To Hermann Welcker 30 January 1880
Summary
Thanks for letter of 18th January 1880 and for present of Essays. Interested in Welcker’s investigation of the 'ligamentum teres', and his comment on the feet of the Chinese.
Will esteem it an honour if Welcker dedicates his next book to him.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Hermann Welcker |
Date: | 30 Jan 1880 |
Classmark: | Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Universitätsarchiv (Rep. 29, Nr. 715) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12442G |
From W. E. Darwin 10 February [1880]
Summary
"Dia" [as a prefix] means "through, across".
WED’s wife would like to meet the Huxleys.
Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 10 Feb [1880] |
Classmark: | DAR 209.7: 159 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11352 |
From W. E. Darwin to F. E. Abbot 13 June [1880]
Summary
CD has asked him to express appreciation for the Index and regret that FEA will no longer be running it. CD wishes FEA to stop the weekly advertisement of his appreciation of the Index.
Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Addressee: | Francis Ellingwood Abbot |
Date: | 13 June [1880] |
Classmark: | Harvard University Archives (Papers of F. E. Abbot, 1841–1904. Named Correspondence, 1857–1903. Letter, W. E. Darwin to F. E. Abbot (13 June [1880]), in folder Darwin, Charles and W. E. Darwin (son), 1871–1883, box 44. HUG 1101) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12633 |
To James Paget 14 November 1880
Summary
Surprising thought that diseases of plants should illustrate human pathology.
Will recommend A. B. Frank’s article in a German encyclopedia, on diseases of plants, to Francis Darwin.
Gives JP a good case of regeneration in plants – the radicle of the common bean. That plants have little power of regeneration is not difficult to understand by anyone who believes in Pangenesis, "if such a man exists … There is reason to think that my imaginary gemmules have small power of passing from cell to cell."
Refers to early experiments in which he tried to produce galls in plants by injecting poisons.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | James Paget, 1st baronet |
Date: | 14 Nov 1880 |
Classmark: | Wellcome Collection (MS.5703/31) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12819 |
From Hermann Welcker 18 January 1880
Summary
Sends publications.
Discusses comparative anatomy and evolutionary implications of several ligaments.
Thinks effects of Chinese foot-binding are inherited.
Criticises article on Darwinism in Brockhaus’ Lexikon.
Mentions forthcoming book on mammalian vertebrae.
Author: | Hermann Welcker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 18 Jan 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 181: 88 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12432 |
To F. M. Balfour 4 September 1880
Summary
Praises FMB’s BAAS address [on embryology, Rep. BAAS 50 (1880): 636–44]. Recent progress of embryology splendid.
In work on plants, astonished at sensitivity of radicle and its power to transmit stimuli to adjoining part; such general sensitivity should be considered in genesis of nervous system.
Feels "malicious" pleasure at FMB’s criticism of Herbert Spencer.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Francis Maitland Balfour |
Date: | 4 Sept 1880 |
Classmark: | National Records of Scotland (GD433/2/103C/2) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12706 |
From C.-F. Reinwald 16 June 1880
Summary
Annual report on sale of Reinwald editions of CD’s works.
Author: | Charles-Ferdinand Reinwald |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 16 June 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 176: 110 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12636 |
From G. H. Schneider 2 April 1880
Summary
Describes studies with Ernst Haeckel
and research on psychology of lower animals.
Sends book [Der thierische Wille (1880)] and describes his views on the subject.
Author: | Georg Heinrich Schneider |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 2 Apr 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 177: 59 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12559 |
To A. R. Wallace 5 January 1880
Summary
Admiration of ARW’s ["The origin of species and genera", Nineteenth Century (Jan 1880)]. Good use of Allen’s "admirable researches".
Disappointment about the Epping Forest appointment.
Farrer’s article in Fortnightly Review.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
Date: | 5 Jan 1880 |
Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 46434 ff. 286–8) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12401 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy 2 (1870–1): 161–450. Farrer, Thomas Henry. 1880. …
From E. B. Tylor 21 June 1880
Summary
Learning by experience of others: birds being killed by telegraph wires when first set up; sheep in Australia eating poisonous plants.
Author: | Edward Burnett Tylor |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 21 June 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 178: 206 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12642 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … sketchers, photographers and engravers to 1870. Edited by Joan Kerr. Melbourne: Oxford …
To R. P. Hardy 11 August [1880]
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Ralph Price Hardy |
Date: | 11 Aug [1880] |
Classmark: | DAR 202: 63 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12685 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … burial fees, during each year subsequently to 1870; & how much was received by the monthly …
From J. D. Hooker 26 November 1880
Summary
Huxley has persuaded JDH that the Wallace memorial may not be hopeless; JDH still has misgivings about Wallace’s spiritualism but will follow CD’s and Huxley’s decision.
Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 26 Nov 1880 |
Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 349) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12860 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1974 and Fichman 2004 , pp. 139–210. In 1870, Wallace, a qualified surveyor, had accepted …
From S. M. Herzfeld 2 April 1880
Summary
Impoverished German doctor asks for money.
Author: | S. M. Herzfeld |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 2 Apr 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 166: 191 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12560 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … defence of the Third Republic of France in 1870 ( EB ). The prospectus has not been found; …
From Arnold and Carolina Dodel-Port 8 December 1880
Summary
Have received Movement in plants. It will interest not only botanists but zoologists and biologists.
Ten years ago AD-P encountered great opposition when he started teaching Darwinism at Zurich. Now all except old Oswald Heer call themselves Darwinists.
Author: | Arnold Dodel-Port; Carolina Dodel-Port |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 8 Dec 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 162: 199 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12898 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … dozent (lecturer) in botany at Zurich since 1870 ( Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz ). The …
To R. F. Cooke 16 July 1880
Summary
CD had intended to pay costs of publishing Movement in plants because he did not think it fair that Murray should risk publishing a purely scientific work. He would certainly prefer publishing on the usual terms if JM decided to do so. The book contains much new and curious matter, but there are very few persons in England interested in physiological botany.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Robert Francis Cooke; John Murray |
Date: | 16 July 1880 |
Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 372–3) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12658 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … through botany and the brewing industry (1870–1890). History and Philosophy of the Life …
From F. J. Cohn 26 December 1880
Summary
Response to Movement in plants. Setting out to confirm CD’s experiments. Believes plant cell motion, like that of animals, depends on protoplasm more than water.
Author: | Ferdinand Julius Cohn |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 26 Dec 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 161: 206 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12940 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Beiträge zur Biologie der Pflanzen 1 (1870–5) Heft 2: 1–30. Cohn, Ferdinand Julius. 1847. …
From Anton Dohrn 11 February 1880
Summary
Sends birthday greetings
and the good news of a subvention for the Zoological Station received from the German government. There are now 20 naturalists working at the Station.
Author: | Felix Anton (Anton) Dohrn |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 11 Feb 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 162: 218 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12471 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 9. Dohrn visited CD at Down on 26 September 1870 ( Heuss 1991 , pp. 108–9). On the early …
From Anthony Rich 26 October 1880
Summary
The Philadelphus CD sent is flourishing and appears to attract a particular kind of fly.
Science and the law as professions. Lawyers in politics.
Author: | Anthony Rich |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 26 Oct 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 176: 143 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12778 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … had been the MP for Maidstone, Kent, from 1870, but after losing the seat in 1880, he was …
From Anthony Rich 4 June 1880
Summary
CD’s portrait at exhibition is praised by critics. CD and the Prime Minister may boast of having been in their day "the best abused men in England".
Author: | Anthony Rich |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 4 June 1880 |
Classmark: | DAR 176: 142 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12620 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … was Liberal MP for Maidstone, Kent, from 1870 to 1880, and for London University from 1880 …
To A. R. Wallace 3 November 1880
Summary
High praise for Island life; ARW’s "best book". Encloses notes of comments and criticism. Hooker pleased by dedication.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
Date: | 3 Nov 1880 |
Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 46434 ff. 292–3); Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (Wallace Papers WP/6/4/1) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12791 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … un Officier du Roi” who visited the island in 1870 that a fresh-water fish the Gourami had …
letter | (20) |
Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
Darwin, W. E. | (2) |
Rich, Anthony | (2) |
Cohn, F. J. | (1) |
Dodel-Port, Arnold | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
Wallace, A. R. | (2) |
Abbot, F. E. | (1) |
Balfour, F. M. | (1) |
Cooke, R. F. | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (19) |
Darwin, W. E. | (2) |
Rich, Anthony | (2) |
Wallace, A. R. | (2) |
Welcker, Hermann | (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,…