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Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution

Summary

The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’.  Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…

Matches: 19 hits

  • The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The
  • in relation to Sex’. Always precise in his accounting, Darwin reckoned that he had started writing
  • gathered on each of these topics was far more extensive than Darwin had anticipated. As a result,  …
  • and St George Jackson Mivart, and heated debates sparked by Darwins proposed election to the French
  • machine’  ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December [1870] ). Finishing Descent; …
  • some weeks’  ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ). Darwin was still working hard on
  • style, the more grateful I shall be’  ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). She had
  • … , the latter when she was just eighteen years of age. Darwin clearly expected her to make a
  • have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). Henrietta
  • so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February 1870] ). …
  • sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] ). Cobbe accused Darwin of smiling in
  • great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870?] ). Humans as animals: ears
  • … [1868] ; this volume, letter to Thomas Woolner, 10 March [1870] ). Darwin included Woolners
  • findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March 1870 ). Indeed, Darwin noted the same
  • Darwin received a string of letters from his cousin Francis Galton, reporting on his efforts to
  • by breaking adjacent veins into one’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 25 June 1870 ). Occasionally
  • the latest litters has a white forefoot’  ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 May 1870 ). But in
  • an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you Francis completed his studies at Cambridge, …
  • an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 18 October [1870] ). …

Darwin’s queries on expression

Summary

When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…

Matches: 27 hits

  • When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect
  • ease of distribution sometime in late 1867 or early 1868. Darwin went over his questions, refining
  • was the collection of observations on a global scale. Darwin was especially interested in peoples
  • cultural and conventional, or instinctive and universal. Darwin used his existing correspondence
  • and with the mouth a little drawn back at the corners?” Darwins questionnaire was an extension of
  • was also carefully devised so as to prevent the feelings of Darwins remote observers from colouring
  • and not the susceptibilities of a moral nature.” Darwin did not typically countenance such
  • the collection of information to its display in print. After Darwin received all of the replies to
  • exceptyesorno.” “The same state of mindDarwin would later assert in Expression of the
  • uniformity.” Table of Correspondence about Darwins Questionnaire (click on the letter
  • could available online ahead of schedule as part of theDarwin and Human Natureproject, funded by
  • Brooke, C.A.J. 30 Nov 1870 Sarawak, Borneo
  • Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging/pouting of
  • Crichton-Browne, James 15 March 1870 West Riding
  • Crichton-Browne, James 18 March 1870 Down, Kent, …
  • blushing Darwin, Francis 20 June 1867
  • and S. Sutton Darwin, Francis [before 30
  • Donders, F.C. 27 May 1870 Utrecht, Netherlands
  • Forbes, David 13 June 1870 Portman Square, London W. …
  • from Mansel Weale Galton, Francis 7 Nov
  • Nicol, Patrick 13 May 1870 Sussex Lunatic Asylum, …
  • Reade, Winwood W. [c.8 or 9 Apr 1870] Accra, West
  • Reade, Winwood W. 4 June 1870 Lagos, Africa
  • Reade, Winwood W. 3 Sept 1870 Conservative Club, St
  • Reade, Winwood W. 9 Nov 1870 11 St Mary Abbot's
  • Weale, J.P.M. [25 May 1870] Bedford, Cape of Good
  • Weir, J.J. 27 June 1870 Blackheath, London, England

Francis Darwin

Summary

Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished scientist. He was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, initially studying mathematics, but then transferring to natural sciences.  Francis completed…

Matches: 8 hits

  • Known to his family asFrank’, Charles Darwins seventh child himself became a distinguished
  • but then transferring to natural sciencesFrancis completed his studies at Cambridge, …
  • into debt and had kept the matter secret for some months. Darwin was very stern in his advice: ‘I
  • an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you’ (letter to Francis Darwin18 October [1870] ). …
  • engaged to Amy Ruck in 1872; the couple married in 1874. Francis was already living in Down. and
  • a laboratory run by Julius von Sachs in WurzburgFrancis Darwin was elected to the Royal
  • his father had not been knighted, although in 1877 Charles Darwin was awarded an honorary degree
  • … ( The Power of Movement in Plants, 1880). Perhaps Francis Darwin, whom the family regarded as a

Francis Galton

Summary

Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…

Matches: 11 hits

  • and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwins, having descended from his grandfather
  • a natural historical narrative of the journey (Galton 1853). Darwin enjoyed and admired Galtons
  • Hereditary Genius (1869), which contained an entry on the Darwin family, including theauthor of
  • for subjects of natural history”. Shortly after Darwin published his preliminary hypothesis
  • on rabbits to test the theory. He reported regularly to Darwin on these experiments, which involved
  • more litters & no happy results”, he wrote on 26 April 1870 . In the following year, Galton
  • 1871 ). His views on inheritance continued to diverge from Darwins, however. He studied cases of
  • Galton shared his views in several lengthy letters, but Darwin struggled with the abstract reasoning
  • and infirmities, with the aim of improving the population. Darwin was less optimistic about such a
  • … ( 4 January [1873] ). Like most of his contemporaries, Darwin continued to believe in the
  • men of science: their nature and nurture (Galton 1874), Darwin insisted that he had no particular

Power of movement in plants

Summary

Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Family experiments Darwin was an active and engaged father during his children's youth, involving them in his experiments and even occasionally using them as observational subjects. When his children…

Matches: 10 hits

  • … | Experiment Family experiments Darwin was an active and engaged father during
  • Man (1872). This teaching module focuses on work done by Darwin with his son Francis on
  • and his role as an attentive and affectionate father. Darwin's letters to Francis mix advice on
  • notice that although they come from the last decade of Darwins life, he is still interested in his
  • move In The Power of movement in plants Darwin continued his experiments with and
  • in behavioral responses. In the conclusion of the book Darwin argues that gradual modifications in
  • SOURCES Books Darwin, C.R. The power of movement in plants. 1880. London: …
  • of movement in plants Letter 7346 - Darwin to Francis Darwin, 18 October 1870
  • compromising their character. Letter 10517 - Darwin to Francis Darwin, 29 May 1876
  • they would be worth making. Letter 11628 - Francis Darwin to Darwin, 24 July 1878

Casting about: Darwin on worms

Summary

Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…

Matches: 12 hits

  • for plants to flourish can be traced back to the last book Darwin wrote, snappily-titled The
  • on their habits, which was published in 1881. Despite Darwins fears that a book on earthworms might
  • out in his Natural History of Selborne of 1789 (a book Darwin claimed hadmuch influence on my
  • a new field in natural history, and almost a century later Darwin argued that all fields had passed
  • variety of strange things he persuaded people to do. Darwin concluded that worms had no sense
  • of a metal whistle and to being shouted at, but also to Francis Darwin playing the bassoon, and to
  • made calculations about larger castings on poorer soils, and Francis helped with calculations
  • … . After a while, looking for earthworm casts became a habit; Francis noticed worm casts in fir woods
  • existence of worms at that altitude. By the 1870s, Darwin was also drawing on the work of
  • him. Soon worm excrement was trusted to postal services, and Darwin acquired casts from India and
  • observations he had gathered to write a book on the subject. Darwin brought to the topic the
  • bigger souls than anyone wd suppose’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] (CUL DAR 210.6: …

Women as a scientific audience

Summary

Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…

Matches: 8 hits

  • … Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those …
  • … a broad variety of women had access to, and engaged with, Darwin's published works. A set of …
  • … women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
  • … that his views are original and will appeal to the public. Darwin asks Murray to forward the …
  • … and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859] …
  • … typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] …
  • … and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 September 1870] …
  • … Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to Darwin, [29 April 1870] George Cupples tells Darwin about a …

Cross and self fertilisation

Summary

The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…

Matches: 27 hits

  • the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwins belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells
  • on plants with two or three different forms of flowers, Darwin had focused on the anatomical and
  • of different forms of pollen. Although many plants that Darwin observed had flowers with adaptations
  • rates, growth, and constitutional vigour. Although Darwin was no stranger to long months and years
  • … … is highly remarkableIn September 1866, Darwin announced to the American botanist
  • several years ( To Édouard Bornet, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin began a series of experiments, …
  • … ). It was only after a new season of experiments that Darwin would confirm that this poppy shed its
  • access to flowers was only the tip of the iceberg. Darwin next focused on the California
  • conditions’ ( From Fritz Müller, 1 December 1866 ). Darwins interest was piqued and he described
  • when self-fertilised, although fewer than crossed plants. Darwin sent some of these seeds to Müller, …
  • … [1868] ). Müller, in turn, sent seeds from his plants to Darwin and both men continued to
  • Müller remarked, on receiving a new batch of seeds from Darwin, ‘that it wascurious to see, on
  • depends’ ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870, Darwin reported that he wasrearing
  • of English fertile plants’ ( To Fritz Müller, 12 May 1870 ). From a fairly early stage in
  • the sweet pea ( Lathyrus odoratus ), and in October 1867, Darwin wrote to James Moggridge to ask
  • of the year ( To JTMoggridge, 1 October [1867] ). Darwin was beginning to suspect that the
  • simply did not exist in Britain. During a visit to Darwin in May 1866, Robert Caspary, a
  • by the former ( From Robert Caspary, 18 February 1868 ). Darwin eagerly requested seed from both
  • was published on 30 January 1868. In April 1868, Darwin informed George Bentham, ‘I am
  • to elongate when the pollen touches the stigmatic surface. Darwin was able to discern that
  • 8 January 1876] ). It was his cousin, the statistician Francis Galton, who provided a statistical
  • to publish the report in the introduction to the book ( To Francis Galton, 13 January [1876] ). …
  • 6 June 1876] ). The project proved to be too complex and Francis Darwin later recalled, ‘the
  • birth of Darwins first grandchild, a son born to Amy and Francis Darwin on 7 September, suddenly
  • if, as I expect, you find it too much for you’ ( To Francis Darwin, 16 September [1876] ). Francis
  • have accepted all, though some slightly modified’ ( To Francis Darwin, 20 September [1876] ). …
  • … ‘Your corrections are very good & very useful’ ( To Francis Darwin   25 September [1876] ). …

Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?

Summary

Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…

Matches: 24 hits

  • evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost
  • … (1875) and  Cross and self fertilisation  (1876). Darwins son Francis became increasingly
  • career to become his fathers scientific secretary. Darwin had always relied on assistance from
  • the previous year. As was typical, readers wrote to Darwin personally to offer suggestions, …
  • some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed to discussions in the
  • in animals. The subject was brought closer to home by Francis Galtons work on inherited talent, …
  • Station at Naples. Plants that eat and feel? Darwin had resumed experiments on the
  • 12 January [1873] ).  Drosera  was the main focus of Darwins study of insectivorous plants, a
  • and alkaloids, and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous  …
  • … ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ). Darwin found that the glandular hairs on the
  • to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this transmission of
  • plants , p. 63). The plants secreted a viscid fluid, which Darwin suspected attracted insects by
  • … ., p. 17). Through a series of painstaking experiments, Darwin determined that the secretions
  • Poisons and electrocution . . . His son Francis was assisting the histologist Edward Emanuel
  • of medical research in London. On the advice of Klein, Francis obtained a new microscope for his
  • on botany, he drew more on assistance from his son Francis. While visiting his fiancée, Amy Ruck, in
  • notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ). …
  • … [1873] ).  Shortly afterwards, it was arranged for Francis to rent a house in the village (Down
  • to H. E. Litchfield, 20 February 1873 ). The surgeon Francis Stephen Bennet Francois de Chaumont, …
  • or previously acquired knowledge” (A. R. Wallace 1870, p. 204). Moggridge suggested instead that
  • of instinct and inheritance when he was asked by his cousin Francis Galton to participate in a study
  • aims but regarded the project asutopian” ( letter to Francis Galton, 4 January [1873] ). …
  • and investing money very well” ( letter to Francis Galton, 28 May 1873 ). Among character traits, …
  • his own character, he asked his sons to complete the list. Francis added to his fathers virtues: …

Women’s scientific participation

Summary

Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … |  Editors and critics  |  Assistants Darwins correspondence helps bring to light a
  • community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women
  • Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin
  • peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October
  • garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] Darwins
  • … . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867] Mary Barber
  • Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 May 1870] Darwins niece, Lucy, …
  • Darwin, [9 January 1871] Darwins brother-in-law, Francis, reports on the appearance and
  • tells her eldest son, William, that her third eldest son, Francis, is receiving help with his plant
  • February 1857] Darwins nephew, Edmund, writes to Francis with the results of his
  • in his home. Letter 10517  - Darwin to Francis, F., [29 May 1876] Darwin
  • Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] Darwin seeks Henriettas
  • Letter 7123 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [March 1870] Darwin thanks his daughter, …
  • Letter 10517  - Darwin t o Francis, F., [29 May 1876] Darwin gives his son, Francis

Jane Gray

Summary

Jane Loring Gray, the daughter of a Boston lawyer, married the Harvard botanist Asa Gray in 1848 and evidence suggests that she took an active interest in the scientific pursuits of her husband and his friends. Although she is only known to have…

Matches: 9 hits

  • pursuits of her husband and his friends. Just as Emma Darwin helped Charles with his
  • in her own name with botanists such as George Bentham and Francis BoottIn one letter Bentham
  • she is only known to have corresponded directly with Darwin once, sending him observations about the
  • Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals  (1872) Darwin thankedProfessor and Mrs. Asa Gray’ …
  • the Darwins). Jane had taken away with her a copy of DarwinsExpressionquestionnaire, and was
  • makes  the different expressions in facesDarwins interest in expression had taken
  • Asa Gray and J. L. Gray, 8 and 9 May 1869 ) Darwin cited Grays observations ongrief
  • Africa in 1868 to 1869, the Grays visited Charles and Emma Darwin twice, spending several days as
  • leaving Down. Two of the Darwinssons, George and Francis, saw the Grays when they toured

Movement in Plants

Summary

The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…

Matches: 23 hits

  • 7 November 1880was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which
  • about their research while he was away from home. Although Darwin lacked a state of the art research
  • research being pursued by other naturalists who, like Francis, had come to this centre for the study
  • methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument
  • copied but also improved on some of the apparatuses that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. …
  • plant physiology, but it was at its core informed by Darwins theory of evolution, particularly by
  • early 1860s, at a time when his health was especially bad, Darwin had taken up the study of climbing
  • reproduced as a small book, giving it a much wider audience. Darwin was not the first naturalist to
  • which eventually appeared in 1875. In the same year, Darwin published a much longer work,  …
  • about the nature of movement, so much so, that at one point Darwin had considered combining the
  • digestive processes. With his final great botanical work, Darwin would attemptto bring all the
  • emotions had their origins in non-human animal expression. Darwin had not done experimental work in
  • viewed the division between animals and plants as absolute, Darwin was interested in similarities. …
  • from all over Europe and beyond. When Darwins son Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers
  • had also asked Horace to discuss the point with his friend Francis Balfour(258). Darwin promised to
  • of any success. '. Just two months later, Darwin put Francis in charge of this aspect of the
  • more familiar with the research in Sachss laboratory as Franciss departure for Würzburg was
  • to Wurzburg, & work by myself will be dull work’ . Francis was in Würzburg until early August. …
  • good instruments were never far from Darwins thinking. Francis viewed the new instruments he was
  • design an improved version of the instrument, a klinostat; Francis later described and illustrated
  • was the relationship between bending movement and growth. Francis described the disagreements about
  • increased turgescence which precedes itwas reported by Francis, who added that Sachsdoesnt
  • the self-registering auxanometer, invented by Sachs around 1870, but a version of it was made by

Evolution: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860-1870

Summary

This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific colleagues around the world; letters by the critics who tried to stamp out his ideas, and by admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of…

Matches: 14 hits

  • This selection of Charles Darwins letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific
  • admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of Darwins life in 1860, in the immediate
  • of publication of Descent of Man in 1871. In this period Darwin became a public figure, and the
  • increased accordingly. Letters conveyed public reaction to Darwin, as people who were often complete
  • worked up, or their religious doubts and concerns for Darwins own soul. Darwin himself used letters
  • world a questionnaire on the expression of the emotions. Darwin also continued to confide in his
  • yet been pointed out to me. No doubt many will be. Darwin to Huxley, 1860. …
  • have been miserably uncomfortable. Emma to Charles Darwin, 1861. I am
  • gravitating towards your doctrinesHuxley to Darwin, 1862. I cannot bear
  • what you think about the derivation of SpeciesDarwin to Charles Lyell, 1863. …
  • fairly settled & succeeding in India. John Scott to Darwin, 1864. I
  • was quite out of balance once during our voyageDarwin to Hooker (on hearing of Robert
  • that the necks of your horses are badly galledDarwin to a local landowner, 1866. …
  • now, whether you owe any moreDarwin to his son Francis, 1870. …

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: 28 hits

  • … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . .  What little more I can
  • of   On the origin of   species , intended to be Darwins last, and of  Expression of the
  • books brought a strong if deceptive sense of a job now done: Darwin intended, he declared to Alfred
  • …  27 July [1872] ). By the end of the year Darwin was immersed in two of the studies that
  • of books and papers, and the latter formed the subject of Darwins last bookThe formation of   …
  • worms , published in the year before his deathDespite Darwins declared intention to take up new
  • begun many years before. In his private life also, Darwin was in a nostalgic frame of mind, …
  • The last word on Origin The year opened with Darwin, helped by his eldest son William, …
  • on 30 January , shortly after correcting the proofs, and Darwins concern for the consolidation of
  • and sixth editions were costly to incorporate, and despite Darwins best efforts, set the final
  • closely involved in every stage of publication of his books, Darwin was keen to ensure that this
  • by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in July 1870, and was now halted so that the further
  • to bring out the new edition in the United States, Darwin arranged with Murray to have it
  • had to be resetThe investment in stereotype reinforced Darwins intention to make no further
  • A worsening breach The criticisms against which Darwin had taken the greatest trouble to
  • objections to the theory of natural selection’, Darwin refuted point by point assertions published
  • Although Mivart was among those who wrote in January to wish Darwin a happy new year, before the
  • critical and anonymously published review of  Descent . Darwins supporters had rallied to his
  • The republication of Wrights paper had been arranged by Darwin himself (see  Correspondence  vol. …
  • so bigotted a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St GJMivart, 5
  • that he would willingly acknowledge himself at fault if only Darwin would renounce `fundamental
  • letter to St GJMivart, 8 January [1872] ).  Despite Darwins request that he drop the
  • … ( letter from St GJMivart,  10 January 1872 ).  Darwin, determined to have the last word in
  • 11 January [1872] ). 'I hate controversy,’ Darwin wrote later in the year, possibly with this
  • drawings shortly afterwards ( letter from Samuel Butler to Francis Darwin, [before 30 May 1872] , …
  • the claims of spiritualists, and Darwin, through his cousin Francis Galton, had with some interest
  • however, incorporated in the second edition, produced by Francis Darwin after his fathers death. …
  • new name on the list of volunteers: by the beginning of May, Francis Darwin, the Darwinsthird son, …

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: 25 hits

  • The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the publication of his
  • book out of my head’. But  a large proportion of Darwins time for the rest of the year was devoted
  • way, and the initial reception of the book in the press. Darwin fielded numerous letters from
  • offered sharp criticism or even condemnation. Darwin had expected controversy. ‘I shall be
  • a bare-faced manner.”‘ The most lively debate centred on Darwins evolutionary account of the
  • taste. Correspondence with his readers and critics helped Darwin to clarify, and in some cases
  • year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression. Darwin continued to investigate the
  • also brought a significant milestone for the family, as Darwins eldest daughter Henrietta was
  • during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working fairly continuously
  • work on species theory in the late 1830s. In recent years, Darwin had collected a wealth of material
  • to human evolution was comparatively small, reflecting Darwins aim of  showing kinship with animals
  • he istorn to piecesby people wanting copies’, Darwin wrote to his son Francis on 28 February
  • letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ). The profits for Darwin were considerable. After
  • man.’ Promoting the book As usual, Darwin did his best to obtain a wide and favourable
  • … (see Correspondence vol. 19Appendix IV). Four of Darwins five sons received a copy, and his
  • received a special acknowledgment in the form of a gift. Darwin credited her for whatever he had
  • … ‘to keep in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). Reaction
  • liberal or orthodox. The American philosopher and journalist Francis Ellingwood Abbot incorporated
  • man & we were the best of friends’, he wrote to his son Francis on 28 February . However, …
  • Darwin had been receiving regular reports from his cousin Francis Galton on the progress of
  • in order to facilitate cross-circulation ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
  • activity would have on the elevation of land. In October 1870, two separate square yards of ground
  • science ( letter to Horace Darwin, [15 December 1871] ). Francis was now studying medicine at St
  • of Trinity College, planned a trip to America, and invited Francis and two Cambridge friends. Darwin
  • …  be almost superhuman virtue to give it up’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 May [1871] ). Darwin

Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts

Summary

At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of  Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…

Matches: 28 hits

  • At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of  …
  • appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a
  • material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwins interests remained extremely broad, and
  • plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to
  • Carl von  Nägeli and perfectibility Darwins most substantial addition to  Origin  was a
  • a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägelis paper
  • principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägelis theory
  • in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now
  • are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwins apparent confusion about Nägelis
  • … ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwins uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently
  • pp. 289). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical examples he could use
  • problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth
  • prevailing theory of blending inheritance that Jenkin and Darwin both shared, would tend to be lost
  • … ( Origin  5th ed., pp. 1034). The terminology that Darwin and others employed in these matters ( …
  • … ‘I must have expressed myself atrociously’, Darwin wrote to Alfred Russel Wallace on 2 February , …
  • of  Origin  was the result of correspondence between Darwin and the geologist James Croll. In the
  • but it was his theory of alternate ice ages that piqued Darwins interest the most. He wrote, ‘this
  • … ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin had argued ( Origin , pp. 3778) that plant
  • would always exist. In  Origin  5th ed., pp. 45061, Darwin accounted for the survival of tropical
  • James Croll31 January [1869] ). Croll could not supply Darwin with an estimate of the age of the
  • the basis for a new German edition (Bronn and Carus trans. 1870), prepared by Julius Victor Carus, …
  • own evolutionary views and critical commentary (Royer trans. 1870). Darwin complained to Hooker, …
  • work some hours daily’ ( letter to Anton Dohrn, 4 January 1870 ). Darwins health was generally
  • of concern were received for months afterwards. Francis Galton: Hereditary genius and
  • Emma read aloud from a new book by Darwins half-cousin, Francis Galton. The workHereditary
  • is an eminently  important difference’ ( letter to Francis Galton23 December [1869] ). …
  • of inheritance through experiments on rabbits ( letter from Francis Galton, 11 December 1869 ). …
  • the first to give me freedom of thought’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 24 December 1869 ). …

John Lubbock

Summary

John Lubbock was eight years old when the Darwins moved into the neighbouring property of Down House, Down, Kent; the total of one hundred and seventy surviving letters he went on to exchange with Darwin is a large number considering that the two men lived…

Matches: 15 hits

  • and seventy surviving letters he went on to exchange with Darwin is a large number considering that
  • entertained well-connected visitors who often asked to meet Darwin too. Alongside careers in
  • arrangements to meetThere are few people whose company Darwin so actively sought out, and despite
  • it is clear that John Lubbock played a significant part in Darwin's life and work, becoming a
  • was only twenty-fivebut he provided drawings from Darwin's own dissections of ants, and
  • ideas to humans.  After his election as MP for Maidstone in 1870, Lubbock tried at Darwins request
  • This was unsuccessful, but he went on to submit petitions on Darwins behalf seeking pensions for
  • Contributions to Descent In Descent of man , Darwin referred to Lubbocks published
  • 94). But the most important aspect of Lubbocks work for Darwin was the support it provided for the
  • Lubbocks Origin of civilisation , published in 1870 as Darwin was completing Descent, was
  • than reflecting earlier stages of human development as Darwin believedwere the result of
  • …  ‘I have read 4 or 5 Chapters with extreme interest,’  Darwin wrote, ‘too much interest for the good
  • Lubbock, 18 March [1871] ). It was Lubbock who drew Darwins attention to McLennans
  • were strained.  ‘I am afraid our feeling to Sir JohnFrancis Darwin later wrotedid not tend to
  • him to meet a member of the royal family in the person of Francis, Duke of Teck, husband of Princess

3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos

Summary

< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…

Matches: 21 hits

  • … &lt; Back to Introduction Darwins plans for the illustration of his book The
  • and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had himself made
  • in the early 1870s (he died in January 1875), and Darwin assisted him financially on at least one
  • The Expression of the Emotions. In April of that year, Darwin wrote to the London firm of Elliott
  • to any purchasers’. Phillip Prodger has suggested that Darwin agreed to be photographed by Rejlander
  • Expression of the Emotions. Open sale of any portraits of Darwin was likely to be highly
  • Library contains photographs by him of Richard Litchfield (Darwins son in law), and another man, …
  • this was the wedding day of Litchfield and Henrietta Darwin, which Rejlander thus commemorated. …
  • plans for purveying a fanciful or dramatised portrayal of Darwin, he was evidently thwarted, as
  • transition from pathognomy to portraiture in his work for Darwin must have raised interesting
  • and on one side. Of the five or so known photographs of Darwin, evidently taken at more than one
  • photographs. In this way they communicate a sense of Darwins commanding intellect and physical
  • However, they may have seemed too dramatic to please the Darwin family, and were evidently not
  • 1871, and reproduced in the London Journal in June 1872. Darwin also sent it to various contacts
  • Dresser. However, it was a fourth photograph, showing just Darwins head and shoulders in profile, …
  • press.   On 11 November 1871, Rejlander sent Darwina bundle of cards’, which were probably
  • supposition is strengthened by the fact that in October 1871 Darwin himself had written to the
  • wood-engraved by R. Taylor; it illustrated an article on Darwin on the front page of The
  • was published in Nature in 1874, and was included in Francis Darwins list of canonical
  • accompanying a laudatory article by Revd R.A. Armstrong. Francis Darwins catalogue of portraits of
  • Photograph: Authenticity, Science and the Periodical Press, 18701890 (London and New York: …

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 …

Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small

Summary

In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…

Matches: 28 hits

  • In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous
  • for scientific colleagues or their widows facing hardship. Darwin had suffered from poor health
  • of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater public recognition
  • Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwins greatest scientific pleasure. The year
  • to Fritz Müller, 4 January 1882 ). These were topics that Darwin had been investigating for years, …
  • working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots,’ Darwin wrote, ‘the chief result being that
  • for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. Darwins interest in root response and the
  • London on 6 and 16 March, respectively. In January, Darwin corresponded with George John
  • letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 28 December 1881 ). Darwin had a long-running interest in such
  • experiments had been conducted to lend support to Darwins theory of pangenesis (see
  • He was eager to write up the results on Brazilian cane, with Darwin providing a detailed outline: ‘I
  • at the Linnean Society on 4 May, but not published. Darwin carried on with botanical work in
  • which are asymmetric, thus facilitating cross-fertilisation. Darwins aim, he said, was just to
  • 3 April 1882 ). Earthworms and evolution Darwins last book, Earthworms , had been
  • Appendix V). The conservative Quarterly Review , owned by Darwins publisher John Murray, carried
  • themselves’ ( Quarterly Review , January 1882, p. 179). Darwin commented at length on the review
  • is a young man &amp; a worker in any branch of Biology,’ Darwin continued, ‘he will assuredly sooner
  • and professor of ecclesiastical history Henry Wace. Darwin was confident that the theory of
  • at an early age was encouraged by Darwin. He wrote to Francis: ‘I say nothing about the loss to
  • a small tribute of respect’ (letter from John Lubbock to Francis Darwin, 20 April 1882 (DAR 215: 10n
  • of ice dams causing glacial lakes was presented by Thomas Francis Jamieson in a paper to the
  • contents of bats?’ ( letter to Hermann Müller, 14 March 1870 ). One of Darwins other great
  • much of him’ ( letter to George Cupples, 20 September [1870] ). Despite Darwins insistence
  • Darwins views on eugenics, a term coined by his cousin Francis Galton, were mixed, partly owing to
  • years of Darwins life show his increasing attachment to Francis, as father and son worked together
  • no one to talk to, I scribble this to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [1 August 1878] ). …
  • from Charlotte Papé, 16 July 1875 ). She now addressed Francis, who could best appreciate the
  • and nothing too small’ (letter from Charlotte Papé to Francis Darwin, 21 April 1882, DAR 215: 7k). …
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