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Fool's experiments
Summary
‘I love fools' experiments. I am always making them’, was one of the most interesting things the zoologist E. Ray Lankester ever heard Darwin say. ‘A great deal might be written as comment on that statement’, Lankester later recorded, but he limited…
Matches: 1 hits
- … “through a creative act, or by inspiration.”’ [3] Darwin also engaged in empathetic …

Have you read the one about....
Summary
... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.
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- … ... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some …

Thomas Rivers
Summary
Rivers and Darwin exchanged around 30 letters, most in 1863 when Darwin was hard at work on the manuscript of Variation of plants and animals under domestication, the lengthy and detailed sequel to Origin of species. Rivers, an experienced plant breeder…
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- … your mind would find abundance of food”, Rivers wrote ( [3 February 1863] ). Darwin thought the …
Symbols and abbreviations
Summary
All letters are 'ALS' (autograph letter signed) unless otherwise stated. The following abbreviations and conventions are used throughout: CD – Charles Darwin del – deleted illeg – illegible interl – interlined underl –…
New material added to the American edition of Origin
Summary
A ‘revised and augmented’ American edition of Origin came on the market in July 1860, and was the only authorised edition available in the US until 1873. It incorporated many of the changes Darwin made to the second English edition, but still contained…
Interview with John Hedley Brooke
Summary
John Hedley Brooke is President of the Science and Religion Forum as well as the author of the influential Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 1991). He has had a long career in the history of science and…
Matches: 1 hits
- … reality and a material reality. 3. Parallels between Victorian spiritualism …

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...
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- … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, …

Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 5 hits
- … conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] ). One day Francis …
- … Moschkau concluded, but it was sold to a vicar and ‘after 3 months his cat ate it.’ Darwin also …
- … that such checks had been in action during the last 2 or 3 centuries, or even for a shorter time in …
- … ). ‘When I first read your note’, Darwin replied on 3 February [1878] , ‘I thought that you had …
- … much of the European crop (see Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. S. Henslow, 28 October …

The "wicked book": Origin at 157
Summary
Origin is 157 years old. (Probably) the most famous book in science was published on 24 November 1859. To celebrate we have uploaded hundreds of new images of letters, bringing the total number you can look at here to over 9000 representing more than…
Matches: 1 hits
- … on pigeons mixed in with Parish affairs. 3 pails of water thrown over me on rising …
Vivisection: first sketch of the bill
Summary
Strictly Confidential Mem: This print is only a first sketch. It is being now recast with a new & more simple form – but the substance of the proposed measure may be equally well seen in this draft. R.B.L. | 2 586 Darwin and vivisection …
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: 7 hits
- … Groningen 01 january 1841 Holwerd 03-04-1890 Groningen …
- … at Utrecht University Utrecht 3 september 1838 Utrecht 19 …
- … in History and Geology Deventer 3 may 1841 Leiden 16 may …
- … Amsterdam 7 june 1827 Amsterdam 3 november 1892 Amsterdam …
- … ex-Minister of War Amsterdam 30 june 1812 Looperskapelle 3 …
- … Amsterdam 1847 Amsterdam 3 November 1909 Baarn …
- … Utrecht 27 february 1812 Rotterdam 3 december 1885 Amersfoort …

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: 3 hits

Darwin and Down
Summary
Charles and Emma Darwin, with their first two children, settled at Down House in the village of Down (later ‘Downe’) in Kent, as a young family in 1842. The house came with eighteen acres of land, and a fifteen acre meadow. The village combined the…
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- … as it was in Darwin’s day. To J. D. Hooker, 3 June [1857] : on the struggle for …

Editorial policy and practice
Summary
Full texts are added to this site four years after the letter is published in the print edition of the Correspondence. Transcriptions are made from the original or a facsimile where these are available. Where they are not, texts are taken from the best…
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- … Only the Gregorian has been used in the headline. 3. The address If there is no …

Darwin’s observations on his children
Summary
Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children, began the research that culminated in his book The Expression of the emotions in man and animals, published in 1872, and his article ‘A biographical sketch of an infant’, published in Mind…
Matches: 6 hits
- … and, in 1867, by preparing a printed questionnaire.[3] He solicited information from those best …
- … fortnight at sudden sounds. & at Emma’s moving 3 [11] When one month & one day …
- … upwards & inwards as in sleep.[14] Six weeks old & 3 days, Emma saw him smile—not …
- … Annie smiled about the same time Henrietta smiled at 3 weeks & Mrs Locke says a fortnight[15] …
- … Anne’s weight Jan 20 the baby 3 weeks & 3 days old. 6 lb – 13 oz …
- … Henrietta 17 days— 7 lb 3.oz[27] weight of clothes 1lb …

The writing of "Origin"
Summary
From a quiet rural existence at Down in Kent, filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on the transmutation of species, Darwin was jolted into action in 1858 by the arrival of an unexpected letter (no longer extant) from Alfred Russel Wallace outlining a…
Matches: 5 hits
- … that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same day that another …
- … was postmarked ‘Singapore Apr 21 58’ and ‘London Ju 3 58’. Brooks maintains that Darwin …
- … forwarded Wallace’s paper to Lyell (Brooks 1984, pp. 262–3). It is of some significance to note that …
- … plan of his book (see letter from Elwin to Murray, 3 May 1859 , and letter to John Murray, 6 …
- … theory for the origin of mankind. As he wrote to Darwin on 3 October 1859 , ‘the case of Man and …
Eliza Burt Gamble
Summary
Women have interpreted and applied evolutionary theory in arguments about women’s nature for over a century. Eliza Burt Gamble (1841-1920) was a pioneer in this endeavor. Gamble was an advocate of the Woman Movement, a mother, a writer, and a teacher from…

Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute
Summary
Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…
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- … from his publisher, John Murray, he wrote to Murray on 3 January 1867 , ‘I cannot tell you how …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…

Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…