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To Athenæum   18 April [1863]

Summary

Attacks the doctrine of "heterogeny" (spontaneous generation during each geological period) as completely lacking in evidence.

Defends natural selection as connecting large classes of facts in natural history. That certain forms have not changed since remote epochs is not an objection of any force.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Athenæum
Date:  18 Apr [1863]
Classmark:  Athenæum, 25 April 1863, pp. 554–5
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-4108

To Athenæum   5 May [1863]

Summary

Replies to a reviewer’s statement, that any theory of descent will connect large classes of facts, by pointing out that no other explanation has been as satisfactory as natural selection. But whatever view is adopted "signifies extremely little in comparison with the admission that species have descended from other species and have not been created immutable".

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Athenæum
Date:  5 May [1863]
Classmark:  Athenæum, 9 May 1863, p. 617
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-4142
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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: 21 hits

  • … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of  The variation …
  • … that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
  • … persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
  • … of man and his history' The first five months of 1863 contain the bulk of the …
  • … from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
  • … ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
  • … than  Origin had (see  Correspondence  vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
  • … origins was further increased by the discovery in March 1863 of the Moulin-Quignon jaw, the first …
  • … from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
  • … in learned journals and the press during the first half of 1863 focused attention even more closely …
  • … leap from that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
  • … separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public perceptions of creation, …
  • … towards Lyell and his book. In a February letter to the  Athenæum , a weekly review of science, …
  • … ). Falconer published his criticisms in a letter in the  Athenæum , on 4 April, concluding with an …
  • … of species’, Darwin considered writing a letter to the  Athenæum  in response ( letter to J. D. …
  • … Owen with the appearance of an anonymous review in the  Athenæum  of William Benjamin Carpenter’s …
  • … of a scotched viper’, Darwin wrote a letter to the  Athenæum  in opposition to Owen’s review, in …
  • … from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] , and letter to  Athenæum , 18 April [1863] ). He told …
  • … Hooker implored him not to write any more letters to the  Athenæum , stressing how much he …
  • … Darwin agreed, and regretted that he had written to the Athenæum in response to Owen: ‘I have been …
  • … April [1863] ), dismissing a reviewer in ‘that d——d Athenæum’ who accused Bates of bending his …

The Lyell–Lubbock dispute

Summary

In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…

Matches: 21 hits

  • … species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
  • … ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). On 6 February 1863, Antiquity of man (C. Lyell 1863a) …
  • … Busk, Prestwich, and Galton.   In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, …
  • … Bath in 1864 (C. Lyell 1864). 3  By November 1863 a third edition of Antiquity of …
  • … controversy arose when Richard Owen, writing in the Athenæum , accused Lyell of misrepresenting …
  • … of several aspects of the book. Throughout the first half of 1863, Darwin discussed the book in …
  • … aggrieved about Lyell’s failure to support him. In April 1863, in a letter to the Athenæum , he …
  • … transmutation; he also wrote to Lyell telling him about the letter to the Athenæum . 9 …
  • … to Falconer’s accusation, which had just appeared in the Athenæum . Darwin had not advised …
  • … 1863b, p. 213).  In May 1864, Lubbock received a letter from Falconer, who reiterated his …
  • … and went on to say that he intended to make a copy of his letter to show to friends. 18 In …
  • … wrote to Darwin to ask what he thought of the affair ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 June 1865] ). …
  • … he reiterated his admiration for Lubbock’s book ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [4 June 1865] ). A week …
  • … note on p. 11.  Unlike the earlier controversies of 1863 where the disputants had quarrelled …
  • … 13). The third edition had originally appeared in November 1863. In spite of Lyell’s 1865 revisions, …
  • … (Original version of the last section, printed in November 1863) In conclusion, I wish it to …
  • … evidence appealed to.  53 Harley Street: November 1863  Preface, C. Lyell 1863c, pp. …
  • … in the interval between the autumn of 1861 and February 1863. In this long interval my thoughts had …
  • … 2. Letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 20 February 1863 (British Library, Add. MSS 49640). …
  • … 9. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to Athenæum , 18 April [1863] , and letter to …
  • … Richard. 1863. Ape-origin of man as tested by the brain.  Athenæum ,  21 February 1863, pp. 262-3. …

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: 25 hits

  • … and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
  • … in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
  • … botanist Asa Gray. Darwin and Hooker Letter 714 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
  • … and he is curious about Hooker’s thoughts. Letter 729 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., …
  • … to Hooker “it is like confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
  • … wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
  • … and asks him to append the ranges of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. …
  • … and relationships of alpine flora in the USA. Letter 2125 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
  • … and their approach to information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D …
  • … first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
  • … in October mail, and some “puerile” letters printed in Athenæum . He requests Darwin extract …
  • … perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
  • … ends with a discussion of lamination of gneiss. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
  • … up his doubts about Darwin’s doctrines. In his second letter he talks about his visit with Falconer. …
  • … was on the Beagle voyage and afterwards. Letter 152 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. …
  • … is Henslow’s “bounden duty to lecture me”. Letter 196 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, C. R. …
  • … sends home a copy of his notes on the specimens. Letter 249 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, …
  • … sends news of Cambridge and mutual friends. Letter 251 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S …
  • … illness and specimens are sent to Henslow. Letter 272 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S. …
  • … collection and plans to cross the Cordilleras. Letter 1189 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
  • … Hermann Müller. Darwin and Lubbock Letter 1585 — Darwin, C. R. to Lubbock, John, …
  • … and it has reawakened his passion for entomology. Letter 1720 — Darwin, C. R. to …
  • Letter 4170 — Becker, Lydia to Darwin, C. R., 18 May 1863 This is a very formal letter
  • Letter 4258 — Becker, Lydia to Darwin, C. R., 31 July [1863] Becker has found seeds produced …
  • Letter 4260a — Darwin, C. R. to Becker, L. E., 2 Aug [1863] Darwin thanks Lydia Becker for …

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: 28 hits

  • … the long illness that had plagued him since the spring of 1863. Because of poor health, Darwin …
  • … from that of the five physicians Darwin had consulted in 1863. In a letter of 26[–7] March [1864] …
  • … and he received more letters of advice from Jenner. In a letter of 15 December [1864] to the …
  • … As Darwin explained to his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of 30 November [1864] , ‘the …
  • … leaf, and aerial roots. When his health deteriorated in 1863, he found that he could still continue …
  • … gradation by which  leaves  produce tendrils’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [8 February 1864] ). …
  • … fearfully for it is a leaf climber & therefore sacred’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 June [1864] …
  • … matters which routinists regard in the light of axioms’ ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864 …
  • … long series of changes . . .’ When he told Asa Gray in a letter of 29 October [1864] that he was …
  • …  paper was published, Darwin remarked to Hooker in a letter of 26 November [1864] that nothing …
  • … of the two species with the common oxlip. In a letter of 22 October [1864] , Darwin triumphantly …
  • … the ‘splendid case of Dimorphism’ in  Menyanthes  ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. …
  • … this interest. At the start of the year, he received a letter, insect specimens, and an article on …
  • … that it was ‘the best medicine for my stomach’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 17 February [1864] ). …
  • … at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in 1862 with a letter regarding the fertilisation of the …
  • … two years, with his stipend being paid by Darwin himself ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [1 April 1864] …
  • … is difficult enough to play your part  over  them’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 April 1864] ). …
  • … troublesome … they do require very careful treatment’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 8 April 1864 ). …
  • … the conclusion that in giving I am hastening the fall’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 April 1864 ) …
  • … his indomitable perseverance, and his knowledge’ ( letter to John Scott, 10 June 1864 ). Hooker …
  • … basis he recommended a first-class cabin for the journey ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 August …
  • … and curators at a great distance. Gray forwarded a letter from Charles Wright, a plant collector in …
  • … to the materialist philosophy of Ludwig Buchner ( letter from Hermann Kindt, 5 September 1864 ). …
  • … himself. Haeckel’s scientific life, he reported in a letter of 9 [July 1864] , had been …
  • … scientific debate. He had begun taking the journal in April 1863 and was an enthusiastic subscriber. …
  • … chosen the previous year when he sent two letters to the  Athenæum  ( Correspondence  vol. 11). …
  • … and their predecessors had continued to grow following the 1863 publication of Huxley’s  Evidence …
  • … failure to win the award in the two preceding years. An 1863 letter from the president of the Royal …

Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics

Summary

On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…

Matches: 28 hits

  • … learn that the book was on sale even in railway stations ( letter to Charles Lyell, 14 January …
  • … the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
  • … he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] …
  • … his theory would have been ‘ utterly  smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A …
  • … from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
  • … a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 18 February [1860] ). …
  • … phenomena it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] …
  • … natural selection did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 …
  • … considered it more a failure than a success ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 February [1860] ). …
  • … naturalists because more accustomed to reasoning.’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 18 May 1860 ). …
  • … two physiologists, and five botanists ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 March [1860] ). Others, like …
  • … tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 3 April [1860] ). By the …
  • … favour of change of form’, namely those of embryology ( letter to Asa Gray, 10 September [1860] ). …
  • … his study of the geographical distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 …
  • … ‘man is in same predicament with other animals’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] )— he …
  • … book had become ‘topics of the day’ at the meeting in a letter from Hooker written from Oxford. …
  • … Darwin ‘master of the field after 4 hours battle’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, 2 July 1860). Other …
  • … that ‘this row is best thing for subject.—’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). Further …
  • … if the whole were already proved) to his own views.—’ ( letter from J. S. Henslow to J. D. Hooker, …
  • … ‘how differently different opposers view the subject’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 15 February [1860] …
  • … studying the first published piece: 'I said in a former letter that you were a Lawyer; but I …
  • … that these visits have led to changed structure.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 27 April [1860] ). …
  • … several months later, ‘just as at a game of chess.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 [July 1860] ). …
  • … substance from non=nitrogenised substances.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 31 [August 1860] ). Relying …
  • … scarcely be believed without further supporting evidence ( letter to Edward Cresy, 12 December …
  • … ‘how much better fun observing is than writing.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12 September [1860] ) …
  • … hope & think I shall improve the Book considerably.—’ ( letter to John Murray, 5 December [1860 …
  • … of some good judge coming some little way with me.’ ( letter to John Innes, 28 December [1860] ). …