To August Weismann 1 and 4 May 1875
Summary
Comments on AW’s work [Studien zur Descendenz-Theorie, vol. 1 (1875)].
On seasonal dimorphism in Lepidoptera in relation to sexual selection.
Discusses evolutionary reversion.
Comments on birds’ avoiding brightly coloured caterpillars. Offers references on subject.
Alpheus Hyatt says Franz Hilgendorf mistaken [about Planorbis multiformis].
Quotes from letter from J. J. Weir on birds’ rejection of brightly-coloured caterpillars.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Leopold Friedrich August (August) Weismann |
| Date: | 1 and 4 May 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 148: 344 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9965 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London ( Weir 1869 and Weir 1870 ). …
- … of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy 2 (1870–1): 161–450. Descent 2d ed. : The descent of …
- … London (1869): 21–6. Weir, John Jenner. 1870. Further observations on the relation between …
- … and the edibility of Lepidoptera and their larvae. [Read 4 July 1870. ] Transactions …
- … of the Entomological Society of London (1870): 337–9. Weismann, August. 1872. Ueber den …
- … to the work of Weir ( Weir 1869 and Weir 1870 ) and Charles Valentine Riley ( Riley 1869– …
From Thomas Belt 3 April 1875
Summary
Sends reference to Codrington paper on gravels ["The superficial deposits of the south of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight", Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 26 (1870): 3–28]. Comments on local gravels in railway cutting and the violent agency of their removal from hills.
| Author: | Thomas Belt |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Apr 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 129 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9912 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Bibliography Codrington, Thomas. 1870. On the superficial deposits of the South of …
- … and the Isle of Wight. [Read 8 June 1870. ] Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of …
- … of Wight", Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 26 (1870): 3–28]. Comments on local gravels in railway …
- … about Thomas Codrington’s paper ( Codrington 1870 ), but the two probably discussed it in …
To George Rolleston 2 September [1875]
Summary
Thanks for GR’s "Address" [see 10141].
Wishes he had not quoted Bagehot’s remark [in Descent 1: 239] about decrease in savage populations. Interest in subject.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Rolleston |
| Date: | 2 Sept [1875] |
| Classmark: | Wellcome Collection (MS.6119/68) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10150 |
To J. S. Burdon Sanderson 16 July 1875
Summary
Thanks for JSBS’s essays; wishes he had said something on Lister’s observations. Speculates on the fungoid nature of smallpox and why there is seldom re-infection.
Discusses digestion by Drosera, the action of its secretion being the same as that of gastric juice.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Scott Burdon Sanderson, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 16 July 1875 |
| Classmark: | University of British Columbia Library, Rare Books and Special Collections (Darwin - Burdon Sanderson letters RBSC-ARC-1731-1-22) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10070 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … London: Macmillan. Burdon Sanderson, John. 1870. On the intimate pathology of contagion. …
- … for Ireland. London: J. & A. Churchill. 1870–1905. Strick, James. 2000. Sparks of life: …
- … of the medical officer of the Privy Council; 1870 (c. 208) XXXVIII.591), which contained a …
- … of contagion’ ( Burdon Sanderson 1870 ). A copy is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL. …
To T. H. Huxley 14 January 1875
Summary
Is alarmed by the petitions against vivisection that are being circulated. Believes there is scope for reasonable legislation and would like to see eminent physiologists prepare a petition so that the science could be protected and animals saved from needless suffering.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Date: | 14 Jan 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 97: C37–8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9817 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … the 41st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1870): 144. ) …
- … Need of a bill ( Cobbe 1904 , p. 629). In 1870, at the meeting of the British Association …
- … Association for the Advancement of Science (1870): lxii). The subcommittee appointed to …
- … the report of B r Assoc n at Liverpool (1870) signed by B. Sanderson, Flower, Humphry & …
From J. V. Carus 5 February 1875
Summary
New [3d] German edition of Descent will soon be out.
Will begin translating Journal of researches, which will be first volume of CD’s collected works.
JVC has proposed bringing out all CD’s botanical papers in one or two volumes.
Errata in Descent enclosed.
| Author: | Julius Victor Carus |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 Feb 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 99 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9841 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … researches 2d ed. , published in 1845; another reprint had been issued in 1870 ( Journal …
- … of researches (1870) ). Carus’s translation of Journal of researches (Carus trans. 1875b) …
- … John Murray. 1860. Journal of researches (1870): Journal of researches into the natural …
- … Darwin. New edition. London: John Murray. 1870. Journal of researches 2d ed. : Journal of …
To J. J. Weir 5 July 1875
Summary
Discusses case of Cytisus graft described by JJW.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Jenner Weir |
| Date: | 5 July 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 148: 334 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10043 |
From Francis Galton 8 November 1875
Summary
Responds to suggestions and criticisms CD made to "theory of heredity" [see 10245].
| Author: | Francis Galton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 8 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 105: A88–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10250 |
From F. J. Cohn 9 January 1875
Summary
Thanks CD for his letter of 1 Jan 1875. Will send a paper on the genus Volvox ["Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Gattung Volvox", Cohn Beitr. Biol. Pflanz. 1 (1875) Heft 3: 99–115].
Informs CD of his discoveries of the "house"-building capacity of Difflugia, one of the lowest forms of organism.
Sends CD his writing on Aldrovanda and Utricularia, which he is welcome to use in his forthcoming book [Insectivorous plants].
Has observed a Dionaea fertilised without insect aid.
| Author: | Ferdinand Julius Cohn |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 9 Jan 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 199 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9810 |
To J. J. Weir 1 May 1875
Summary
August Weismann is interested in JJW’s experiments on birds and the caterpillars they eat.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Jenner Weir |
| Date: | 1 May 1875 |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.468) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9962 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … their larvae ( Weir 1869 and Weir 1870 ). Charles Valentine Riley , state entomologist of …
- … London (1869): 21–6. Weir, John Jenner. 1870. Further observations on the relation between …
- … and the edibility of Lepidoptera and their larvae. [Read 4 July 1870. ] Transactions …
- … of the Entomological Society of London (1870): 337–9. …
From G. Chiantore to John Murray 18 May 1875
Summary
Editor of L’Unione, Turin, would publish an Italian edition of Variation if the clichés of the English edition were made available at not more than £10.
| Author: | G. Chiantore |
| Addressee: | John Murray |
| Date: | 18 May 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 171: 451 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9981 |
From J. J. Weir 7 July 1875
Summary
Yellow and purple flowers occur on plant grafted with Cytisus purpureus, but only on separate racemes. Only yellow blooms seed.
| Author: | John Jenner Weir |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 July 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 86 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10050 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 18, letter from J. J. Weir, 27 June 1870 . Hedera helix is the common or English ivy. …
To Daniel Oliver [15 December 1875]
Summary
Ferdinand Cohn has already sent a copy of his article, [possibly: "Über die Function der Blasen von Aldrovanda und Utricularia", Beitr. Biol. Pflanz. 1 (1870–5) pt 3: 71–89].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
| Date: | [15 Dec 1875] |
| Classmark: | DAR 261.10: 65 (EH 88206048) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10298 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … der Blasen von Aldrovanda und Utricularia ", Beitr. Biol. Pflanz. 1 (1870–5) pt 3: 71–89]. …
From R. F. Cooke 26 May 1875
Summary
A set of electros of the woodcuts to Variation was sent to an Italian publisher in 1869, but no reply or payment has been made since then.
| Author: | Robert Francis Cooke; John Murray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 26 May 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 171: 453 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9995 |
To F. P. Cobbe [14 January 1875]
Summary
Explains why he cannot sign Miss Cobbe’s anti-vivisection petition.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Frances Power Cobbe |
| Date: | [14 Jan 1875] |
| Classmark: | Hull University Archives, Hull History Centre (British Union for Anti-Vivisection archives: U DBV/25/1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9814F |
From Giovanni Canestrini 29 July 1875
Summary
Italian translation of Variation will at last be published; will await second [English] edition to incorporate corrections.
Asks permission to translate Expression.
The second [Italian] edition of Origin is now in press.
| Author: | Giovanni Canestrini |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 29 July 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 36 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10102 |
From Julius Sachs 4 July 1875
Summary
Thanks for Insectivorous plants.
Has just finished his Geschichte der Botanik [1875].
Compares action of Drosera glands to action of sprouting embryo and to action of roots in absorbing minerals.
| Author: | Julius Sachs |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 4 July 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 177: 4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10042 |
To T. M. Hughes 24 May 1875
Summary
Reports some details of the geological tour he took with Sedgwick in North Wales in 1831. Recalls how neither he nor Sedgwick saw the obvious signs of past glaciation.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas McKenny Hughes |
| Date: | 24 May 1875 |
| Classmark: | Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences (Archive DDF Box 720) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9993 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 11 [October 1868] ; Correspondence vol. 18, letter from Adam Sedgwick, 30 May 1870 ). …
From J. J. Weir 6 July 1875
Summary
Yellow flowers occurring on a purple Cytisus grafted onto a yellow stock.
| Author: | John Jenner Weir |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 July 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 85 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10044 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … refers to his letter to CD of 27 June 1870 ( Correspondence vol. 18). Weir had described …
From Joseph Fayrer 31 August 1875
Summary
Sends a copy of his book [The royal tiger of Bengal (1875)].
| Author: | Joseph Fayrer, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 31 Aug 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 164: 114 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10142 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … from several tiger hunts in 1855 and 1870 ( ibid. , pp. 75–99). Fayrer had informed CD of …
| letter | (41) |
| Bachmaier, Anton | (2) |
| Belt, Thomas | (1) |
| Canestrini, Giovanni | (1) |
| Carus, J. V. | (1) |
| Chiantore, G. | (1) |
| Cohn, F. J. | (1) |
| Cooke, R. F. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (15) |
| Delpino, Federico | (2) |
| Dohrn, Anton | (1) |
| Fayrer, Joseph | (1) |
| Fritsche, Gustavus | (1) |
| Galton, Francis | (3) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| John Murray | (2) |
| Marshall, William | (1) |
| Sachs, Julius | (1) |
| Scott, W. H. | (1) |
| Thomasson, J. P. | (1) |
| Weir, J. J. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (25) |
| Burdon Sanderson, J. S. | (2) |
| Weir, J. J. | (2) |
| Chambers, Annie | (1) |
| Cobbe, F. P. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (40) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (4) |
| Weir, J. J. | (4) |
| Galton, Francis | (3) |
| Bachmaier, Anton | (2) |
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 29 hits
- … The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The …
- … machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December [1870] ). Finishing Descent; …
- … some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ). Darwin was still working hard on …
- … I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). She had previously read proof-sheets …
- … shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). Henrietta disagreed: ‘Certainly …
- … of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February 1870] ). Darwin was also encouraged …
- … sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] ). Cobbe accused Darwin of smiling in …
- … great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870?] ). Humans as animals: ears …
- … [1868] ; this volume, letter to Thomas Woolner, 10 March [1870] ). Darwin included Woolner’s …
- … findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March 1870 ). Indeed, Darwin noted the same …
- … bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). Researching expression: …
- … spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 ). Keen for more evidence of …
- … hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] ). Darwin made a similar request of …
- … not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] ). Darwin’s queries were part …
- … of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). He also wrote to a leading Dutch …
- … on this subject’ ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). Human evolution: debates and …
- … more fully in a collection of essays published in April 1870 (Wallace 1870a). Wallace wrote to …
- … naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). Despite their increasing …
- … in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). Darwin alluded here to the …
- … No one but yourself’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 20 May 1870 ). Darwin very rarely used the …
- … never write reviews’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] ). St George Jackson Mivart …
- … to answer objectors’ ( letter to W. H. Flower, 25 March [1870] ). In his letters to Mivart, Darwin …
- … on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). He also tried to recruit Mivart’s …
- … lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 ). Mivart hinted that his …
- … his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In his critical essays (later revised …
- … Charles Darwin et ses précurseurs français (Quatrefages 1870), that gave a detailed account, as …
- … many others’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 28 May [1870] ). Quatrefages had …
- … discord’ ( letter from Armand de Quatrefages, 30 March 1870 ). In proposing Darwin for election, …
- … them’ ( letter from Armand de Quatrefages, 18 July 1870 ). The assertion had been made by Emile …
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…
Matches: 12 hits
- … Brooke, C.A.J. 30 Nov 1870 Sarawak, Borneo …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 15 March 1870 West Riding …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 18 March 1870 Down, Kent, …
- … Donders, F.C. 27 May 1870 Utrecht, Netherlands …
- … Forbes, David 13 June 1870 Portman Square, London W. …
- … Nicol, Patrick 13 May 1870 Sussex Lunatic Asylum, …
- … Reade, Winwood W. [c.8 or 9 Apr 1870] Accra, West …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 4 June 1870 Lagos, Africa …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 3 Sept 1870 Conservative Club, St …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 9 Nov 1870 11 St Mary Abbot's …
- … Weale, J.P.M. [25 May 1870] Bedford, Cape of Good …
- … Weir, J.J. 27 June 1870 Blackheath, London, England …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] Darwin seeks Henrietta’s …
- … Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 September 1870] Written shortly before …
- … Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, J., [29 September 1870] Darwin asks Murray to …
- … Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to Darwin, [29 April 1870] George Cupples tells Darwin about a …
Francis Darwin
Summary
Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished scientist. He was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, initially studying mathematics, but then transferring to natural sciences. Francis completed…
Jane Gray
Summary
Jane Loring Gray, the daughter of a Boston lawyer, married the Harvard botanist Asa Gray in 1848 and evidence suggests that she took an active interest in the scientific pursuits of her husband and his friends. Although she is only known to have…
Matches: 1 hits
- … behaviour of her dog (letter from J. L. Gray, 14 February 1870 ), she also passed on information …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 1 hits
- … on my mind’ ( letter to W. T. Preyer, 17 February [1870 ])) that without earthworms aerating the …
Francis Galton
Summary
Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…
Matches: 1 hits
- … more litters & no happy results”, he wrote on 26 April 1870 . In the following year, Galton …
Capturing Darwin’s voice: audio of selected letters
Summary
On a sunny Wednesday in June 2011 in a makeshift recording studio somewhere in Cambridge, we were very pleased to welcome Terry Molloy back to the Darwin Correspondence Project for a special recording session. Terry, known for his portrayal of Davros in Dr…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of Descent (letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). Audio of more …
Darwin and Gender Projects by Harvard Students
Summary
Working in collaboration with Professor Sarah Richardson and Dr Myrna Perez, Darwin Correspondence Project staff developed a customised set of 'Darwin and Gender' themed resources for a course on Gender, Sex and Evolution first taught at Harvard…
Matches: 1 hits
- … grateful I shall be.”(Letter to Darwin, H. E., [8 Feb 1870] ) Although Miranda acknowledges that …
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…
Experimenting with emotions
Summary
Darwin’s interest in emotions can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the sounds and gestures of the peoples of Tierra del Fuego. On his return, he started recording observations in a set of notebooks, later labelled '…
John Lubbock
Summary
John Lubbock was eight years old when the Darwins moved into the neighbouring property of Down House, Down, Kent; the total of one hundred and seventy surviving letters he went on to exchange with Darwin is a large number considering that the two men lived…
Matches: 3 hits
Evolution: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860-1870
Summary
This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific colleagues around the world; letters by the critics who tried to stamp out his ideas, and by admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … you owe any more … Darwin to his son Francis, 1870. …
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…
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Photograph: Authenticity, Science and the Periodical Press, 1870 – 1890 (London and New York: …
Photograph album of Dutch admirers
Summary
Darwin received the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the Netherlands. He wrote to the Dutch zoologist Pieter Harting, An account of your countrymen’s generous sympathy in having sent me on my…
Matches: 1 hits
- … & I feel deeply for you. ( Letter to F. C. Donders, 19 May 1870 ) …
Darwin in public and private
Summary
Extracts from Darwin's published works, in particular Descent of man, and selected letters, explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual selection in humans, and both his publicly and privately expressed views on its practical implications…
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…
Darwin on race and gender
Summary
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] Letter from Mary Treat, …
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
