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From E. A. Darwin   4 February 1878

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Summary

Sends CD’s and George’s tithes.

Author:  Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  4 Feb 1878
Classmark:  DAR 105: B103
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-11346

Matches: 11 hits

  • Darwin, E. …
  • … A. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … From E.  A.  Darwin   4 February 1878 …
  • … DAR 105: B103 Erasmus Alvey Darwin unstated 4 Feb …
  • … 1878 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … calendar of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … trust’ from their father, Robert Waring Darwin , in 1837. The trust was evidently related …
  • … parish of Castle Morton ( Robert Waring Darwin’s Investment book, Down House MS). After …
  • … Langton in 1866, her share was inherited by CD’s son George Howard Darwin ( letter from E. …
  • … A. Darwin, 8 July [1880] ( Calendar no. 12648)). Effie (Katherine Euphemia) Farrer was CD’ …

To Gaston de Saporta   4 February [1878]

Summary

The Permian fossil sent by GdeS has stirred up the Kew botanists. Hooker suggests it was a Ceratopteris.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Louis Charles Joseph Gaston (Gaston) de Saporta, comte de Saporta
Date:  4 Feb [1878]
Classmark:  Conry 1972, p. 118
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-11347

Matches: 3 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Saporta, Gaston de …
  • … Conry 1972, p. 118 Charles Robert Darwin Down 4 Feb [1878] Louis Charles Joseph Gaston ( …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
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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: 25 hits

  • … Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig …
  • … as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified …
  • … correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring …
  • … Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day …
  • … Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart Mill, Emma Darwin, Horace Darwin… and acts as a sort …
  • … the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and between the audience and …
  • … this, he sends out copies of his Review of the Life of Darwin. At this time in his life, Asa …
  • … friends in England, copies of his ‘Review of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it …
  • … Joseph D Hooker GRAY:   3   Charles Darwin… made his home on the border of the little …
  • … are kept in check by a constitutional weakness. DARWIN: A plain but comfortable brick …
  • … by every blessing except that of vigorous health… DARWIN:  4   My confounded stomach …
  • … pursuits and the simplicity of his character. DARWIN:   5   I am allowed to work now …
  • … own house, where he was the most charming of hosts. DARWIN:   6   My life goes on …
  • … being a part of [an unpublished] manuscript. Darwin settles down to write. His tone is …
  • … THE CONCURRENCE OF BOTANISTS: 1855 In which Darwin initiates a long-running correspondence …
  • … gossip about difficult colleagues (Agassiz). Gray realizes Darwin is not revealing all of his …
  • … man, more formally attired and lighter on his feet than Darwin. He has many more demands on his time …
  • … catches his attention. He opens the letter. DARWIN:  8   April 25 th 1855. My …
  • … filled up the paper you sent me as well as I could. DARWIN:  10   My dear Dr Gray. I …
  • … is condensed in that little sheet of note-paper! DARWIN:  11   My dear Hooker… What …
  • … surprising good. GRAY:   12   My dear Mr Darwin, I rejoice in furnishing facts to …
  • … of the sort to the advancement of science… DARWIN:  13   I hope… before [the] end of …
  • … reasonably expect… Yours most sincerely Asa Gray. DARWIN:  16   My dear Gray… Your …
  • … Journal, as a nut for [Professor] Agassiz to crack. Darwin and Gray share a joke at the …
  • … will turn up that he cannot explain away… DARWIN:  22   Hurrah I got yesterday my …

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: 11 hits

  • … |  Editors and critics  |  Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
  • … community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
  • … Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin
  • … peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October …
  • … garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] Darwin’s …
  • … . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867] Mary Barber …
  • … Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. to Darwin, H. E., [after 14 October 1869] …
  • … Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] Anne Jane Cupples, …
  • … observations on the expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - …
  • … and offers to observe birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - …
  • … ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, [1873] Ellen Lubbock, …

Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots

Summary

Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…

Matches: 16 hits

  • … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website.  The full texts …
  • … 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge …
  • … to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an …
  • … the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his …
  • … 1879 ). He was also unsatisfied with his account of Erasmus Darwin, declaring, ‘My little biography …
  • … a holiday in the Lake District in August did little to raise Darwin’s spirits. ‘I wish that my …
  • … W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] ). From July, Darwin had an additional worry: the …
  • … that his grandfather had felt the same way. In 1792, Erasmus Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I …
  • … contained a warmer note and the promise of future happiness: Darwin learned he was to be visited by …
  • … Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 …
  • … the veteran of Modern Zoology’, but it was in Germany that Darwin was most fêted. A German …
  • … ). The masters of Greiz College in Thuringia venerated Darwin as ‘the deep thinker’, while …
  • … accepted in Germany. ‘On this festive day’, Haeckel told Darwin, ‘you can look back, with justified …
  • … Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and serene evening of life’. This …
  • … on the theory of development in connection with Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Kosmos was, as …
  • … March, with encouragement from his brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin, Darwin decided to publish an …

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 …

Darwin and working from home

Summary

Ever wondered how Darwin worked? As part of our For the Curious series of simple interactives, ‘Darwin working from home’ lets you explore objects from Darwin’s study and garden at Down House to learn how he worked and what he had to say about it. And not…

Matches: 5 hits

  • … fixed on the spot where I shall end it .  Charles Darwin to Robert FitzRoy, 1 October 1846 …
  • … collaboration of his family. ►  Darwin's Study   Explore Darwin& …
  • … is the study that can be seen at Down House today. Darwin's daily routine …
  • … 6 pm Rested again in bedroom with ED [Emma Darwin] reading aloud. 7 …
  • … him. Account summarised in Charles Darwin: A Companion  by R.B. Freeman, …

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: 15 hits

  • … human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the …
  • … he first began to reflect on the transmutation of species. Darwin’s correspondence reveals the scope …
  • … he exchanged information and ideas. Letter 346: Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, C. S., 27 Feb 1837 …
  • … one stock.” Letter 2070: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, C. R., [before 29 Sept 1857] …
  • … down of former continents.” Letter 3054: Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 2 Feb [1861] …
  • … that languages, like species, were separately created. Darwin writes to the geologist Charles Lyell …
  • … I tell him is perfectly logical.” Letter 5605: Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. T., 15 Aug …
  • … loud noise?” Letter 7040: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, C. R., [1868-70?] As …
  • … gradually growing to such a stage” Letter 8367: Darwin, C. R. to Wright, Chauncey, 3 June …
  • … unconsciously altering the breed. Letter 8962: Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, Friedrich, 3 …
  • … Letter 10194: Max Müller, Friedrich to Darwin, C. R., 13 Oct [1875] For Müller, human and …
  • … Language […]” Letter 9887: Dawkins, W. B. to Darwin, C. R., 14 Mar 1875 The …
  • … of race […]” Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., 27 July 1877 Darwin’s …
  • … and comparative philologist Archibald Sayce wrote to Darwin with a series of detailed questions …
  • … how a child first uttered the word ‘mum’. In his reply, Darwin told Sayce “that ‘mum’ arose from …

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: 13 hits

  • … Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those …
  • … a broad variety of women had access to, and engaged with, Darwin's published works. A set of …
  • … women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
  • … that his views are original and will appeal to the public. Darwin asks Murray to forward the …
  • … and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859] …
  • … it had been proofread and edited by “a lady”. Darwin, E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March 1862 …
  • … typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] …
  • … and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 September 1870] …
  • … impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, J., [29 September …
  • … content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May 1872] Reade …
  • … of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [20 May 1872] Reade …
  • … women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November 1872] …
  • … Cupples got hold of it first. Darwin’s female readership …

Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers

Summary

In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…

Matches: 21 hits

  • … In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began …
  • … a very old man, who probably will not last much longer.’ Darwin’s biggest fear was not death, but …
  • … sweetest place on this earth’. From the start of the year, Darwin had his demise on his mind. He …
  • … provision for the dividing of his wealth after his death. Darwin’s gloominess was compounded by the …
  • … and new admirers got in touch, and, for all his fears, Darwin found several scientific topics to …
  • … Evolution old and new when revising his essay on Erasmus Darwin’s scientific work, and that Darwin
  • … memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s Gazette on 8 …
  • … in a review of Unconscious memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for …
  • … Butler wished to boast publicly that his quarrel was with Darwin, agreed. Unsure how to address …
  • … gone mad on such a small matter’. The following day, Darwin himself wrote to Stephen, admitting that …
  • … a slap in the face as he would have cause to remember’. Darwin was enormously relieved. ‘Your note …
  • … wrote such a savage review of Unconscious memory that Darwin feared he had redirected Butler’s …
  • … so much for anything in my life as for its success’, Darwin told Arabella Buckley on 4 January . …
  • … that Wallace would receive £200 a year,  he wrote to Darwin, ‘I congratulate you on the success of …
  • … on 8 January (his 58th birthday) and immediately wrote to Darwin to thank him for his ‘constant …
  • … he had done. Buckley’s delight was evident when she told Darwin on 13 January : ‘I have always …
  • … of 1881. This book had been a major undertaking for both Darwin and his son Francis, who assisted in …
  • … ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ). Unlike Darwin’s other books, Movement in plants …
  • … those who had received presentation copies who complimented Darwin, made suggestions, and pointed …
  • … of the technical terms used in the book particularly pleased Darwin because, he told Candolle on …
  • … Brazil on the movements of leaves that were so original that Darwin sent them to Nature for …

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: 13 hits

  • … activities for building and maintaining such connections. Darwin's networks extended from his …
  • … when strong institutional structures were largely absent. Darwin had a small circle of scientific …
  • … section contains two sets of letters. The first is between Darwin and his friend Kew botanist J. D. …
  • … about Hooker’s thoughts. Letter 729 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., [11 Jan 1844] …
  • … is like confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 23 Feb [1844 …
  • … of wide-ranging species to wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 …
  • … of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. R., 22 May 1855 Gray …
  • … of alpine flora in the USA. Letter 2125 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 20 July [1857] …
  • … have in simple truth been of the utmost value to me.” Darwin believes species have arisen, like …
  • … or continuous area; they are actual lineal descendants. Darwin discusses fertilisation in the bud …
  • … exchange This collection of letters between Darwin and Hooker, while Darwin was writing his …
  • … to information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct [1848] …
  • … followed automatically. On the issue of nomenclature reform, Darwin opposes appending first …

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…

Matches: 14 hits

  • Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of …
  • … portraits and in the extensive portrait correspondence that Darwin undertook throughout his lifetime …
  • … was jokingly lamenting his role as an intermediary for Darwin and his correspondents from around the …
  • … of friends and relatives was not a pursuit unique to Darwin (the exchange of photographic images was …
  • … reinforced his experimental and scientific network. Darwin’s Portraits Darwin sat for …
  • … famous photographers to studio portraitists looking to sell Darwin’s image to the masses. Between …
  • … in nineteenth-century photography. Darwin’s first photo-chemical experience …
  • … This particular daguerreotype is unique in terms of Darwin’s collection of photographs – it is the …
  • … exchanged, but rather was an object of display placed on a Darwin family mantlepiece. The image …
  • … in London and made at least four different exposures of Darwin between 1853 and 1857. They …
  • … While this image is notable as the first popular image of Darwin, the extent to which Darwin
  • … me look atrociously wicked.” Image: Charles Darwin, by Maull & Polyblank, albumen …
  • … Portrait Gallery, London (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) Darwin’s next experience with the …
  • … with the results. In 1860-61 and again in 1864 Charles Darwin sat for his eldest son, William Darwin

Home learning: 7-11 years

Summary

Do try this at home! Support your children’s learning by downloading our free and fun activities for those aged between 7-11 and 11-14 years, using Darwin’s letters.  

Matches: 7 hits

  • … for those aged between 7-11 and 11-14 years, using Darwin’s letters. Here are a few …
  • … family discussion: If you were going to interview Darwin about his life and work, what …
  • … Follow-up family discussion: Darwin sent back rocks, soils, plants and animal specimens …
  • … world without going on a voyage? More Darwin and the Beagle  Voyage activities …
  • … Follow-up family discussion: If you were Darwin how would you send back a rare …
  • … on a plant hunting trip today? More  Darwin the Collector activities …
  • … and why does it still happen today? More  Darwin and Evolution activities …

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…

Matches: 16 hits

  • … the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same …
  • … nineteenth century were different in important ways. Many of Darwin's leading supporters were …
  • … their religious beliefs with evolutionary theory. Darwin's own writing, both in print and …
  • … much as possible. A number of correspondents tried to draw Darwin out on his own religious views, …
  • … political contexts. Design Darwin was not the first to challenge …
  • … on the controversial topic of design. The first is between Darwin and Harvard botanist Asa Gray, …
  • … second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. Wallace to Darwin on design and natural selection. …
  • … result of “brute force”. Letter 2855 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 3 July [1860] …
  • … a “muddle” on this issue. Letter 3256 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 17 Sept [1861] …
  • … experiment about an angel. Letter 3342 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 11 Dec [1861] …
  • … some questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 May [1868] …
  • … of each fragment at the base of my precipice”. Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 …
  • … of natural selection. He worries about the accusation in Darwin & his teachings “ Natural …
  • … fittest” instead of “Natural Selection”. Wallace urges Darwin to stress frequency of variations. …
  • … Personal Belief This collection of letters explores Darwin’s reluctance to take a definitive …
  • … own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, C. R., [21–22 Nov 1838] In this …

Language: Interview with Gregory Radick

Summary

Darwin made a famous comment about parallels between changes in language and species change. Gregory Radick, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Leeds University, talks about the importance of the development of language to Darwin, what…

Matches: 22 hits

  • … the interview.     1. According to Darwin, how did language begin? …
  • … a bit more about that? 4. How did you use Darwin’s correspondence to re-evaluate …
  • … is the power of language. And the most important element in Darwin’s account of the origin of …
  • … the world or standing for feelings, begin to accumulate, and Darwin says these signs gave advantages …
  • … predators that might attack them, whatever it might be, Darwin thinks had an advantage in the …
  • … So language begins to accumulate like that. Likewise, Darwin thinks, in the courtship competition …
  • … better functioning brains. And a very important part of Darwin’s account of the origin of language …
  • … become more intelligent. And with larger intelligence comes, Darwin thinks, so many things—the …
  • … and so forth. 2. Was this an important topic for Darwin? And if so, why? It was hugely …
  • … systems of nonhuman animals, and human language.  And so Darwin saw himself as trying to combat that …
  • … Darwinian account of the origin of language. 3. Darwin made a famous comment about parallels …
  • … that? Well, there’s a famous passage at the end of Darwin’s discussion of the evolutionary …
  • … ten of these. And a question has arisen, quite what was Darwin getting up to in pointing out these …
  • … debate, and on the one side are people who say that Darwin couldn’t resist an opportunity to review …
  • … but I also think something more is going on there. Darwin was very concerned to defend his position …
  • … the languages still show the formerly high state. So Darwin’s concerned, in my view, to …
  • … people who like to think of themselves as fans of Charles Darwin because, of course, we don’t …
  • … that, equality of languages. But that wasn’t the case for Darwin, that wasn’t how he understood his …
  • … him and us, however uncomfortable. 4. How did you use Darwin’s correspondence to re-evaluate …
  • … topics, I learned that there was a story around about how Darwin, very late in life, had changed his …
  • … of study of all this, and it turns out that from the time of Darwin’s death through till now, …
  • … not quite at the deathbed, but in 1881, a letter in which Darwin wrote to a friend of his that he …

Controversy

Summary

The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … Disagreement & Respect | Conduct of Debate | Darwin & Wallace The best-known …
  • … the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely variable. Many of …
  • … was itself an important arena of debate, one that Darwin greatly preferred to the public sphere. …
  • … and support sustained in spite of enduring differences. Darwin's correspondence can thus help …
  • … Disagreement and Respect Darwin rarely engaged with critics publically. Letters exchanged …
  • … Richard Owen, the eminent comparative anatomist, show how Darwin tried to manage strong disagreement …
  • … were less severe, the relationship quickly deteriorated and Darwin came to regard him as a bitter …
  • … of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, C. R., 24 Nov 1859 Adam …
  • … which can neither be proved nor disproved”. He says that Darwin’s “grand principle natural …
  • … and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to Sedgwick, Adam, 26 Nov …
  • … have influenced the conclusions at which he has arrived. Darwin does not think the book will be …
  • … and incoming of living species” and so could not regard Darwin’s attempt to demonstrate the nature …
  • … at length a conversation with Owen concerning Origin . Darwin notes “that at bottom he goes …
  • … he thinks a sort of Bear was the grandpapa of Whales!” Darwin has heard Herschel considered his book …

Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life

Summary

1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time.  And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth.  All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … The year 1876 started out sedately enough with Darwin working on the first draft of his book on the …
  • … games. ‘I have won, hurrah, hurrah, 2795 games’, Darwin boasted; ‘my wife … poor creature, has won …
  • … regarding the ailments that were so much a feature of Darwin family life. But the calm was not to …
  • … four days later. ‘I cannot bear to think of the future’, Darwin confessed to William on 11 …
  • … once, the labour of checking proofs proved a blessing, as Darwin sought solace for the loss of his …
  • … and his baby son Bernard now part of the household, and Darwin recasting his work on dimorphic and …
  • … had involved much time and effort the previous year, and Darwin clearly wanted to focus his …
  • … When Smith, Elder and Company proposed reissuing two of Darwin’s three volumes of the geology of …
  • … single-volume edition titled Geological observations , Darwin resisted making any revisions at …
  • … volume, Coral reefs , already in its second edition. Darwin was nevertheless ‘firmly resolved not …
  • … meticulous correction of errors in the German editions made Darwin less anxious about correcting the …
  • … to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. ) Darwin focused instead on the second …
  • … concentrated on the ‘means of crossing’, was seen by Darwin as the companion to Cross and self …
  • … return to old work than part of the future work outlined by Darwin in his ‘little Autobiography’ ( …
  • … holiday after finishing Cross and self fertilisation , Darwin took up the suggestion made by a …
  • … for his family only. Writing for an hour every afternoon, Darwin finished his account on 3 August …
  • … dimittis.”’ (‘Recollections’, pp. 418–19). Darwin remained firm in his resolution to …
  • … ever return to the consideration of man.’ In particular, Darwin seemed eager to avoid issues that …
  • … wrote with the good news that he could restore Darwin to a religious life. This transformation would …
  • … that used to be called transmigration, Nemo pointed out to Darwin, adding, ‘the term nowadays is …
  • … enemies... Views such as these were easy enough for Darwin to dismiss, but it was more …
  • … St George Jackson Mivart in his Lessons from nature that Darwin had ‘at first studiously …
  • … unjust, but it was also the latest attack by the one man who Darwin felt had treated him ‘basely’ …

Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms

Summary

‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…

Matches: 20 hits

  • … heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old …
  • … to adapt to varying conditions. The implications of Darwin’s work for the boundary between animals …
  • … studies of animal instincts by George John Romanes drew upon Darwin’s early observations of infants, …
  • … of evolution and creation. Many letters flowed between Darwin and his children, as he took delight …
  • … Financial support for science was a recurring issue, as Darwin tried to secure a Civil List pension …
  • … with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. …
  • … Charles Harrison Tindal, sent a cache of letters from two of Darwin’s grandfather’s clerical friends …
  • … divines to see a pig’s body opened is very amusing’, Darwin replied, ‘& that about my …
  • … registry offices, and produced a twenty-page history of the Darwin family reaching back to the …
  • … the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 ). Darwin’s sons George and Leonard also …
  • … and conciliate a few whose ancestors had not featured in Darwin’s Life . ‘In an endeavour to …
  • … think I must pay a round of visits.’ One cousin, Reginald Darwin, warmed to George: ‘he had been …
  • … an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and Emma Darwin, 22 July …
  • … whose essay on Erasmus’s scientific work complemented Darwin’s biographical piece. Krause’s essay …
  • … Kosmos in February 1879, an issue produced in honour of Darwin’s birthday. Krause enlarged and …
  • … superficial and inaccurate piece of work’, although Darwin advised him not to ‘expend much powder …
  • … in the last sentence. When Butler read Erasmus Darwin , he noted the reference to his work, and …
  • … the position I have taken as regards D r Erasmus Darwin in my book Evolution old & New, and …
  • … 3 January 1880 ). At the top of Butler’s letter, Emma Darwin wrote: ‘it means war we think’. …
  • … a grievance to hang an article upon’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [28 January 1880] ). …

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: 25 hits

  • … 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working …
  • … dispute over an anonymous review that attacked the work of Darwin’s son George dominated the second …
  • … and traveller Alexander von Humboldt’s 105th birthday, Darwin obliged with a reflection on his debt …
  • … ). The death of a Cambridge friend, Albert Way, caused Darwin’s cousin, William Darwin Fox, to …
  • … from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ).  Such reminiscences led Darwin to the self-assessment, ‘as for one …
  • … I feel very old & helpless The year started for Darwin with a week’s visit to …
  • … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
  • …  ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor health so frequently in …
  • … 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and sceptics Darwin excused himself for reasons of …
  • … by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George Eliot), but Darwin excused himself, finding it too …
  • … the month, another Williams séance was held at the home of Darwin’s cousin Hensleigh Wedgwood. Those …
  • … imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin agreed that it was ‘all imposture’ …
  • … stop word getting to America of the ‘strange news’ that Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his …
  • … the first three months of the year and, like many of Darwin’s enterprises in the 1870s, were family …
  • … 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 December [1873] ). Darwin himself had some trouble in …
  • … and letter to Charles Lyell, [13 January 1874] ). Darwin blamed his illness for the …
  • … . In his preface ( Coral reefs  2d ed., pp. v–vii), Darwin reasserted the priority of his work. …
  • … for the absence of coral-reefs in certain locations. Darwin countered with the facts that low …
  • … whole coastline of a large island. Dana also thought that Darwin had seen fringing reefs as proof of …
  • … presentation copy, Dana sent an apology for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D …
  • … Alongside his revision of  Coral reefs,  Darwin went to work on a new edition of  Descent . In …
  • … George Cupples, a Scottish deerhound expert who forwarded Darwin’s queries about the numbers of …
  • … had raged between himself and Richard Owen since the 1860s. Darwin had omitted this controversial …
  • … elements of geology , and with the cheaper sixth edition of Darwin’s own  Origin . (The first …
  • … Murray’s partner, Robert Francis Cooke, informed Darwin that the lower price would bring the profits …

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: 14 hits

  • … This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific …
  • … admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of Darwin’s life in 1860, in the immediate …
  • … of publication of Descent of Man in 1871. In this period Darwin became a public figure, and the …
  • … increased accordingly. Letters conveyed public reaction to Darwin, as people who were often complete …
  • … worked up, or their religious doubts and concerns for Darwin’s own soul. Darwin himself used letters …
  • … world a questionnaire on the expression of the emotions. Darwin also continued to confide in his …
  • … yet been pointed out to me. No doubt many will be. Darwin to Huxley, 1860. …
  • … have been miserably uncomfortable. Emma to Charles Darwin, 1861. I am …
  • … gravitating towards your doctrines … Huxley to Darwin, 1862. I cannot bear …
  • … what you think about the derivation of Species … Darwin to Charles Lyell, 1863. …
  • … fairly settled & succeeding in India. John Scott to Darwin, 1864. I …
  • … was quite out of balance once during our voyage … Darwin to Hooker (on hearing of Robert …
  • … that the necks of your horses are badly galled … Darwin to a local landowner, 1866. …
  • … should be still very far off. Mary Boole to Darwin, 1866. Never, for God’s …

Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings

Summary

‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…

Matches: 25 hits

  • … Editions Plants always held an important place in Darwin’s theorising about species, and …
  • … his periods of severe illness. Yet on 15 January 1875 , Darwin confessed to his close friend …
  • … way to continuous writing and revision, activities that Darwin found less gratifying: ‘I am slaving …
  • … bad.’ The process was compounded by the fact that Darwin was also revising another manuscript …
  • … coloured stamens.’ At intervals during the year, Darwin was diverted from the onerous task of …
  • … zoologist St George Jackson Mivart. In April and early May, Darwin was occupied with a heated …
  • … chapter of the controversy involved a slanderous attack upon Darwin’s son George, in an anonymous …
  • … on 12 January , breaking off all future communication. Darwin had been supported during the affair …
  • … Society of London, and a secretary of the Linnean Society, Darwin’s friends had to find ways of …
  • … pp. 16–17). ‘How grandly you have defended me’, Darwin wrote on 6 January , ‘You have also …
  • … in public. ‘Without cutting him direct’, he advised Darwin on 7 January , ‘I should avoid him, …
  • … & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January 1875 ). Darwin had also considered taking up …
  • … , ‘I feel now like a pure forgiving Christian!’ Darwin’s ire was not fully spent, however, …
  • … in the same Quarterly article that attacked George. Darwin raised the matter at the end of the …
  • … to rest, another controversy was brewing. In December 1874, Darwin had been asked to sign a memorial …
  • … Hensleigh and Frances Wedgwood. She had corresponded with Darwin about the evolution of the moral …
  • … could not sign the paper sent me by Miss Cobbe.’ Darwin found Cobbe’s memorial inflammatory …
  • … memorial had been read in the House of Lords (see ' Darwin and vivisection ').   …
  • … medical educators, and other interested parties. Darwin was summoned to testify on 3 November. It …
  • … ( Report of the Royal Commission on vivisection , p. 183). Darwin learned of Klein’s testimony …
  • … agree to any law, which should send him to the treadmill.’ Darwin had become acquainted with Klein …
  • … am astounded & disgusted at what you say about Klein,’ Darwin replied to Huxley on 1 November …
  • … the man.’   Poisons, plants, and print-runs Darwin’s keen interest in the progress of …
  • … leading physiologists. Indeed, some of the experiments that Darwin performed on plants, such as the …
  • … Vallisneria (tape grass). Fayrer had previously supplied Darwin with a quantity of the dried …

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest

Summary

The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of  Origin. Darwin got the fourth…

Matches: 22 hits

  • … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now …
  • … and also a meeting with Herbert Spencer, who was visiting Darwin’s neighbour, Sir John Lubbock. In …
  • … all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
  • … hypothesis of hereditary transmission. Debate about Darwin’s theory of transmutation …
  • … alleged evidence of a global ice age, while Asa Gray pressed Darwin’s American publisher for a …
  • … for the Advancement of Science. Fuller consideration of Darwin’s work was given by Hooker in an …
  • … frustrations were punctuated by family bereavement. Two of Darwin’s sisters died, Emily Catherine …
  • … from painful illness. Diet and exercise Among Darwin’s first letters in the new year …
  • … every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). Darwin had first consulted Jones in July …
  • … ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). Darwin began riding the cob, Tommy, on 4 …
  • … day which I enjoy much.’ The new exercise regime led to Darwin’s being teased by his neighbour, John …
  • … John Lubbock, 4 August 1866 ). More predictably, however, Darwin immediately converted his renewed …
  • … Since the publication of  Origin  in November 1859, Darwin had continued gathering and organising …
  • … by natural selection was based. The work relied heavily on Darwin’s extensive correspondence over …
  • … and poultry expert William Bernhard Tegetmeier. In January, Darwin wrote to Tegetmeier that he was …
  • … ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January [1866] ). Darwin found the evidence of variation in …
  • … varieties from  Columbia livia , the rock pigeon. Darwin on heredity: the 'provisional …
  • … chapter headed ‘Provisional hypothesis of pangenesis’, Darwin proposed that the various phenomena of …
  • … example, the reproductive organs, or the tissues of a bud. Darwin had submitted a preliminary sketch …
  • … & brimful of my dear little mysterious gemmules.’ Darwin collected information on …
  • … Thomas Rivers, and the German botanist Robert Caspary. Darwin was particularly interested in recent …
  • … the scion apparently produced buds with blended characters; Darwin had tried to propagate the …
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