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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: 22 hits
- … In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book …
- … some of whom took immediate action to mediate a solution. Charles Darwin had close ties with both …
- … his views were generally derided. 1 In 1859, Lyell visited several sites in France …
- … belief that these were indeed implements of early humans (C. Lyell 1859). In September 1860 he …
- … species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
- … regarding the age of the human species. The visits by both Lyell and Lubbock reflected the growing …
- … Lubbock reviewed the literature on the topic and noted that Charles Adolphe Morlot had summarised, …
- … Prehistoric times (Lubbock 1865). By 1860, Lyell had begun work on a sixth edition of …
- … below, ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). On 6 February 1863, Antiquity of man (C. Lyell …
- … Galton. In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, evidently in response …
- … over the comparative anatomy of human and ape brains. 6 Many of Lyell’s supporters were …
- … about Lyell’s failure to support him. In April 1863, in a letter to the Athenæum , he discussed a …
- … transmutation; he also wrote to Lyell telling him about the letter to the Athenæum . 9 …
- … 1863b, p. 213). In May 1864, Lubbock received a letter from Falconer, who reiterated his …
- … his celebrated work on the ‘ Antiquity of man ,’ Sir Charles Lyell has made much use of my earlier …
- … me from any such inference. The statement made by Sir Charles Lyell, in a note to page 11 of his …
- … it therefore did not ‘justify so severe an attack on Sir Charles Lyell’. 32 Darwin’s …
- … Stocking 1987, and Van Riper 1993. 2. Letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 20 …
- … Lyell, see Bynum 1984 and L. G. Wilson 1996. 6. Owen’s complaints about C. Lyell 1863a …
- … See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] and n. 7. 9. …
- … T. H. Huxley, 7 June 1865, Imperial College, Huxley papers 6: 110). For more on the X-club, see …
- … to Huxley, 5 June 1865 (Imperial College, Huxley papers 6: 104). 27. Rough draft of a …
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: 19 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
- … 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 …
- … by the publication in February of books by his friends Charles Lyell, the respected geologist, and …
- … 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] …
- … Britain’s scientific circles following the publication of Lyell’s and Huxley’s books. Three …
- … than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
- … with animals now extinct had been rapidly accumulating. Lyell’s argument for a greater human …
- … as well as on evidence collected earlier in the century. Lyell’s Antiquity of man and Huxley’s …
- … that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin …
- … out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public …
- … you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The …
- … a fitting opportunity’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January [1863] ). …
- … in the fossil record ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January [1863] ). Only until March did …
- … letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , and letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … 29 May [1863] , and letter to Hugh Falconer, [25–6 August 1863] ). Sterility and …
- … [1863] that he had been ‘ordered to do nothing for 6 months’ by his doctors, mentioning that even …
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: 23 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] …
- … current knowledge could not illuminate this ‘mystery’. Charles Lyell worried, among other things, …
- … natural selection did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 …
- … of reasoning about global change. Darwin also knew that Lyell was a powerful potential ally. Indeed, …
- … plant species and varieties than from animal breeding. With Lyell also questioning how interbreeding …
- … considered it more a failure than a success ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 February [1860] ). …
- … perfected structure as the eye. As Darwin admitted to Lyell, Gray, and others, imagining how …
- … distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 ). But Baer in fact …
- … Certainly this was a major difficulty standing in the way of Lyell’s acceptance of the theory, as …
- … is in same predicament with other animals’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] )— he and …
- … of the scientifically literate clergymen Baden Powell and Charles Kingsley attested. Moreover, …
- … (like Lyell) to retract their support altogether (letters to Charles Lyell, 1 June [1860] and …
- … different opposers view the subject’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 15 February [1860] ); later he …
- … critique of his geological argument, he wrote to Lyell on 6 June [1860] : 'I am beginning to …
- … better fun observing is than writing.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12 September [1860] ). Despite …
- … & not amuse myself with interludes.—’ (letters to Charles Lyell, 24 November [1860] , and to …
- … daughter Anne’s fatal illness never far from their minds, Charles and Emma did whatever they could …
Natural Selection: the trouble with terminology Part I
Summary
Darwin encountered problems with the term ‘natural selection’ even before Origin appeared. Everyone from the Harvard botanist Asa Gray to his own publisher came up with objections. Broadly these divided into concerns either that its meaning simply wasn’t…
Matches: 6 hits
- … I think, would make confusion worse confounded ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell 6 …
- … of twenty years, Natural Selection . With that letter to Gray, Darwin enclosed a …
- … he had expected. ‘I am, also, sorry’ Darwin wrote to Charles Lyell, who had approached the …
- … I must be a very bad explainer. ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell, 6 June [1860]) …
- … Nevertheless, regret lingered, and he wrote in a later letter to Lyell: ' Talking of “Natural …
- … used natural preservation '. (There is now a hole in the letter where Darwin wrote ' …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 21 hits
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … at Erasmus’s house. The event was led by the medium Charles E. Williams, and was attended by George …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
- … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
- … friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder …
- … at a much reduced price of nine shillings, in line with Charles Lyell’s Student’s elements of …
- … on the outcome ( enclosure to letter from G. H. Darwin, 6 [August] 1874 ): I think you …
- … & it had been refused’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, [6 or 7 August 1874] ). When the letter was …
- … before (see Correspondence vol. 22, Appendix V, p. 641). give him the cold shoulder …
- … yours’ (see Correspondence vol. 22, appendix V, p. 644). In his dealings with both …
- … in the Academy (2 January 1875; see Appendix V, pp. 644–5) . The affair rolled on into …
- … to the vomit and ate it ( letter from W. G. Walker, 6 December 1874 ). The Zoological …
- … raising £860 ( Circular to John Lubbock, P. L. Sclater, Charles Lyell, W. B. Carpenter, and Michael …
- … Sharpe, 24 November [1874] ). He wrote in admiration of Charles Lyell’s plan to leave a bequest to …
- … of the English editions. Darwin’s French publisher, Charles Reinwald, engaged new translators to …
- … connotations of both Huxley’s and Tyndall’s addresses, Charles Lyell, who had spent his career …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 20 hits
- … he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This …
- … as he jokingly called it) to his views of close friends like Charles Lyell, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … concepts of creation. ‘When I was in spirits’, he told Lyell at the end of 1859, ‘I sometimes …
- … has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
- … to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
- … were incipient species ( Natural selection, p. 145–6): From looking at species as only …
- … his reason or his own opinion. Hewett Cottrell Watson and Charles Cardale Babington thought that in …
- … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
- … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
- … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
- … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
- … his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … Following Francis Darwin ( LL 2: 116–17) and relying on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors …
- … with scarlet fever, currently sweeping through the village. Charles Waring Darwin’s condition …
- … work. Again, he called upon Lyell for advice ( letter to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] ). Lyell …
- … Elwin to Murray, 3 May 1859 , and letter to John Murray, 6 May [1859] ). The extant …
- … from the title of the forthcoming book ( letter to Charles Lyell, 30 March [1859] ). Darwin next …
- … but in this he was disappointed. ‘We have been here above 6 week,’ he wrote to Fox, ‘& I feel …
- … points of Darwin’s theory ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 6 May 1859 ). Among the older scientists, …
- … larky since we run two horses’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 6 October [1858] ). Visitors to Down 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, …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 23 hits
- … In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
- … dispute between two of Darwin’s friends, John Lubbock and Charles Lyell . These events all inspired …
- … The death of Hugh Falconer Darwin’s first letter to Hooker of 1865 suggests that the family …
- … having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
- … his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium …
- … may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
- … always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
- … for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
- … gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … claimed, important for his enjoyment of life. He wrote to Charles Lyell on 22 January [1865] , …
- … and those of Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, and Charles Bonnet; Darwin wrote back: ‘I do …
- … the Royal Society of Edinburgh criticising Origin . Like Charles Lyell, who wrote to Darwin on …
- … modification of structure’ (G. D. Campbell 1864, pp. 275–6). Campbell argued further that natural …
- … for existence (ibid., pp. 276–81). Darwin responded to Lyell’s account in some detail ( see letter …
- … observations to high scientific account’ (A. Gray 1865–6, pp. 273-4). Darwin had also written to …
- … the correspondence. At the end of May, the dispute between Charles Lyell and John Lubbock over …
- … human antiquity, adding a note to his preface asserting that Lyell in his Antiquity of man , …
- … Natural History Review . He also cited a statement by Lyell in Antiquity of man that the pages …
- … to the Anthropologicals?’ ( letter from F. H. Hooker, 6 September [1865] ). Before he returned …
- … set up to support FitzRoy’s children ( see letter from Charles Shaw, 3 October 1865 ). …
- … are letters commenting on Origin , including two from Charles Lyell, who had been sent the proof …
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
Matches: 23 hits
- … but really I do think you have a good right to be so’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 and] 20 …
- … species. Darwin attempted to dissuade him from this view ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 14 [January 1862 …
- … partially sterile together. He failed. Huxley replied ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 January 1862 …
- … and pronounced them ‘simply perfect’, but continued ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 18 December [1862] ) …
- … resigned to their difference of opinion, but complained ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 28 December [1862 …
- … letters, Darwin, impressed, gave him the commission ( see letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] …
- … protégé, telling Hooker: ‘he is no common man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ). …
- … Towards the end of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ): …
- … and added, ‘new cases are tumbling in almost daily’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 January [1862] ). In …
- … hopeful, became increasingly frustrated, telling Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 March [1862] ) …
- … on the problem: ‘the labour is great’, he told Gray ( letter to Asa Gray, 10–20 June [1862] ), ‘I …
- … resulted from his ‘ enormous labour over them’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 [October 1862] ; …
- … Oliver: ‘I can see at least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ), …
- … result once out of four or five sets of experiments’ ( letter to M. T. Masters, 24 July [1862] ). …
- … one species may be said to be generically distinct’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 14 July [1862] ). The …
- … a paper for the Linnean Society ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 6 October [1862] ). However, it was not …
- … in the preparation of translations of his books. When Charles Edouard Brown-Séquard informed him …
- … different translator ( see letter from Edouard Claparède, 6 September 1862 ). In Germany, …
- … also sent presentation copies of his botanical studies to Charles Naudin, a botanist at the Muséum d …
- … Darwin was glad that Glen Roy was ‘settled’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 22 August [1862] ), he …
- … of the human species ( see letter from John Lubbock, 6 January 1862 ). Ramsay’s was not the …
- … palaeontologist who believes in immutability’, he told Lyell ( letter to Charles Lyell, 1 October …
- … of the pot of life’? ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 May 1862 ). In his address, Huxley also …
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 22 hits
- … On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that he ‘Began by Lyell’s advice writing …
- … by the preparation of this manuscript. Although advised by Lyell to publish only a brief outline …
- … material into such a small compass and soon abandoned Lyell’s idea in favour of a full-length work …
- … this process. Still prominent in his immediate circle were Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … and other domesticated animals. As Darwin explained to Lyell, his studies, particularly those on …
- … the real structure of varieties’, he remarked to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 September [1856 …
- … ‘& I mean to make my Book as perfect as ever I can.’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 8 February [1857] …
- … plants, he asked Asa Gray, vary in the United States ( letter to Asa Gray, 2 May 1856 )? What …
- … plants pretty effectually’ complained Darwin in 1857 ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [2 May 1857] ). …
- … John Lubbock that his method of calculation was wrong ( letter to John Lubbock, 14 July [1857] ). …
- … ‘Darwin, an absolute & eternal hermaphrodite’ ( letter to to T. H. Huxley, 1 July [1856] ), …
- … which the bird had naturally eaten have grown well.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 December [1856] …
- … to William Erasmus Darwin, [26 February 1856] and to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ). …
- … 21 [July 1857] ). The problem of careers for his six boys (Charles Waring Darwin, the sixth and …
- … he wrote to Syms Covington in New South Wales ( letter to Syms Covington, 9 March 1856 ). …
- … his work on species and the preparation of his manuscript ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 1 May 1857 ) …
- … writing in part to establish his priority in this area, for Charles Lyell thought that Wallace’s …
- … All the available material seems to indicate that it was Lyell rather than Darwin who feared the …
- … Darwin’s manuscript on species was begun only after Lyell had urged him to publish a preliminary …
- … given on an occasion other than the one previously supposed. Charles and Mary Elizabeth Lyell …
- … up to London to see Lyell to discuss it further ( letter to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ). It was …
- … not embrace the whole Lamarckian doctrine.’ ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1–2 May 1856, n. 7 ). The …
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Matches: 13 hits
- … up each edition to the existing standard of science’ ( to Charles Layton, 24 November [1869] ). …
- … 1866 5 th English edition published, 1869 6 th English edition published, 1872 …
- … expansion ‘in many places’ . Chief among these was Charles Lyell, instrumental in shaping both …
- … last one was a welcome endorsement from the religious author Charles Kingsley, a chaplain to the …
- … sufficiently acknowledged earlier work. According to a letter to Asa Gray he had yet to start …
- … Black Pigs in the Everglades delights me If Lyell was Darwin’s key correspondent for …
- … an animal’s colour and its immunity to poison (see letter from Jeffries Wyman, [ c . 15] …
- … hitherto slurred it over. In his Christmas Day letter to his old friend Joseph Hooker, …
- … significant correspondents. 5 th to 6 th edition Proposed …
- … (With a glossary of scientific terms??) by Charles Darwin F.R.S. …
- … many of his old friends and former correspondents, including Lyell ( now approached through his …
- … of population increase in elephants in response to a letter published in the Athenaeum by a …
- … ed. , pp. 450–61). Despite continuing scepticism from Charles Lyell, who was staying with the …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 29 hits
- … On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, …
- … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
- … of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
- … book would take the form of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But …
- … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
- … Index-maker’, Darwin wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker on 6 January . Darwin had sent the manuscript …
- … would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from Dallas to …
- … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
- … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
- … reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from the Isle of Wight on the formation …
- … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
- … ignorant article… . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] …
- … ‘he is a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] …
- … additional facts that they hoped might be of interest. Charles Henry Binstead, a civil engineer in …
- … but never fulfilled. He was sent a news clipping on 6 July from the Maryport Weekly Advertiser …
- … House of Commons than any assembly in the world’ (from ?, 6 April 1868). On 21 May , Darwin …
- … The Swiss botanist Alphonse de Candolle described on 6 July the inheritance over eight …
- … proved very fruitful. On 1 May , Darwin received a letter from George Cupples, who was encouraged …
- … with the enthusiastic breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous …
- … of science On 27 February , Darwin sent a letter of thanks to the naturalist and …
- … he later added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). …
- … to various classes, a dim ray of light may be gained’ ( letter to H. T. Stainton, 21 February [1868 …
- … as well as of ‘victorious males getting wives’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 25 February [1868] ). …
- … is too short for so long a discussion’, he wrote on 6 April . Yet Wallace continued to press him, …
- … son, William, met on occasion with a Southampton surgeon, Charles Langstaff, who observed screaming …
- … you as their leader’ ( letter from Gaston de Saporta, 6 September 1868 ). The support …
- … as an appendix to volume 16 of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin . Religion in theory . …
- … Darwin by Julia Margaret Cameron ( Image: Charles Darwin, 1868, Julia Margaret Cameron, Dar …
- … year, but suffered one bout of poor health, complaining to Charles Lyell on 14 July : ‘the last 3 …
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: 27 hits
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
- … Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
- … Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
- … expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
- … is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
- … of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, …
- … briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
- … expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
- … birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to …
- … of an angry pig and her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, …
- … that she make observations of her pet cats. Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 …
- … on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera . Letter 9426 - Story …
- … without the birds attacking the buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to …
- … and her father of plants and insects. Men: Letter 2221 - Blyth, E. to Darwin …
- … specimens and bird observations from Calcutta. Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 …
- … “enthusiasm and indomitable patience”. Letter 4242 - Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin …
- … contained in “a little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 …
- … he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom. Letter 5602 - Sutton, S. to …
- … expression of emotion in chimpanzees and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von …
- … to show in his museum in Canterbury, New Zealand. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to …
- … to be attracted to dark spots on the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. …
- … the Isle of White. Letter 4433 - Wright, Charles to Gray, A., [20, 25, 26 March …
- … in the future. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] …
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: 20 hits
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … on roots’, read at the Linnean Society of London on 6 and 16 March, respectively. In January, …
- … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
- … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
- … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
- … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
- … to take his daily strolls (Henrietta Emma Litchfield, ‘Charles Darwin’s death’, DAR 262.23: 2, p. 2) …
- … pain’, ‘ slight attack’ (Darwin pocket diary, 1882, 6, 7, 10 April 1882). Some days he was able …
- … yesterday’ (letter from Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, 6 April 1882 (DAR 210.3: 46)). Despite his …
- … snakes, centipedes, and spiders. The instructions were from Charles Lawrence Hughes, a fellow pupil …
- … Holland, she mentions his warm reception on arrival: ‘Charles is as well as possible & in gayer …
- … recommendations for annual medals. He strongly supported Charles Lyell for the Copley, the Royal …
- … that the future Historian of the Natural Sciences, will rank Lyell’s labours as more influential in …
- … point of view I think no man ranks in the same class with Lyell’ ( letter to William Sharpey, 22 …
- … in Natural History every day’ ( letter to Henry Holland, 6 November [1864] ). Writing to the …
- … men whom I should have liked to have known’ ( letter to Charles Kingsley, 2 June [1865] ). …
- … curious to read what you will say on Man & his Races’, Lyell wrote. ‘It was not a theme to be …
- … theory for the whole of the organic world ( letter from Charles Lyell, 16 July 1867 ). In the same …
- … and I must not make you my father confessor. ( Letter from Charles Lyell, 1 September 1874 .) …
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: 19 hits
- … 1 Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by …
- … from the correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … following: Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress …
- … the botanist, Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles Darwin… made his home on the border …
- … he was the most charming of hosts. DARWIN: 6 My life goes on like Clockwork, and …
- … the year 1839, and copied and communicated to Messrs Lyell and Hooker in 1844, being a …
- … his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
- … 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my …
- … be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
- … on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
- … at the expense of Agassiz. DARWIN: 20 Lyell told me, that Agassiz, having a …
- … a brace of letters 25 I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
- … might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
- … Atlantic. HOOKER: 28 Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
- … – to be false… Yours most sincerely and gratefully Charles Darwin. CREED AND FEVER: 1858 …
- … forgetfuless of your darling. BOOKS BY THE LATE CHARLES DARWIN: 1863-1865 In which …
- … and officially die. And then publish books ‘by the late Charles Darwin’. Darwin takes up …
- … 173 Ever yours cordially (though an Englishman) Charles Darwin. GRAY: 174 …
- … at an unexpected and probably transient notoriety… Charles Darwin died on the 19th April …
Controversy
Summary
The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…
Matches: 20 hits
- … him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
- … of brotherly love and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. …
- … the nature of such influences as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his book “the law of higgledy-piggledy”. Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, …
- … his views now depends on men eminent in science. Letter 2767 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … prevail without such aggressive tactics. Letter 5500 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. …
- … reader to take the side of the attacked person. Letter 5533 — Haeckel, E. P. A. to …
- … of the matter, a vigorous attack is essential. Letter 5544 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, …
- … Darwin and his close friends, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Charles Lyell, show that Darwin, who had …
- … at the Linnean Society of London, and presided over by Lyell and Hooker, reveals much about the …
- … differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 [June 1858] Darwin …
- … it to journal. Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, [25 June 1858] …
- … wrote to him. Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 26 [June 1858] Darwin …
- … of case. Letter 2299 — Hooker, J. D. & Lyell, Charles to Linnean Society, 30 June …
- … Letter 2337 — Wallace, A. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct 1858 Darwin thanks Hooker and Lyell for …
- … public unaccompanied by his own views. Letter 6024 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … minute variations and sexual selection. Letter 6033 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. R. …
- … Darwin’s notes on Wallace’s argument. Letter 6045 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., 24 …
Darwin on race and gender
Summary
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual…
Matches: 4 hits
- … ( Beagle diary , p. 143). He was delighted to receive a letter from an African correspondent …
- … and Progress Key letters: Letter to J. S. Henslow, 11 April 1833 …
- … race making. British Journal of the History of Science 6: 9–23 [in a special issue on ‘Descent …
- … Correspondence with women Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February …
The writing of "Origin"
Summary
From a quiet rural existence at Down in Kent, filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on the transmutation of species, Darwin was jolted into action in 1858 by the arrival of an unexpected letter (no longer extant) from Alfred Russel Wallace outlining a…
Matches: 19 hits
- … whole has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.— (letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November …
- … book’ on species. Begun in May 1856 at the urging of Lyell, the manuscript was already more than …
- … to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
- … were incipient species ( Natural selection , p. 145–6): From looking at species as only …
- … his reason or his own opinion. Hewett Cottrell Watson and Charles Cardale Babington thought that in …
- … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature (see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
- … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
- … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
- … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
- … Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … Following Francis Darwin (LL2:116–17) and relying on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors have …
- … Then, on 18 June he forwarded Wallace’s paper to Lyell (Brooks 1984, pp. 262–3). It is of some …
- … with scarlet fever, currently sweeping through the village. Charles Waring Darwin’s condition …
- … the work. Again, he called upon Lyell for advice (letter to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] ). …
- … to Murray, 3 May 1859 , and letter to John Murray, 6 May [1859 ]). The extant …
- … from the title of the forthcoming book (letter to Charles Lyell, 30 March [1859] ). Darwin next …
- … essay on the origin of species and varieties’ (letters to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] , and to …
- … but in this he was disappointed. ‘We have been here above 6 week,’ he wrote to Fox, ‘& I feel …
- … points of Darwin’s theory (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 6 May 1859 ). Among the older scientists, …
Dates of composition of Darwin's manuscript on species
Summary
Many of the dates of letters in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwin’s manuscript on species (DAR 8--15.1, inclusive; transcribed and published as Natural selection). This manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by…
Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies
Summary
The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…
Matches: 18 hits
- … will do me & Natural Selection, right good service’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 26–7 Februrary [1861] …
- … notably his faithful ‘barometer’ of scientific opinion, Charles Lyell ( see letter to Charles Lyell …
- … selection could not be ‘directly proved’ ( see second letter to J. D. Hooker, 23 [April 1861] ). …
- … was ‘the only one proper to such a subject’ ( letter from Henry Fawcett, 16 July [1861] ). Mill in …
- … or against some view if it is to be of any service!’ ( letter to Henry Fawcett, 18 September [1861] …
- … chapter on the imperfection of the geological record ( see letter to George Maw, 19 July [1861] ). …
- … he planned to report ‘at a favourable opportunity’ ( letter from Joseph Leidy, 4 March [1861] ). …
- … laboratory where Nature manufactures her new species’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 28 March [1861] ) …
- … study of natural history was evident. He told Darwin in his letter of [1 December] 1861: …
- … by insect enemies from which the other set is free’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 30 September 1861 ) …
- … be a ‘very valuable contribution to Nat. History.—’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 4 April [1861] ). He …
- … like Cuthbert Collingwood and laymen such as the physician Charles Robert Bree and the Scottish …
- … and poultry. As he frequently admitted to friends such as Charles Lyell and interested supporters …
- … prominently in the correspondence of 1861. Here, it was Charles Lyell who continued to act as Darwin …
- … subsidence, and glaciation in Europe. Through his letters, Lyell involved Darwin in his …
- … he had published a major paper twenty years earlier. Both Lyell and Darwin encouraged the young …
- … had been ‘one long gigantic blunder’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 September [1861] ). The …
- … network in support of his son. On 1 August he wrote to Charles Lyell to ask whether he could suggest …
