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Darwin Correspondence Project

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Darwin Correspondence Project
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From H. C. Watson   3 January 1858

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Summary

Discusses the ranges and distribution of varieties relative to the type species.

Author:  Hewett Cottrell Watson
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  3 Jan 1858
Classmark:  DAR 98: A19–20
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2199

Matches: 4 hits

  • … Watson, H. C. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … DAR 98: A19–20 Hewett Cottrell Watson Thames Ditton 3 Jan 1858 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … presented to him by Watson, are in the Darwin Library–CUL. Volume four is annotated by CD. …

From Edward Blyth   [8 January 1858]

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Summary

Zebra-striped asses.

Markings of a Bengal jungle cock.

Refers to some of his own articles on birds in India.

Reports the arrival of the "glorious garrison of Lucknow". The "wonderful superiority of the European to the Asiatic" made the success of the insurrection inconceivable.

Author:  Edward Blyth
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  [8 Jan 1858]
Classmark:  DAR 98: A144–5
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2200

Matches: 5 hits

  • … Blyth, Edward Darwin, C. R. …
  • … DAR 98: A144–5 Edward Blyth Calcutta [8 Jan 1858] Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … 311. Blyth 1857b . A copy of the article is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL. William …
  • … John Murray. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part …

From John Innes   9 January [1858–9]

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Summary

Sends record of pigeon flight from London to Antwerp. [Lord W. Lennox, Merrie England (1857), p. 185.]

Author:  John Brodie Innes
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  9 Jan [1858-9]
Classmark:  DAR 205.2: 242
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-13818

Matches: 6 hits

  • … Innes, J. B. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … DAR 205.2: 242 John Brodie Innes Downe 9 Jan 1858 9 Jan 1859 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … London. Moore, James Richard. 1985. Darwin of Down: the evolutionist as squarson- …
  • … Downe Jan 9 th . Dear Darwin, Thanks for your note I will try to go to Bromley on the 25 …
  • … of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859. …

To J. D. Hooker   12 January [1858]

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Summary

On papilionaceous flowers and CD’s theory that there are no eternal hermaphrodites. Connects this theory to absence of small-flowered legumes in New Zealand and the absence of small bees as pollinators.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Joseph Dalton Hooker
Date:  12 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  DAR 114: 220
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2201

Matches: 6 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Hooker, J. D. …
  • … DAR 114: 220 Charles Robert Darwin Down 12 Jan [1858] Joseph Dalton Hooker …
  • … after CD’s death when Hooker helped Francis Darwin edit his father’s correspondence for …
  • … of Papilionaceous flowers. Ever yours | C.  Darwin My man is getting on with D.  Candolle, …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … Lovell Reeve. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second …

To E. W. V. Harcourt   13 January [1858]

Summary

Went to the show and saw EWVH’s birds.

Thinks he will give up his pigeons at the end of the summer.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Edward William Vernon Harcourt
Date:  13 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  Bodleian Libraries, Oxford (MS. Harcourt dep. adds. 346, fols. 265–8)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2201F

Matches: 6 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Harcourt, E. W. V. …
  • … thanks for all your kindness, I beg leave to remain | Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin
  • … adds. 346, fols. 265–8) Charles Robert Darwin Down 13 Jan [1858] Edward William Vernon …
  • … of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859. …
  • … James Andrew. 1981. Nature’s fancy: Charles Darwin and the breeding of pigeons. Isis 72: …
  • … and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868. …

To W. D. Fox   14 January [1858]

Summary

Asks to borrow W. C. Hewitson’s book [British oology, 2 vols. (1831–44)].

CD is searching for reliable information on slight variations in the degree of perfection of nests of the same species of birds.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  William Darwin Fox
Date:  14 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 108)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2202

Matches: 5 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Fox, W. D. …
  • … Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 108) Charles Robert Darwin Down 14 …
  • … Jan [1858] William Darwin Fox …
  • … charity in this line would be gratefully accepted. — Ever yours | In Haste | C.  Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …

To J. D. Hooker   15 January [1858]

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Summary

CD has never doubted probability of Bering Strait land connection.

Family illness.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Joseph Dalton Hooker
Date:  15 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  DAR 114: 221
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2203

Matches: 12 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Hooker, J. D. …
  • … DAR 114: 221 Charles Robert Darwin Down 15 Jan [1858] Joseph Dalton Hooker …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … D. Hooker, 12 January [1858] and n.  5. Emma Darwin’s brother Josiah Wedgwood III and his …
  • … CD’s sister, arrived with their family at Down on 15 January 1858 ( Emma Darwin’s diary). …
  • … My dear Hooker | Yours affec y | C.  Darwin P.S. | I have just got your letter for which …
  • … 1858 ( Bonney 1919 , p.  137). Leonard Darwin , who had just turned 8, had experienced a …
  • … 30 September [1857] , and n.  13). Emma Darwin recorded Leonard’s fluctuating ill health …
  • … in February and March 1858. George Howard Darwin , aged 13, was attending Clapham Grammar …
  • … School. Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that ‘G.  went …
  • … on 1 February 1858. Henrietta Emma Darwin , aged 15, had suffered poor health throughout …
  • … much of the previous year. The Darwins had sent her to Edward Wickstead Lane’s hydropathic …

From J. D. Hooker   15 January 1858

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Summary

Has gone over to CD’s side on the fertilisation of clover in New Zealand by bees.

Author:  Joseph Dalton Hooker
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  15 Jan 1858
Classmark:  DAR 100: 120–1; L. Huxley ed. 1918, 1: 453
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2204

Matches: 5 hits

  • … Hooker, J. D. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … L. Huxley ed. 1918, 1: 453 Joseph Dalton Hooker unstated 15 Jan 1858 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Friday Jany 15/58 My dear Darwin The Leguminous affair is extremely curious, I am quite …
  • … corrected, with additions. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1845. Origin : On the …
  • … of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859. …

To William Bernhard Tegetmeier   17 January [1858]

Summary

Has received Burmese fowls’ skins from Walter Elliot.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  William Bernhard Tegetmeier
Date:  17 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  Archives of the New York Botanical Garden (Charles Finney Cox Collection)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2205

Matches: 4 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Tegetmeier, W. B. …
  • … Charles Finney Cox Collection) Charles Robert Darwin Down 17 Jan [1858] William Bernhard …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … small not heavy Box about 2 ft by 1 & 1 deep. — In Haste Yours very sincerely | C.  Darwin

To John Stevens Henslow   25 January [1858]

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Summary

Mrs Henslow’s death stirs reminiscences of happier days.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  John Stevens Henslow
Date:  25 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  DAR 93: A50–1
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2207

Matches: 4 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Henslow, J. S. …
  • … DAR 93: A50–1 Charles Robert Darwin Down 25 Jan [1858] John Stevens Henslow …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … My dear friend & most kind old master | Believe me | Yours affectionately |Ch. Darwin

To William Benjamin Carpenter   26 January [1858]

Summary

Asks WBC to plant some kidney beans [on Holy Island near Arran] and to see whether they are ever visited by bees. If no bees visit the island, it would be "curious" to observe what plants grow there.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  William Benjamin Carpenter
Date:  26 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  Harris Manchester College Library, Oxford (Letter book D and Letter book D Add.)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2043

Matches: 6 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Carpenter, W. B. …
  • … Letter book D Add. ) Charles Robert Darwin Down 26 Jan [1858] William Benjamin Carpenter …
  • … papers : The collected papers of Charles Darwin. Edited by Paul H. Barrett. 2 vols. …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … on the Kidney-beans & believe me dear Carpenter Yours very sincerely | C.  Darwin
  • … Engelmann. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part …

To George Bentham   27 January [1858]

Summary

Asks GB to vote for "a distant connexion of mine" at Athenaeum, and to mention this to Hooker.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  George Bentham
Date:  27 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Bentham Correspondence, Vol. 3, Daintree–Dyer, 1830–1884, GEB/1/3: f. 676)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-13778

Matches: 5 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Bentham, George …
  • … Dyer, 1830–1884, GEB/1/3: f. 676) Charles Robert Darwin Down 27 Jan [1858] George Bentham …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … My dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin I presume Hooker never attends but if at …
  • … the relationship to a letter to William Darwin Fox written during the previous month, in …

To W. D. Fox   31 January [1858]

Summary

Thanks WDF for information on blackbirds’ nests [see Natural selection, p. 505].

Problem of choosing from among the load of curious facts for chapter on "Instinct" [Natural selection, ch. 10; Origin, ch. 7] perplexes him.

Asks about behaviour of chicks in danger and whether crossed animals are wilder than either parent.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  William Darwin Fox
Date:  31 Jan [1858]
Classmark:  Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 109)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2208

Matches: 12 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Fox, W. D. …
  • … do very nearly as well as my attendance. My dear Fox | Yours affectionately | C.  Darwin
  • … Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 109) Charles Robert Darwin Down 31 …
  • … Jan [1858] William Darwin Fox …
  • … was Joseph Dalton Hooker’s uncle. Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that ‘G.  went to …
  • … upon Tyne. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part …
  • … and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868. …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … S. Darwin kept a large menagerie there ( Galton 1874 , p.  47). CD and Fox visited Sydnope …
  • … in Variation 2: 45, CD stated that F.  S. Darwin had crossed a domesticated Chinese sow …
  • … 486–7. Sydnope Hall, Derbyshire, was the residence of Francis Sacheverel Darwin , a son of …
  • … CD’s grandfather Erasmus Darwin by his second marriage. F.   …

To J. D. Hooker   4 [February 1858]

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Summary

Returns books by Candolle and Robert Brown.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Joseph Dalton Hooker
Date:  4 [Feb 1858]
Classmark:  DAR 114: 219
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2210

Matches: 3 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Hooker, J. D. …
  • … DAR 114: 219 Charles Robert Darwin Down 4 [Feb 1858] Joseph Dalton Hooker …
  • … write in a few days time about results when I have calculated them Ever yours | C.  Darwin

To George Henry Kendrick Thwaites   7 February [1858]

Summary

Thanks GHKT for letter on plant acclimatisation and variation among alpine and lowland forms in Ceylon.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  George Henry Kendrick Thwaites
Date:  7 Feb [1858]
Classmark:  American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.150)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2211

Matches: 7 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Thwaites, G. H. K. …
  • … Society (Mss.B.D25.150) Charles Robert Darwin Down 7 Feb [1858] George Henry Kendrick …
  • … in successive generations. — With my very sincere thanks, Yours very truly | Ch. Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … Press. 1985–. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second …
  • … of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859. …
  • … and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868. …

To J. D. Hooker   9 February [1858]

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Summary

Six volumes of Candolle’s Prodromus confirm rule that small genera vary less than large. Labiatae an exception to rule.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Joseph Dalton Hooker
Date:  9 Feb [1858]
Classmark:  DAR 114: 223
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2212

Matches: 5 hits

  • Darwin, C. R. Hooker, J. D. …
  • … DAR 114: 223 Charles Robert Darwin Down 9 Feb [1858] Joseph Dalton Hooker …
  • … all the others. — I have written you a tremendous long prose. | Ever yours | C.  Darwin. …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … the author. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part …

From George Robert Waterhouse   10 February 1858

Summary

Bees’ cells. Observations on Osmia atricapilla.

Author:  George Robert Waterhouse
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  10 Feb 1858
Classmark:  DAR 181: 22
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2213

Matches: 5 hits

  • … Waterhouse, G. R. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … DAR 181: 22 George Robert Waterhouse British Museum 10 Feb 1858 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … Press. 1985–. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second …
  • … British Museum Feb. 10. 58 My dear Darwin I am sorry to see by the Date of your letter, it …

From William Balfour Baikie   11 February 1858

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Summary

Describes some species of fauna peculiar to Fernando Po. The ocean currents make it unlikely that animals have been floated to the little islands [off the west coast of Africa].

Author:  William Balfour Baikie
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  11 Feb 1858
Classmark:  DAR 205.3: 260
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2214

Matches: 3 hits

  • … Baikie, W. B. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … 260 William Balfour Baikie Kátsa Núpe, Central Africa 11 Feb 1858 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …

To William Erasmus Darwin   11 [February 1858]

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Summary

Writes of domestic matters

and asks WED to observe cart-horses for traces of dark stripes on spine and cross-stripes on shoulder.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  William Erasmus Darwin
Date:  11 [Feb 1858]
Classmark:  DAR 210.6: 22
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2215

Matches: 21 hits

  • … To William Erasmus Darwin   11 [February 1858] …
  • Darwin, C. …
  • … R. Darwin, W. E. …
  • … DAR 210.6: 22 Charles Robert Darwin Down 11 [Feb …
  • … 1858] William Erasmus Darwin
  • … to CD through his father Robert Waring Darwin , was given by CD to the Museum of Practical …
  • … Meteyard 1875 , pp.  302–5). Henry Allen (Harry) Wedgwood was Emma Darwin’s brother. …
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … Press. 1985–. Natural selection : Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second …
  • … you get on with Mathematicks & Classics. My dear old fellow | Yours affect | C.  Darwin
  • … see n.  2, below). On 2 February 1857, Emma Darwin noted in her diary that ‘W m went to …
  • … Correspondence vol.  6, letter to W.  E. Darwin, 25 [November 1856] ). CD had previously …
  • … the horse ( ibid . , letter to W.  E. Darwin, [November 1857] ). George Edwards , from …
  • … s Address book (Down House MS). Leonard Darwin was known among the family for his amusing …
  • … Chronicle , [before 13 June 1857]. Emma Darwin’s diary records that she ‘came to London’ …
  • … on 16 February 1857. Henrietta Emma Darwin accompanied her, and the younger children came …
  • … Correspondence vol.  2, letter to Susan Darwin, [26 April 1838] ). John Lewis was the …
  • … see Correspondence vol.  6, letters to W.  E. Darwin, [before 11 September 1857] and 29 [ …
  • … Fox, 30 October [1857] ). Although the Darwins initially intended the new downstairs room …
  • … in 1844 following the death of Emma Darwin’s father Josiah Wedgwood II (see Correspondence …
  • … vol.  3, letter to Susan Darwin, [27 November 1844? ] ). The vase was sold for £75 on 3  …

From G. R. Waterhouse   13 February 1858

Summary

GRW’s observations of and ideas on bees’ and wasps’ cells.

Author:  George Robert Waterhouse
Addressee:  Charles Robert Darwin
Date:  13 Feb 1858
Classmark:  DAR 181: 23
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2216

Matches: 4 hits

  • … Waterhouse, G. R. Darwin, C. R. …
  • … DAR 181: 23 George Robert Waterhouse British Museum 13 Feb 1858 Charles Robert Darwin
  • … Correspondence : The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et …
  • … British Museum Feb. 13. 58  My dear Darwin I do very much wish that you could see the …
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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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