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Darwin Correspondence Project

Women and Science

GARRETT-ANDERSON-E-01-00104.jpg

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw82300/Elizabeth-Garrett-Anderson?
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, by Walery, published by Sampson Low & Co, carbon print, published February 1889, NPG x8446
mw82300
© National Portrait Gallery, London

Darwin’s correspondence sheds light on a community of women who participated - often routinely - in the nineteenth-century scientific community. In the correspondence women can be found making observations, conducting experiments, undertaking fieldwork, editing texts, providing samples and engaging in critical discussion about Darwin’s works.

Darwin’s attitude towards women’s scientific and intellectual capabilities was complex, as were the varied motivations which lay behind the scientific participation of his female correspondents.

See also