR 207: 20 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2106 |
From J. D. Hooker [27] June 1857
Summary
Embryology of plants of low systematic order. Comparative development begins only with first post-cotyledonary leaves.
Curt letter to JDH from George Henslow.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [27] June 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 100: 115 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2114 |
From Richard Hill 12 March 1857
Summary
Comments on transport of ducks to Jamaica by hurricanes,
fish feeding on seeds,
and sterility of birds in captivity.
| Author: | Richard Hill |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 12 Mar 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 238 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2064 |
From Richard Hill 10 January 1857
Summary
Will attend to any subject in Jamaica about which CD wants information.
Crithagra brasiliensis and canary refused to pair.
A collection of Jamaican land Mollusca will be presented to the British Museum.
Hurricanes are a considerable influence on diffusion of birds and insects.
| Author: | Richard Hill |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Jan 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 237 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2038 |
From Edward Hewitt 18 December 1857
Summary
Hybrid varieties of pheasant and common fowl. Reply to CD queries.
| Author: | Edward Hewitt |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 18 Dec 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 196 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1614 |
Matches: 2 hits
- … 1856–7): 384–6). CD probably wrote to Hewitt soon after learning from William Bernhard Tegetmeier that Hewitt had made a number of crosses between pheasants and fowl (see letter …
- … 1856–7, pp. 165–7). CD reported this information in Natural selection , p. 435 n. 8. CD cited Hewitt on this point in Natural selection , p. 422. The passage ‘for they … liberty. ’ was added at the bottom of the letter …
From T. H. Huxley 7 July 1857
Summary
THH comments on G. A. Brullé’s paper ["Researches upon the transformations of the appendages of the Articulata", Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 13 (1844): 484–6].
| Author: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 July 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 11.1: 41a |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2119 |
From T. V. Wollaston [12 April 1857]
Summary
Lists groups of insects absent from the Madeiran fauna.
| Author: | Thomas Vernon Wollaston |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [12 Apr 1857] |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 139 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2076 |
From Walter White 26 October 1857
Summary
Writes concerning library books requested by CD.
| Author: | Walter White |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 26 Oct 1857 |
| Classmark: | DAR 261.11: 19 (EH 88206071) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2159 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … letter and glued it to his own. It is likely that CD refers to Jacques Christophe Valmont de Bomare’s Dictionnaire raisonnée universal d’histoire naturelle , which appeared in four editions between 1764 and 1800. Valmont de Bomare’s work was frequently cited in Lucas 1847–50 , which CD recorded having read on 5 September 1856 ( …
| letter | (15) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (15) |
| Gray, Asa | (4) |
| Hill, Richard | (2) |
| Dana, J. D. | (1) |
| Harvey, W. H. | (1) |
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: 1 hits
- … On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that he ‘Began by Lyell’s advice writing …
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 …
Dramatisation script
Summary
Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007
Matches: 1 hits
- … Re: Design – performance version – 25 March 2007 – 1 Re: Design – Adaptation of the …
Origin
Summary
Darwin’s most famous work, Origin, had an inauspicious beginning. It grew out of his wish to establish priority for the species theory he had spent over twenty years researching. Darwin never intended to write Origin, and had resisted suggestions in 1856…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin’s most famous work, Origin, had an inauspicious beginning. It grew out of his wish to …
Six things Darwin never said – and one he did
Summary
Spot the fakes! Darwin is often quoted – and as often misquoted. Here are some sayings regularly attributed to Darwin that never flowed from his pen.
Matches: 1 hits
- … Spot the fakes! Darwin is often quoted – and as often misquoted. Here are some sayings regularly …
Dates of composition of Darwin's manuscript on species
Summary
Many of the dates of letters in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwin’s manuscript on species (DAR 8--15.1, inclusive; transcribed and published as Natural selection). This manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Many of the dates of letters in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwin’s …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants …
Descent
Summary
There are more than five hundred letters associated with the research and writing of Darwin’s book, Descent of man and selection in relation to sex (Descent). They trace not only the tortuous route to eventual publication, but the development of Darwin’s…
Matches: 1 hits
- … ‘ Our ancestor was an animal which breathed water, had a swim-bladder, a great swimming …
Species and varieties
Summary
On the origin of species by means of natural selection …so begins the title of Darwin’s most famous book, and the reader would rightly assume that such a thing as ‘species’ must therefore exist and be subject to description. But the title continues, …or…
Matches: 1 hits
- … On the origin of species by means of natural selection …so begins the title of Darwin’s most …
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, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and …
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 …
Scientific Networks
Summary
Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Friendship | Mentors | Class | Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific …
Thomas Henry Huxley
Summary
Dubbed “Darwin’s bulldog” for his combative role in controversies over evolution, Huxley was a leading Victorian zoologist, science popularizer, and education reformer. He was born in Ealing, a small village west of London, in 1825. With only two years of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Dubbed “Darwin’s bulldog” for his combative role in controversies over evolution, Huxley was a …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 1 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 1 hits
- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little more I …
4.16 Joseph Simms, physiognomy
Summary
< Back to Introduction In September 1874, the American doctor Joseph Simms, then on a three-year lecture tour of Britain, sent Darwin a copy of his book, Nature’s Revelations of Character; Or, Physiognomy Illustrated. He was seeking a public…
Matches: 1 hits
- … < Back to Introduction In September 1874, the American doctor Joseph Simms, then on a …
Language: key letters
Summary
How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The origin of language was investigated in a wide range of disciplines in the nineteenth century. …
Hermann Müller
Summary
Hermann (Heinrich Ludwig Hermann) Müller, was born in Mühlberg near Erfurt in 1829. He was the younger brother of Fritz Müller (1822–97). Following the completion of his secondary education at Erfurt in 1848, he studied natural sciences at Halle and Berlin…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Hermann (Heinrich Ludwig Hermann) Müller, was born in Mühlberg near Erfurt in 1829. He was the …
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 …
