From Asa Gray 23 September 1856
Summary
Plants that are social in the U. S. but are not so in the Old World.
Distribution of U. S. species common to Europe.
Gives Theodor Engelmann’s opinion on the relative variability of indigenous and introduced plants and notes the effects of man’s settlement on the numbers and distribution of indigenous plants.
Author: | Asa Gray |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 23 Sept 1856 |
Classmark: | DAR 165: 94 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1959 |
Matches: 9 hits
- … variable’ pencil ; ‘(C)’ brown crayon ; ‘Social in America’ brown crayon ; ‘& not in …
- … Plants that are social in the U. S. but are not so in the Old World. Distribution of U. S. …
- … as to whether there are any plants social here, which are not so in the old world,—is, …
- … natural selection’, includes a discussion of social plants ( Natural selection , pp. 203– …
- … 3.3] double scored brown crayon 3.3 social] underl brown crayon 4.2 and may … Engelmann. …
- … 4.3] scored brown crayon 4.2 social] underl brown crayon 6.5 And hardly … plant. 6.6] …
- … vulgaris may be said to have become a truly social plant, in neglected fields and copses, …
- … the road- sides, and is one of our most social plants. But this plant is doubtless a …
- … pastures, &c. —and may fairly be called a social plant. In Germany it is not so found, …
To Asa Gray 2 May [1856]
Summary
Suggests affinities of the U. S. flora that he considers would be worth investigating. Wants to know the ranges of species in large and small genera.
Questions AG on naturalised plants; whether any are social in U. S. which are not so elsewhere and how variable they are compared with indigenous species. Would like to know of any differences in the variability of species at different points of their ranges and also the physical states of plants at the extremes of their ranges.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 2 May [1856] |
Classmark: | Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (4) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1863 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … AG on naturalised plants; whether any are social in U. S. which are not so elsewhere and …
- … respect to naturalised plants; are any social with you, which are not so in their parent …
- … they do concern you. — —The discussion on Social plants (vague as the term & facts are) …
- … in them; that they should ever be social close to their extreme limits; & secondly that …
- … extremely confined range, yet sh d . be social where they do occur: I sh d . be infinitely …
- … to a species remaining or ceasing to be social, on the confines of its range. There is one …
To Asa Gray 12 October [1856]
Summary
Thanks AG for the first part of his "Statistics [of the flora of the northern U. S.", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 22 (1856): 204–32; 2d ser. 23 (1857): 62–84, 369–403]
and for information on social and varying plants.
Would like to know number of genera of introduced plants in U. S.
Is surprised at some affinities of northern U. S. flora and asks for any climatic explanations.
Asks what proportion of genera common to U. S. and Europe are mundane.
Is glad AG will work out the northern ranges of the European species and the ranges of species with regard to size of genera.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 12 Oct [1856] |
Classmark: | Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (6) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1973 |
To William Erasmus Darwin [26 February 1856]
Summary
Writes of WED’s progress at school and events at home.
Discusses pigeons, with which he is "getting on splendidly".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Date: | [26 Feb 1856] |
Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 8 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1804 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … F. R. ] 1975. The Athenaeum Club and social life in London, 1824–1974. London: Heinemann. …
To T. H. Huxley 9 December [1856]
Summary
Grateful for Siebold’s wonderful facts [C. T. E. von Siebold, On a true parthenogenesis in moths and bees (1856), trans. by W. S. Dallas (1857)].
Vitality of spermatozoa.
Hybridisation of bees. Bees are in one respect his greatest theoretical difficulty.
CD still convinced about the relation of cement receptacles and ovarian tubes [in Crustacea].
Birth of C. W. Darwin.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
Date: | 9 Dec [1856] |
Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 42, 374) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2017 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … posed by neuters and sterile forms among social insects are discussed at length in Natural …
letter | (5) |
Darwin, C. R. | (4) |
Gray, Asa | (1) |
Gray, Asa | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
Darwin, W. E. | (1) |
Huxley, T. H. | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (5) |
Gray, Asa | (3) |
Darwin, W. E. | (1) |
Huxley, T. H. | (1) |
Suggested reading
Summary
Contemporary writing Anon., The English matron: A practical manual for young wives, (London, 1846). Anon., The English gentlewoman: A practical manual for young ladies on their entrance to society, (Third edition, London, 1846). Becker, L. E.…
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
Matches: 14 hits
- … , Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the …
- … it may be concluded that he has parental, conjugal and social instincts, and perhaps others.... …
- … many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects, the tender bonds of …
- … the pleasure they experienced when acting in accordance with social instincts, and the pain they …
- … but the foundations of ethical behavior remained the social instincts that humans shared with …
- … by The Times for undermining the foundations of social order. It was rebuked by the religious …
- … of sympathy [but]... it seems to me that he considers the social feeling in man the result of …
- … It is very extraordinary that he should recognize the social instincts to be natural to Animals, …
- … and conditions wh. belong of right to what I should call Social Selection--i.e., the selection by a …
- … and other instincts, without having retrograded in his social instincts ... I do not think that …
- … March [1870?] Darwin met the religious writer and social reformer Frances Power Cobbe in …
- … that conscience arose through a conflict between enduring social feelings and more fleeting desires, …
- … than by abstract ethical principles. "The lower social animals may be said to be under …
- … & most persons w^d^ call it instinctive ... Now as soon as a social animal became in some slight …
Biodiversity and its histories
Summary
The Darwin Correspondence Project was co-sponsor of Biodiversity and its Histories, which brought together scholars and researchers in ecology, politics, geography, anthropology, cultural history, and history and philosophy of science, to explore how…
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: 6 hits
- … 11. Darwin's support for the church as a social institution Dr White: Some …
- … in Britain at the time; and the church and chapels as social institutions. If you look at belief and …
- … other gentry in the village, that education was the greatest social need for the poor people - the …
- … church in the community, he was supporting the church as a social institution. I think, also, he was …
- … values; there was no difficulty there. So the church was a social institution to be supported …
- … well of human nature. I think he thought we were basically social and helpful to each other, and …
5873_1488
Summary
From B. J. Sulivan 13 February [1868]f1 Bournemouth Feby. 13. My dear Darwin As Mr Stirling has sent me the recpt. you may as well have it with the Photo of the four Fuegian boys which he wishes me to send you in case you have not seen it. He…
Matches: 1 hits
- … humanity introduced forms isolation, islands social behaviour Please cite as …
Letters as a Primary Source
Summary
Introduction: Why study Darwin’s letters? Courses about Darwin usually focus on the Origin of Species, widely regarded as one of the most important books ever written in the history of science. Yet as a starting point for understanding Darwin’s theory,…
Matches: 5 hits
- … the private sphere of his life and work, and onto the wider social sphere of collaboration, …
- … responses to his work. Letters reveal much about the social and material practices of science. They …
- … different backgrounds, perspectives, and agendas, a rich social world that is often invisible in …
- … in the history and philosophy of science, cultural and social history, literature, women’s studies, …
- … letters, both to understand Darwin’s work in its broader social context, and to explore the vital …
Letters as a Primary Source
Summary
Introduction: Why study Darwin’s letters? Courses about Darwin usually focus on the Origin of Species, widely regarded as one of the most important books ever written in the history of science. Yet as a starting point for understanding Darwin’s theory,…
Matches: 5 hits
- … the private sphere of his life and work, and onto the wider social sphere of collaboration, …
- … responses to his work. Letters reveal much about the social and material practices of science. They …
- … different backgrounds, perspectives, and agendas, a rich social world that is often invisible in …
- … in the history and philosophy of science, cultural and social history, literature, women’s studies, …
- … letters, both to understand Darwin’s work in its broader social context, and to explore the vital …
1.12 Marian Huxley, drawing
Summary
< Back to Introduction Portrayals of Darwin by women in his social circle cannot be lumped together as the products of adoring amateurs. In 1878 he was sketched by Marian (‘Mady’) Huxley, who was then only in her late teens, but already a trained and…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Introduction Portrayals of Darwin by women in his social circle cannot be lumped together …
The evolution of a misquotation
Summary
We gave you six things Darwin never said (despite what you may read elsewhere). None of the fake soundbites is more insidious than the first: It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is…
Matches: 1 hits
- … from Europe for American Business’, Southwestern Social Science Quarterly (1963) 44(1): 3-13, at …
Suggested reading
Summary
There is an extensive secondary literature on Darwin's life and work. Here are some suggested titles that focus Darwin’s correspondence, as well as scientific correspondence and letter-writing more generally. Collections of Darwin’s letters …
Matches: 3 hits
4.23 Gegeef, 'Battle Field of Science'
Summary
< Back to Introduction Another satirical print by ‘Gegeëf’, The Battle Field of Science and the Churches, is signed and dated 30 November 1873. It survives as a foldout plate in a twopenny journal, The Gauntlet, which, like Our National Church and…
Matches: 3 hits
- … Free Speech; Reason in Matters Religious, Political, Social’. Two follow-up cartoons were planned, …
- … the Advancement of Science back up a host of scientists and social philosophers, whose views implied …
- … v. Biogenesis’, while Herbert Spencer has the banner of ‘Social Science Association’ and William …
Robert FitzRoy
Summary
Robert FitzRoy was captain of HMS Beagle when Darwin was aboard. From 1831 to 1836 the two men lived in the closest proximity, their relationship revealed by the letters they exchanged while Darwin left the ship to explore the countries visited during the…
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: 3 hits
- … both its intellectual form and content, and its material and social effects. In practice, such …
- … classes, nationalities, and professions. He extended the social and geographic range of his contacts …
- … Darwin worked from a position of considerable wealth and social privilege. He also sought knowledge …
Caroline Kennard
Summary
Kennard’s interest in science stemmed from her social commitments to the women's movement, her interests in nature study as a tool for educational reform, as well as her place in a tightly knit network of the Bostonian elite. Kennard was one of a…
Matches: 3 hits
- … many ways, Kennard’s public life was closely tied to the social world of elite educated, Boston …
- … articles and gave addresses on important issues related to social reform and on prominent American …
- … Kennard’s interest in science stemmed from her social commitments to the women's movement, her …
Darwin and dogs
Summary
Darwin was almost always in the company of dogs. Nina, Spark, Pincher, and Shiela. Snow, Dash, Bob, and Bran. The beloved terrier Polly (right). They were Darwin's constant companions at home and in the field, on walks and in sport, in his study and…
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 ones, …
2.7 Joseph Moore, Midland Union medal
Summary
< Back to Introduction The Midland Union was an association of natural history societies and field clubs across the Midland counties, intended to facilitate – especially through its journal The Midland Naturalist – ‘the interchange of ideas’ and…
Matches: 1 hits
- … David Elliston Allen, The Naturalist in Britain: A Social History (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, …
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Summary
George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…
4.2 Augustus Earle, caricature drawing
Summary
< Back to Introduction The paucity of evidence for Darwin’s appearance and general demeanour during the years of the Beagle voyage gives this humorous drawing of shipboard life a special interest. It is convincingly attributed to Augustus Earle, an…
Darwin and Gender Projects by Harvard Students
Summary
Working in collaboration with Professor Sarah Richardson and Dr Myrna Perez, Darwin Correspondence Project staff developed a customised set of 'Darwin and Gender' themed resources for a course on Gender, Sex and Evolution first taught at Harvard…
Matches: 4 hits
- … course on a whim, interested in the relationship between social stereotypes and science. She now …
- … the piece as a champion of women, and is condemned by the social strictures of his time. …
- … a feminist. Instead she shows us the “power of Victorian social norms” in a project that is both …
- … past. Her engaging plea draws attention to the impact that social and cultural patterns – as well as …