From J. D. Hooker 25 November 1873
Summary
He has noticed that Mimosa albida leaves closed only partially. It can be objected to CD’s theory that, if true, all, or at least more, species would close their leaves on application of water, unless he can show special injury done to M. albida by water.
Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 25 Nov 1873 |
Classmark: | DAR 103: 183, 186 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9160 |
Matches: 8 hits
- … From J. D. Hooker 25 November 1873 …
- … DAR 103: 183, 186 Joseph Dalton Hooker Kew 25 Nov 1873 Charles Robert Darwin …
- … letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 November 1873 and n. 1. Hooker refers to Mimosa albida . …
- … See letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 November 1873 and n. 2. See letter …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 24 November 1873 . CD had queried whether the seeds Hooker had sent him …
- … London was inaugurated at the anniversary dinner on 1 December 1873 (see letter from T. …
- … H. Huxley, 3 December 1873 and n. 2). For CD’s difficulties with Mimosa …
- … the letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 November 1873 . The postcard has not been found. Hooker …

Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 31 hits
- … and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved …
- … A large portion of the letters Darwin received in 1873 were in response to The expression of the …
- … to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] ). Drosera was the main focus of …
- … leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ). Darwin found that the …
- … copy of the Handbook for the physiological laboratory (1873), a detailed guide to animal …
- … Darwin’s other main focus of botanical investigation in 1873 was cross- and self-fertilisation, work …
- … & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August 1873 ). Darwin worried, however, that …
- … when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). Keeping it in the family …
- … their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ). In September, Darwin …
- … will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 ). Erasmus, who had studied medicine …
- … work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September [1873] ). Shortly afterwards, it was arranged for …
- … 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873] , “Did I ever boast to you on the …
- … anonymously in the Edinburgh Review in April ([Baynes] 1873). Darwin asked one of his Scottish …
- … before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] ). Readers' lives …
- … letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, 20 February 1873 ). The surgeon Francis Stephen …
- … ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 February [1873] ). Some readers proposed alternative …
- … that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish physician William Main …
- … with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April 1873 ). The zoologist Henry Reeks suspected …
- … and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). Robert Swinhoe wrote from Ning …
- … a second dose” ( letter from Robert Swinhoe, 26 March 1873 ). One of the leading …
- … the jaws” ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 16 April 1873 ). Crichton-Browne was trying …
- … the disease ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 30 December 1873 ). Instinct In …
- … to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February 1873 ). Darwin soon became …
- … shops ( letter to Nature , [before 13 February 1873] ). Huggins’s letter prompted replies from …
- … to Nature ( letter to Nature , [before 13 March 1873] ) about a horse who had pulled a mail …
- … with his finger ( letter to Nature , [before 3 April 1873] ). Moggridge suggested the …
- … fellow species” ( letter to Nature , [before 24 July 1873] ). Character and genius …
- … as “utopian” ( letter to Francis Galton, 4 January [1873] ). Continuing the line of research he …
- … money very well” ( letter to Francis Galton, 28 May 1873 ). Among character traits, he listed …
- … honest & industrious” ( letter to Francis Galton, 28 May 1873 ). Supporting science, …
- … father ( enclosure to letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 December 1873 ). In April, Darwin also …

All Darwin's letters from 1873 go online for the anniversary of Origin
Summary
To celebrate the 158th anniversary of the publication of Origin of species on 24 November, the full transcripts and footnotes of over 500 letters from and to Charles Darwin in 1873 are now available online. Read about Darwin's life in 1873 through his…
Matches: 7 hits
- … of over 500 letters from and to Charles Darwin in 1873 are now available online. We have also …
- … Here are some highlights from Darwin's correspondence in 1873: I do not think any …
- … in Drosera. ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 23 October [1873] ) In 1873, Darwin continued …
- … work to do ( Letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 ) As well as working on …
- … of them sold! ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] ) Expression of the …
- … brother. ( Letter to T. H. Huxley, 23 April 1873 ) Darwin wrote this to Thomas …
- … and marvellous ( Letter to Francis Galton, 28 May 1873 ) Darwin was invited to …

Charles Harrison Blackley
Summary
You may not have heard of Charles Harrison Blackley (1820–1900), but if you are one of the 15 million people in the UK who suffer from hay fever, you are indebted to him. For it was he who identified pollen as the cause of the allergy. Darwin was…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Darwin was very interested in hay fever. On 14 June [1873] he wrote to Blackley to thank him for …
- … Aestivus (hay-fever or hay-asthma). And on 5 July 1873 Darwin wrote again, saying: ‘The …
- … in every direction. (Letter to C. H. Blackley, 5 July [1873] ) Blackley wrote back …
- … regions of the atmosphere. Blackley wrote on 7 July 1873 that his high altitude experiments had …
- … remained elusive. He wrote to Darwin on 11 July 1873 : The problem of cure has still …
Frank Chance
Summary
The Darwin archive not only contains letters, manuscript material, photographs, books and articles but also all sorts of small, dry specimens, mostly enclosed with letters. Many of these enclosures have become separated from the letters or lost altogether,…
Matches: 3 hits

Darwin and religion: a definitive web resource
Summary
I am aware that if we admit a first cause, the mind still craves to know whence it came and how it arose. Charles Darwin to N. D. Doedes, 2 April 1873 Darwin is more famous, and more notorious than ever. Nowhere is this more evident than in the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Charles Darwin to N. D. Doedes, 2 April 1873 Darwin is more famous, and more …

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: 3 hits
- … including photography, anthropometry, and fingerprinting. In 1873, he proposed founding a society to …
- … difficult to judge on these latter heads” ( 4 January [1873] ). Like most of his contemporaries, …
- … particular inherited talents, except for business ( 28 May 1873 ). Galton grew increasingly …

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: 9 hits
- … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
- … had suggested a new edition of the coral book in December 1873, when he realised the difficulty a …
- … vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 December [1873] ). Darwin himself had some trouble …
- … of human evolution and inheritance himself. In August 1873, he had published in the Contemporary …
- … the use of the Down schoolroom as a winter reading room in 1873 (see Correspondence , vol. 21, …
- … ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 July [1874] ). In 1873, Hooker had begun a series of …
- … vol. 21, letter from Francis Darwin, [11 October 1873] ). Darwin wasted several weeks in …
- … Moulinié, who had died after a period of ill health in 1873. Edmond Barbier corrected defects in …
- … was a copy of Joseph Simms’s book on physiognomy (Simms 1873), which contained Darwin’s portrait to …
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: 7 hits
- … Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, [1873] Ellen Lubbock, wife of naturalist …
- … Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873] Mary Treat reports in detail on her …
- … Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873] Mary Treat provides a detailed …
- … 9156 - Wallace, A. R . to Darwin, [19 November 1873] Wallace reassures Darwin that …
- … 9157 - Darwin to Da rwin, G. H., [20 November 1873] Darwin offers the work of …
- … Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 January 1873] Darwin gives Mary Treat close …
- … 9157 - Darwin to Da rwin, G. H., [20 November 1873] Darwin offers the work of …

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
- … 8962: Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, Friedrich, 3 July 1873 In the 1870s, Darwin corresponded …

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…
Matches: 1 hits
- … work” (letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September [1873] ). Shortly afterwards, it was arranged for …

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…

Exercise: Caricatures of Science
Summary
Caricatures provide intriguing insights into both ideals and transgressions of gender. The following six images show caricatured representations of nineteenth-century men and women of science. They provide insight into the boundaries of what was deemed …

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: 1 hits
- … Weale, J.P.M. [Jan 1873] Bedford, Cape of Good Hope, …
Darwin as mentor
Summary
Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 9005b - Darwin to Treat, M., [12 August 1873] Darwin thanks Treat for sending over …

Joseph Simms
Summary
The American doctor and author of works on physiognomy Joseph Simms wrote to Darwin on 14 September 1874, while he was staying in London. He enclosed a copy of his book Nature’s revelations of character (Simms 1873). He hoped it might 'prove…
Matches: 4 hits
- … of his book Nature’s revelations of character (Simms 1873). He hoped it might 'prove …
- … flat feet were indicative of small secretiveness (Simms 1873, p. 154). A ‘broad foot’ indicated …
- … destroy: the propensity to mar, deface, or destroy' (Simms 1873, p. 166). Unfortunately, …
- … and animals. London: John Murray. Simms, Joseph. 1873. Nature’s revelations of character, …

George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Summary
George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…
Matches: 3 hits
- … Sunday afternoons, when they received visitors (23 March 1873; Emma described his visit in a letter …
- … younger daughter, Bessy, did call on a Saturday in October 1873 but the Leweses were away. As a …
- … this happened (Emma Darwin to Horace Darwin, [14 October 1873], DAR 258: 547b). Early the following …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…

Darwin and the Church
Summary
The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … (letter to Down School Board, [after 29 November 1873] ). Ffinden fiercely resented Darwin for …
Referencing women’s work
Summary
Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 January 1873] Darwin asks naturalist Mary Treat …

Dining at Down House
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [4 December 1873] Here Emma describes Darwin’s difficulties …