From W. W. Reade 1 February 1871
Summary
Sir Andrew Smith says Hottentots and Kaffirs laugh till they cry.
| Author: | William Winwood Reade |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 Feb 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 176: 45 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7473 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Fulahs, and the Iolofs’, the West African peoples to whom Reade probably refers here, as …
- … to refer to some groups of the Xhosa people of south-eastern Africa, while ‘Hottentot’ …
- … was usually used to refer to peoples of south-western Africa (the Khoikhoi); for …
- … century polygenist classification of African peoples, see Nott and Gliddon 1854, pp. 180– …
From Gerhard Rohlfs 6 June 1871
Summary
Various observations from his experience in Africa relevant to Descent.
Fertility of hybrids of blacks and whites.
Protective coloration of Sahara animals.
Natives’ ideas of female beauty.
| Author: | Gerhard Friedrich (Gerhard) Rohlfs |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 June 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 183–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7805 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … are inhabited exclusive by hybridous-people (Mischlingsvolk) procreated partly by white …
- … family—that the fertility of this hybridous people was extraordinary great. t. I. p. …
- … The Touareg (or Tuareg) are a nomadic people of the Sahara. In Descent 1: 216–50, CD …
- … discussed accounts of reduced fertility in people of mixed racial background in Descent 1: …
- … Barbarias’, Rohlfs probably means Berbers; that is, the indigenous people of North Africa. …
- … Haussa (now Hausa) is the name of a people native to Niger as well as of the former …
From W. W. Reade 21 February 1871
Summary
Various comments on Descent;
on suicide on Gold Coast;
on mulattoes’ not being prolific.
| Author: | William Winwood Reade |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 21 Feb 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 172–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7501 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … haben. One often hears the young people who have visited the Portuguese settlements with …
- … Descent 2: 346, CD gave instances of black people expressing dislike of white skin. John …
- … of the manners and customs of the people, and of the chace of the gorilla, crocodile, …
- … Hottentot’ was usually used to refer to peoples of south-western Africa (the Khoikhoi); …
- … difference of climate. The Wolof people (also spelled Ouolof) now live primarily in …
From Erasmus Galton 30 December 1871
Summary
After reading Descent sends two instances of men and animals using the same muscles to express similar emotional states.
| Author: | Erasmus Galton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 30 Dec 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 5 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8125 |
From W. W. Reade 6 January [1871]
Summary
On sexual selection and the sense of beauty among the W. African Negroes.
| Author: | William Winwood Reade |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 Jan [1871] |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 170–1 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7429 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … every year to Sofala certain young people of their caste considered by the Kafirs as being …
- … used to refer to some groups of the Xhosa people of south-eastern Africa; for nineteenth- …
- … the Sofalians as many pieces of cloth as the people of Mogadisho brought individuals, and …
- … natives of Sofala are certainly negroes. The people they admired white men. I am disposed …
From Otto Kratz 12 July 1871
Summary
Sends photographs of very hairy Burmese natives; suggests they may be the "missing link".
| Author: | Otto Kratz |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 12 July 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 169: 101 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7862 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … board of his own vessel, these hairy people, who had brought rice down from the mountains, …
- … were an amiable, hospitable kind of people, rather advanced in culture and very pleasant …
- … me a good many details respecting these people, but as they are not pertinent, I have to …
- … my mind: 1 st . These are the very hairy people we want as one of the connecting links and …
From George Busk 10 March 1871
Summary
Clarification of the supra-condyloid foramen in humans and animals.
| Author: | George Busk |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Mar 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 87: 21–7 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7563 |
From H. Marval 15 September 1871
Summary
Observations on behaviour of spiders in Astrakhan and Turkestan.
| Author: | H. Marval |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 Sept 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 77–8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7948 |
From R. H. Blair 16 March 1871
Summary
Will be pleased to collect information on the blind for CD when time allows. Generally very few (about one quarter) of blind people entering institutions are born blind.
| Author: | Robert Hugh Blair |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 Mar 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 195 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7590 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … very few (about one quarter) of blind people entering institutions are born blind. …
From Louis Bouton 22 September 1871
Summary
Is enjoying Descent. Sends corroborating facts on heredity, concerning race of people from the Seychelles known for their tall stature, courage, and vigour.
| Author: | Louis Sulpice (Louis) Bouton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 22 Sept 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 259 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7961 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … facts on heredity, concerning race of people from the Seychelles known for their tall …
From T. H. Huxley 28 September 1871
Summary
Sends proof of article for Contemporary Review [18 (1871): 443–76].
Is grieved to hear that Mivart is author of Quarterly Review article. THH thought better of him than that.
Compares the Origin to Plato’s Republic: "it will remain fresh for two thousand years".
| Author: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 28 Sept 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 99: 43–46 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7973 |
From Mary Treat 20 December 1871
Summary
Describes fly-catching activity of Drosera longifolia.
Experiments on Papilio asterias; sex of adult determined by length of larval feeding time.
| Author: | Mary Lua Adelia (Mary) Davis; Mary Lua Adelia (Mary) Treat |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Dec 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 58.1: 33 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8113 |
From O. G. Rejlander [1871]
Summary
Observations on expression.
| Author: | Oscar Gustaf Rejlander |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [1871] |
| Classmark: | DAR 189: 139 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7418 |
From Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen [before 21 February 1871]
Summary
Notes on Variation and Descent.
| Author: | Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 21 Feb 1871] |
| Classmark: | DAR 90: 26–7 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7529 |
From Andrew Smith 16 May 1871
Summary
Disagrees with CD and especially with Lubbock and McLennan about communal marriage. [See Descent 2: 361–3.]
| Author: | Andrew Smith |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 May 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 179–80 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7760 |
From C. L. Bernays 25 February 1871
Summary
Older settlers in U. S. are taller and thinner than recent immigrants.
| Author: | Charles Louis Bernays |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 25 Feb 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 90: 18–19 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7515 |
From R. M. Kettle 10 March [1871]
Summary
Requests permission to quote from CD’s letters to Charles Boner in her edition [of Memoirs and letters of Charles Boner (1871)].
| Author: | Rosa Mackenzie Kettle |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Mar [1871] |
| Classmark: | DAR 169: 8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7565 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1865. Transylvania: its products and its people. London: Longman, Green, Reader and Dyer. …
From T. H. Huxley 10 October 1871
Summary
Answers CD on transitional forms. Has no doubt Zeuglodon is transitional form between Carnivora and Cetacea.
Met Mivart in Manchester. Some doubt that he was the author of Quarterly Review article.
| Author: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Oct 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 326 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8000 |
From W. W. Reade 4 March 1871
Summary
Praise for gentle but resolute tone of Descent.
| Author: | William Winwood Reade |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 4 Mar 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 176: 46 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7546 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … CD with information on both animals and people in parts of west Africa (see Correspondence …
From Harrison Weir 28 March 1871
Summary
Effects of first impregnation on litters from subsequent pregnancies.
Power of selective breeding to produce different varieties.
| Author: | Harrison William Weir |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 28 Mar 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 72 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7633 |
| letter | (65) |
| Reade, W. W. | (7) |
| Darwin, H. E. | (3) |
| Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen, Hermanus | (3) |
| Litchfield, H. E. | (3) |
| Bouton, Louis | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | |
| Darwin, Emma | (1) |
| Wedgwood, Emma | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (65) |
| Reade, W. W. | (7) |
| Darwin, H. E. | (3) |
| Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen, Hermanus | (3) |
| Litchfield, H. E. | (3) |
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin …
People featured in the German and Austrian photograph album
Summary
Biographical details of people from the Habsburg Empire that appeared in the album of German and Austrian scientists sent to Darwin on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Johannes Mattes for providing these details and for permission to make his…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Biographical details of people from the Habsburg Empire that appeared in the album of German and …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from scientific admirers in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Hester Loeff for identifying and researching them. No. …
Matches: 1 hits
- … Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his …
People
Summary
This section is about Charles Darwin and his correspondents. It is divided into the following areas: Key correspondents The Beagle voyage networks Family and friends Darwin's scientific networks Readers and critics Publishers, artists…
Matches: 1 hits
- … This section is about Charles Darwin and his correspondents. It is divided into the following …
Interview with Pietro Corsi
Summary
Pietro Corsi is Professor of the History of Science at the University of Oxford. His book Evolution Before Darwin is due to be published in 2010 by Oxford University Press. Date of interview: 17 July 2009 Transcription 1: Introduction …
Matches: 25 hits
- … see, the French scene deserves close attention. I think that people have been working – and doing …
- … , but let’s say, ?the Institution of Science?) and people have also assumed that the science which …
- … each of these dictionaries there is a huge coverage of what people felt important for the …
- … distorting our appreciation at a very basic level: what were people talking about? Now, that …
- … public press. Not only that, but he also produced, or had people writing for him, articles showing …
- … more the French government moves to the right wing, the more people try to start saying that …
- … officer of the Napoleonic army becomes a kind of person who people have to trust to put the country …
- … to curb atheism, but even more worried [of] subversion and people not being friendly to the …
- … professional structure, of the Anglican clergymen. I found people endorsing moderate forms of …
- … of Noah’s ark. It is surprising the extent to which these people knew about Continental science. …
- … I still believe up to the mid-1830s not many English people knew German. (The evidence of that is …
- … academic climbing to a completely different mindset. But people always try to say how original they …
- … more important. Let me give you one instance. For people like John Fleming , the Scottish …
- … atheism implicit in Lamarck. By 1830 in England, a lot of people are really worried that Lamarckian …
- … By 1834, the issue was almost academic within a lot of people, and William Whewell, in 1837, wrongly …
- … at is that by the time in which Darwin sets to read these people – Lamarck, Bory de Saint-Vincent, …
- … more [part of a] burning debate, [a] hot debate, on which people feel things are at stake. So I …
- … that. I simply say that he’s tried to think, who are the people who said something [about evolution …
- … who said something. And naturally so, because by 1860 these people were curiosities, whereas if you …
- … a seat at the Academy of Sciences in botany, not in zoology. People felt challenged. The earliest …
- … I think that is totally not true. But nevertheless, people who say that Lamarck cut no ice in France …
- … Lamarck has not said what Darwin said, even though some people say, well, within Darwin there …
- … everyone believed that throughout Europe; very few people doubted that. The question is to what an …
- … thesis as broad as that – ?French science declined? - people are now finding a lot of counter …
- … language. That is, that was not mainstream. Certainly, people who used Darwin in that way in France, …
Site index
Summary
List of all letters in chronological order List of all people mentioned in letters List of all bibliographic references in letters List of correspondents Links index
Matches: 1 hits
- … of all letters in chronological order List of all people mentioned in letters …
Introduction to the Satire of FitzRoy's Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle
Summary
'a humble toadyish follower…': Not all pictures of Darwin during the Beagle voyage are flattering. Published here for the first time is a complete transcript of a satirical account of the Beagle’s brief visit in 1836 to the Cocos Keeling islands…
Matches: 7 hits
- … of those who lived on Cocos-Keeling – whether enslaved people, indentured servants, or wage …
- … matters. Thus, the manuscript illustrates how ships, people, goods, books and even clay soil (as …
- … with numbers in square brackets. Key people mentioned in the manuscript …
- … Borneo , and in 1820 he sailed Hare and a party of his ‘people’ (slaves or servants) to Cape of …
- … 1827. He claimed to be surprised to find Hare and his people already in residence on the northern …
- … for the settlement. Hare wanted solitude, and control of his people; he was not interested in …
- … between Malay labourers and a British citizen. About 50 people left the settlement after this …
Boat Memory
Summary
Boat Memory was one of the indigenous people from Tierra del Fuego brought back to England by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, in 1830, but he remains as ghostly a figure as his name. What he was called by his own people is unknown, but the name Boat…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Boat Memory was one of the indigenous people from Tierra del Fuego brought back to England by Robert …
- … ghostly a figure as his name. What he was called by his own people is unknown, but the name Boat …
- … Boat Memory, a member of the Alakaluf tribe, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del …
- … to Tierra del Fuego to act as moral exemplars to their own people and as interpreters for passing …
- … Chapman, Anne. 2010. European encounters with the Yamana people of Cape Horn, before and after …
Satire of FitzRoy's Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, by John Clunies Ross. Transcription by Katharine Anderson
Summary
[f.146r Title page] Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle Supplement / to the 2nd 3rd and Appendix Volumes of the First / Edition Written / for and in the name of the Author of those / Volumes By J.C. Ross. / Sometime Master of a…
Matches: 29 hits
- … according to their usual practice – they kill all the old people, and men who fall into their hands …
- … – those Settlements were all originally made – or those people who have voluntarily gone to those …
- … flocks – extorting first fruits and tithes from the poor people, whom they scarcely see, once in a …
- … The democratic inclinations – to wit – of People whom I also represent as being Royalists par …
- … was colonized – we have not as yet seen or heard of such people as “New South Welshmen” or “women” – …
- … in the month of December, on board a Schooner, with these people and wrote to his brother – who was …
- … round to Eastward of Madeira Island, and take him and these people from the Schooner lying there on …
- … Salmond of the Bombay Marine) inquired concerning these people's condition “oh – they are my …
- … documents were taken on board the ship and delivered to the people by the hands of two of the office …
- … had formerly been.” The clerks said nothing – and the people not understanding the English writing – …
- … subject. In reality – not more than five of these people had ever been legally purchased by …
- … and fully understood by them. But most certainly they (these people) would not have listened in …
- … Cape Colony Mr Hare purchased a farm-estate and set these people to work on it under an overseer or …
- … – induced Mr H. to resolve on quitting and taking these people off with him – whilst he would be …
- … of which that bay is situated) there to embark him and the people. In Hout Bay he kept her lying …
- … Oporto, spoke the language – and liked the custom of the people) after passing the Cape – he changed …
- … and put in to Croee for more – there two men of these people swam ashore in the night – and made …
- … reasons “that he was carrying hither and thither those people – and treating them as slaves which …
- … to run the risk again.” “Oh! Then land me and my people at once – I will send you on to Java with …
- … Next morning he landed and found Mr Hare with a few of these people (whom he designated …
- … and sent to Batavia for the Mary – to carry you and your people to somewhere else” – so now read …
- … I have repeatedly impressed upon them that before seeing my people settled to my satisfaction in a …
- … somewhere else before long] “to come and superintend the people there” – “well suppose he comes here …
- … told him – would be the probable fate of himself and the people at the Andamans from the insalubrity …
- … the furthest position from that occupied by Mr H and his people – greatly to the displeasure of Mr H …
- … time suspected that it was. However very soon after Mr H’s people perceived that Mr Ross was settled …
- … to Sunrise – N.B. – this was the main body of these people thus kept on the West Island – about …
- … R’s – own knowledge of their not being slaves but free people who had ^been^ maneuvered out of their …
- … – but he made no alteration in his treatment of the people – and disagreed with Mr Downie because …
Journal of researches
Summary
Within two months of the Beagle’s arrival back in England in October 1836, Darwin, although busy with distributing his specimens among specialists for description, and more interested in working on his geological research, turned his mind to the task of…
Photograph album of German and Austrian scientists
Summary
The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade, and contained 165 portraits of German and Austrian scientists. The work was lavishly produced and bound in blue velvet with metal embossing. Its ornate…
Was Darwin an ecologist?
Summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.
Matches: 7 hits
- … what we consider to be ecology, look into the past for people doing just that, and call it, if not …
- … though, it is important. When we try to understand what people do, a grasp of what they think they …
- … By Darwin’s time the term was associated particularly with people who made collections and …
- … was not unusual. The existence of God had been for most people a basic assumption that provided an …
- … in science; he studied the right books, knew the right people, learnt the right skills, and …
- … underlying assumptions of earlier natural historians. Many people believed that the natural world …
- … revised many times) is thrown into relief. People Boole, Mary Everest. …
Interview with Randal Keynes
Summary
Randal Keynes is a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and the author of Annie’s Box (Fourth Estate, 2001), which discusses Darwin’s home life, his relationship with his wife and children, and the ways in which these influenced his feelings about…
Matches: 10 hits
- … had an idea which he knew was going to be shocking to many people, and it's pretty clear that …
- … in which his ideas were going to have great value to other people. He thought he might have ideas …
- … . We have things we can work out from letters that other people wrote to him, especially Emma. We …
- … of the Origin of Species , only then, really, did people start asking him for his views. And …
- … faith: why - the points I've made - easy or difficult; why people made it - the challenge of …
- … I find it difficult to think of it as a real idea - that people really believed it - but I think we …
- … very clear in his own writing and in his letters to other people: always questioning, always …
- … say. The first thing is that he was quite clear with other people in the village, other gentry in …
- … a social institution to be supported because it guided other people - he was a man of his time: he …
- … a purely scientific observation, is presented by many people as a piece of autobiography. In …
Search tips
Summary
In this section: The three basic searches Using filters to refine search Using facets to refine search results What is (and isn’t) in here? How do I… …Find all letters exchanged with a particular correspondent? …Find letters written by…
Matches: 5 hits
- … date. By keyword or exact phrase in the biographies of people mentioned in the letters, and …
- … group identifiers (“flora” eg), index terms such as people, institutions, and places, and some more …
- … letters will be added as funds become available. People: The site has brief biographical …
- … else mentioned in the letters. A keyword search in “People” will search these biographical entries. …
- … letters referring to a particular person? To find people mentioned in the letters, search …
Interview with Tim Lewens
Summary
Dr Tim Lewens is a Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Organisms and artifacts (2004), which examines the language and arguments for design in biology and philosophy, and of…
Matches: 8 hits
- … I think it’s aninteresting question about why it is that people call themselves Darwinians now. One …
- … issues about God, issues that go to the very heart of what people have tended to think of as deep …
- … of areas then it’s hardly surprising, I think, that some people are going to want to call themselves …
- … that kind of all-encompassing aspect that, as I say, some people have viewed as certainly inherent …
- … the idea of natural selection. One of the things that many people claim for the idea of natural …
- … simple idea with extremely general application. And many people think that natural selection is …
- … characterise natural selection in such a general way, then people begin to apply it to all kinds of …
- … to have such an enormous significance and why, for some people, it is a kind of world view. It’s …
Yokcushlu (Fuegia Basket)
Summary
Yokcushlu was one of the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. She was one of the hostages seized by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, after the small boat used for surveying the narrow inlets of the coast of Tierra del…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Yokcushlu was one of the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. She …
- … to Tierra del Fuego to act as moral exemplars to their own people and interpreters for passing …
- … with Elleparu and Orundellico, met a select group of people, including FitzRoy’s relations, men …
- … Chapman, Anne. 2010. European encounters with the Yamana people of Cape Horn, before and after …
Elleparu (York Minster)
Summary
Elleparu was one of the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. He was captured by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, in 1830 after one the small boats used for surveying the narrow inlets of the coast of Tierra del Fuego…
Matches: 3 hits
- … Elleparu was one of the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. He was …
- … as an intermediary between the English and the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. He chose …
- … Chapman, Anne. 2010. European encounters with the Yamana people of Cape Horn, before and after …
Exercise: Caricatures of Science
Summary
Caricatures provide intriguing insights into both ideals and transgressions of gender. The following six images show caricatured representations of nineteenth-century men and women of science. They provide insight into the boundaries of what was deemed …
Matches: 1 hits
- … nineteenth century? 4. What do the images (and the people featured in them) tell us about …
Discussion Questions and Essay Questions
Summary
There are a wide range of possibilities for opening discussion and essay writing on Darwin’s correspondence. We have provided a set of sample discussion questions and essay questions, each of which focuses on a particular topic or correspondent in depth.…
Photograph album of Dutch admirers
Summary
Darwin received the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the Netherlands. He wrote to the Dutch zoologist Pieter Harting, An account of your countrymen’s generous sympathy in having sent me on my…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Accompanying the album was a handwritten list of the 217 people included, with their professional …
- … The album included several women ( see a list of people in the album with biographical details ). …
- … ) Dutch correspondents Some of the people who contributed their photograph to …
- … his son George to translate into English. Two other people whose portraits featured in the …
