To W. D. Fox [7 June 1840]
Summary
Family news.
CD’s health is improving, but he has scarcely put pen to paper in the last half-year, and everything in the publishing line is going backwards.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | [7 June 1840] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 60) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-572 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … Family news. CD’s health is improving, but he has scarcely put pen to paper in the last …
- … about seven lines missing
〉 old friend much to endure in the ill-health of your wife. — … - … There is a degree of anxiety about the health of
〈 about ten lines missing〉 boy—(William … - … gradually, though very slowly, gaining strength & health, but previous to that time I was …
- … nearly six months in very indifferent health, so that I felt the smallest exertion most …
- … remain here about a month. — should my health continue getting stronger, I will, should …
To the President and Council of the Geological Society of London 24 March 1840
Summary
Regrets that state of his health forces him to resign as one of the Secretaries of the Society.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Geological Society of London |
| Date: | 24 Mar 1840 |
| Classmark: | Geological Society of London (GSL/L/R/5/8 ) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-561 |
To the Geological Society of London 28 March [1840]
Summary
Feels he has no choice but to comply with the request of Council that he remain in office. Is reluctant to do so as his health has caused him to miss meetings and he has never once attended without suffering the next day. Cannot hold office beyond next anniversary meeting.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Geological Society of London |
| Date: | 28 Mar [1840] |
| Classmark: | Geological Society of London (GSL/L/R/5/56) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-562 |
To Robert FitzRoy [20 February 1840]
Summary
Poor health has made him give up all geological work.
Profits on their volumes [of Narrative] seem absurdly small.
Looks back on Beagle voyage as the most fortunate circumstance in his life.
Finds marriage a great happiness.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert FitzRoy |
| Date: | [20 Feb 1840] |
| Classmark: | DAR 144: 117 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-555 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Poor health has made him give up all geological work. Profits on their volumes [of …
- … been for some time a very dull subject. My health has been very indifferent during the two …
- … soon to set to work again. If I had had my health, I should have published my coral volume …
- … nothing to wish for, excepting stronger health to go on with the subjects, to which I have …
To Leonard Jenyns 5 April [1840]
Summary
Health is improved, but would do anything to get strong again. Is consulting his father; will return to London soon to see B. W. Hawkins.
Will send MS [of Fish, no. 2] to the printer, and be there when LJ comes.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Leonard Jenyns; Leonard Blomefield |
| Date: | 5 Apr [1840] |
| Classmark: | Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-563 |
To G. N. Smith 20 November [1840]
Summary
Sorry that ill health prevented sooner reply. Letter about caves at Caldy was already read by Buckland. Will examine birds’ beaks when better and present to Geological Society of London in Smith’s name.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Gilbert Nicholas Smith |
| Date: | 20 Nov [1840] |
| Classmark: | Angus Carroll (private collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-580F |
To Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce 13 May [1840–2]
Summary
Informs correspondent that he wrote to William Walton all that he knew about the guanaco.
Present state of his health prevents his acceptance of invitation to attend the meeting of the Society.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Royal Society of Arts |
| Date: | 13 May [1840-2] |
| Classmark: | Royal Society of Arts (RSA/PR/MC/104/10/28) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-567 |
To William Kemp 1[1] May [1840]
Summary
CD has read WK’s abstract in the Scotsman, 15 February 1840, p. 3, and asks for further details.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Kemp |
| Date: | 1[1] May [1840] |
| Classmark: | Cambridge University Library (MS Add. 10252/2) (gift of Ruth Cramond and David Cramond) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-565F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Scotland this summer, but the state of my health renders it very doubtful, whether I shall …
From B. J. Sulivan 12 May 1840
Summary
Gives CD the results of some calculations for "dip" over different distances, as requested.
| Author: | Bartholomew James Sulivan |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 12 May 1840 |
| Classmark: | DAR 177: 274 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-566 |
To Mr Folthorp of Smith, Elder & Co. [6 February 1840]
Summary
Sends MS [of Coral reefs?] to be copied.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Smith, Elder & Co |
| Date: | [6 Feb 1840] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-553 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1838, with many interruptions due to ill health. On the recto of this letter is noted ‘ …
To Thomas Walker 5 May [1840]
Summary
Acknowledges TW’s letter supplying him with William Kemp’s address.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Walker |
| Date: | 5 May [1840] |
| Classmark: | Jim Somerville (private collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-565G |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Sir I have been prevented by ill-health, from which I am still suffering, from sooner …
To G. R. Gray [20 November – 11 December 1840]
Summary
Thanks GRG for his gift [A list of the genera of birds (1840)] and trusts that now GRG will be able to finish John Gould’s MS for Zoology.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Robert Gray |
| Date: | [20 Nov – 11 Dec 1840] |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Egerton MS 2348: 237–8) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-581 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … been obliged to defer from the state of my health, until to day, the pleasure of thanking …
To Basil Hall 15 March 1840
Summary
Discussion of the geology of Coquimbo, Chile.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Basil Hall |
| Date: | 15 Mar 1840 |
| Classmark: | Musée royal de Mariemont, Belgium (Aut. 1061/1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-558F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … I much regret, that from the state of my health I am incapable of answering your question …
| letter | (13) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
| Sulivan, B. J. | (1) |
| Geological Society of London | (2) |
| Blomefield, Leonard | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
| FitzRoy, Robert | (1) |
| Fox, W. D. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (13) |
| Geological Society of London | (2) |
| Blomefield, Leonard | (1) |
| FitzRoy, Robert | (1) |
| Fox, W. D. | (1) |
Darwin's health
Summary
On 28 March 1849, ten years before Origin was published, Darwin wrote to his good friend Joseph Hooker from Great Malvern in Worcestershire, where Dr James Manby Gully ran a fashionable water-cure establishment. Darwin apologised for his delayed reply to…
Matches: 6 hits
- … letter which he put down to his exceptionally poor health: Indeed all this winter, I …
- … up to its name. Darwin experienced chronic episodes of ill health, which increased in severity in …
- … treatment. In April 1864, Darwin attributed his improved health to Dr Jenner’s advice: ‘ drinking …
- … very least, it seems clear that Darwin’s periods of ill health were quite useful. Citing a troubled …
- … letter to Robert FitzRoy, [20 February 1840] . Darwin’s health diary (Down House MS), which he …
- … Darwin had sometimes noted the acidity of his vomit in his health diary (Down House MS; see Colp …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
Matches: 8 hits
- … had plagued him since the spring of 1863. Because of poor health, Darwin corresponded little during …
- … and having scientific papers read to him. In March, his health improved enough for him to make some …
- … he could work (presumably at writing) for two hours. As his health grew worse during the last two …
- … flower-peduncle, petiole, leaf, and aerial roots. When his health deteriorated in 1863, he found …
- … forms of the trimorphic Lythrum , and when his health permitted in 1864 he drew up the results …
- … Sabine, 4 December [1864] ). Struggling with ill-health Darwin received news of …
- … form of letters during 1864; because of his fragile state of health, he saw few people outside the …
- … scientific colleagues, and he continued writing even as his health worsened again in November and …
Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 3 hits
- … 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat …
- … Jenner. In November and December of 1864, however, his health grew worse. In his ‘Journal’, Darwin …
- … for references to the extensive literature on CD’s health, see Colp 1977 and 1998, and Bowlby 1990. …
Darwin's illness
Summary
Was Darwin an invalid? In many photographs he looks wearied by age, wrapped in a great coat to protect him from cold. In a letter to his cousin William Fox, he wrote: "Long and continued ill health has much changed me, & I very often think with…
Climbing plants
Summary
Darwin’s book Climbing plants was published in 1865, but its gestation began much earlier. The start of Darwin’s work on the topic lay in his need, owing to severe bouts of illness in himself and his family, for diversions away from his much harder book on…
Darwin soundbites
Summary
From atheistical cats to old fogies in Cambridge, we've collected some of Darwin's pithier remarks - some funny, some serious - but all quotes from letters you can read in full here. We particularly like this one: Will you be so kind as…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Where's it from? On sickness, health, and bananas …you began your …
Dining at Down House
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…
Matches: 7 hits
- … One of Darwin's defining characteristics was his poor health. The letters provide insight into …
- … to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 Darwin’s ill health began on his Beagle voyage. In …
- … to their marriage, Emma expresses her concern for Darwin’s health, her sympathy for the frustration …
- … spiritualism. Darwin expresses his regrets that his own ill health prevents him from visiting the …
- … his own aches and pains, Lenny reports on their father’s health, noting that Darwin’s frustration …
- … of Darwin's personal life? 2. How did Darwin's health affect his scientific …
- … married. In it Emma expressed her concern for Darwin’s health, her sympathy for the frustration he …
Insectivorous plants
Summary
Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants began by accident. While on holiday in the summer of 1860, staying with his wife’s relatives in Hartfield, Sussex, he went for long walks on the heathland and became curious about the large number of insects caught by…
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 4 hits
- … friends and relatives, Darwin felt sufficiently restored in health to work for two or three hours a …
- … keeping up the battle, he gave up only from fatigue and ill health ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 …
- … that it was a success, and there is no doubt that his health improved, at least temporarily. This is …
- … a methodical mind keen to establish order: he chronicled his health, his daily and household …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 3 hits
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: 7 hits
- … and here, attended by every blessing except that of vigorous health… DARWIN: 4 My …
- … In truth there is nothing which I should enjoy more; but my health is not, and will, I suppose, …
- … able to suppress his anger. He is in his 70s and in poor health. SEDGWICK: 69 …
- … They are enjoying the furore. Darwin is more earnest, his health – mental and physical – is …
- … In which Drwin struggles more than usual with his health, grows a beard, and cancels The Times; and …
- … to cross over to England in two months… Mrs Gray’s health makes me anxious to avoid another winter …
- … if he had had a good laugh. Then, Darwin’s health dictates that he and his American guests …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 5 hits
- … dropped markedly, reflecting a decline in his already weak health. Darwin then began punctuating …
- … is the mother of fine children all over the world’. Health worries Despite his …
- … no reason why he should not recover his previous state of health. Brinton’s words must have …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 26 December [1863] ) that Darwin’s health fluctuated and showed little improvement …
- … from his sons. She was pessimistic about his prospects of health over the next few months: ‘When not …
List of correspondents
Summary
Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent. "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Benjamin (1) District Health Office (1) …
Expression
Summary
Darwin's interest in emotional expression can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the different sounds and gestures among the peoples of Tierra del Fuego, and on his return from the voyage he started recording observations…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The exigencies of the public service have already ruined my health, & curtailed my capacities. …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
Matches: 5 hits
- … respect for the elder naturalist, inquired after Darwin’s health, and expressed his desire to meet …
- … Galton, 13 September 1871 ). A return to poor health During the summer months, Darwin …
- … ). On 23 September he informed Murray that owing to poor health he had done nothing for six …
- … described the joyous occasion in great detail, her uncertain health requiring her to attend …
- … Murchison, and the earl of Derby. Given his poor state of health for much of the summer, it is …
Darwin on marriage
Summary
On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … be exclusively geological United States, Mexico Depend upon health & vigour & how far I …
- … music & female chit-chat.— These things good for one’s health.— [16] but terrible loss of …
- … to gain one’s bread.— (But then it is very bad for ones health[19] to work too much) Perhaps …
- … rather than with the advantages. [19] ‘for ones health’ interl.i [20] The heading …
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: 6 hits
- … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now …
- … consulted Jones in July 1865 and attributed his improved health by the end of that year to the diet …
- … with his brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin. Owing to improved health, Darwin was able to make a number …
- … she and Emma continued to play in safeguarding Darwin’s health and securing his privacy. Similarly, …
- … waterlilies prevailed over considerations of health in this case. Ernst Haeckel Nor …
- … died in October. On learning of Catherine’s poor state of health, Hooker, who had lost his father …
The full edition is now online!
Summary
For nearly fifty years successive teams of researchers on both sides of the Atlantic have been working to track down all surviving letters written by or to Charles Darwin, research their content, and publish the complete texts. The thirtieth and final…
Darwin and Fatherhood
Summary
Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten children. It is often assumed that Darwin was an exceptional Victorian father. But how extraordinary was he? The Correspondence Project allows an unusually…
Matches: 4 hits
- … country. Darwin frequently expressed regrets that his ill health (e.g., Darwin to J. D. Hooker, 14 …
- … to hydropathic spas or the seaside to strengthen their health. Although his interest in inheritance …
- … ). In addition to his fears for his children’s health, Darwin’s other principal concern as a …
- … and holidays at the seaside were often necessitated by ill health rather than pleasure. It was …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 8 hits
- … reminiscences, and laments about advancing age and poor health, with family friends from childhood, …
- … operation, combined with Moulinié’s increasingly poor health, led to yet further delay, and the new …
- … to Darwin which he, however, declined on the grounds of ill health. Expression : …
- … usual chemist, William Baxter, were not in this case for his health, but to test their effects when …
- … he repeated to several correspondents. His own health was slightly better than in the …
- … sons spent some time on the continent for the sake of their health ( see letter to W. D. Fox, 16 …
- … over their wills, and he poured out such a litany of ill health to one correspondent that Emma …
- … Darwin gracefully declined on the habitual grounds of ill health ( letter from J. S. Craig, 4 …
