skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

Search: contains ""

400 Bad Request

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.


Apache Server at dcp-public.lib.cam.ac.uk Port 443
Search:
in keywords
24 Items
Page:  1 2  Next

Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours

Summary

Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…

Matches: 25 hits

  • Ever since the publication of Expression , Darwins research had centred firmly on botany. The
  • of these projects would culminate in a major publication. Darwins botany was increasingly a
  • assisted his fathers research on movement and bloom, and Darwin in turn encouraged his sons own
  • from a family that the Darwins had befriended. The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. …
  • from Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Closer to home, Darwin received an honorary Doctorate of
  • sites for possible earthworm activity. Now in his 69th year, Darwin remained remarkably productive, …
  • no controversy. In his autobiographical reflections, Darwin remarked: ‘no little discovery of
  • … (‘Recollections’, p. 419). During the winter and spring, Darwin was busy preparing the manuscript of
  • and presented to the Linnean Society of London. In the book, Darwin adopted the more recent term
  • value, it is not likely that more than a few hundred copies w d . be sold’. His publisher knew
  • to Down if it lay in my power and you thought it w d . help you.’ ‘I declare had it not been for
  • of a very heavy shower’, William wrote on 24 August 1877 . ‘The leaves were not at all depressed; …
  • Hookers suspicion of ambitious gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August 1877 ). …
  • a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). Research on movement would continue
  • of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). Franciss paper eventually appeared
  • wrote to the editor, George Croom Robertson, on 27 April 1877 , ‘I hope that you will be so good
  • copies of Kosmos covering the German debate (letters to W. E. Gladstone, 2 October 1877 and
  • of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October 1877 ). …
  • found him as soft & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ). Hooker was
  • the gospel of dirt the order of the day’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 27 January [1877] ).  Carlyle
  • study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October 1877 ). An American banker
  • blood and thus keep back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles
  • to hide the absence of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). More
  • exhibit is in many cases purely physical’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 10 September 1877 ). Darwin
  • them drink so that they become quite tipsy’ ( letter to W. M. Moorsom, 11 September [1877] ). …

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
  • … ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870, Darwin reported that he wasrearing crossed
  • From a fairly early stage in his experimental programme, Darwin began to pay more attention to the
  • lately ascertained, & about which I dont know whether you w d  care, is that a great excess of
  • 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
  • … ‘I always supposed until lately that no evil effects w d  be visible until after several
  • of plants.’ ( From Friedrich Hildebrand, 18 January 1877 ). Hermann Müller enthused that Darwins
  • my book’ ( To  GardenersChronicle , 19 February [1877] ). In contrast, as Hooker told Darwin, …
  • gloats over it' ( From JDHooker, 27 January 1877 ). Darwin was especially pleased with
  • have quite eviscerated it’ ( To Asa Gray, 18 February [1877] ). By mid-March 1877, the edition was
  • index a little altered’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 11 December [1877] ). These changes were necessitated by
  • populations of rye and wheat that he had studied ( From A. W. Rimpau, 10 December 1877 ). By the

Diagrams and drawings in letters

Summary

Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…

Matches: 2 hits

  • … Forbes's "Atlantis" theory,  [25 February 1846] E. A. Darwin's …
  • … containing bud samples,  12 May 1878 G. H. Darwin's drawings of  Thalia dealbata  …

Have you read the one about....

Summary

... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.

Matches: 1 hits

  • … ... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some …

Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots

Summary

Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…

Matches: 23 hits

  • There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website.  The full texts
  • 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge
  • to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an
  • the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his
  • 1879 ). He was also unsatisfied with his account of Erasmus Darwin, declaring, ‘My little biography
  • a holiday in the Lake District in August did little to raise Darwins spirits. ‘I wish that my
  • he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] …
  • that his grandfather had felt the same way. In 1792, Erasmus Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I
  • all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 ). The year
  • to complete Horaces marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
  • Virchows attempt to discredit evolutionary theory in 1877, assured him that his views were now
  • editor of the journal Kosmos , which had been founded in 1877 by Krause and others as a journal
  • … & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 ]). …
  • thoughtperfect in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). She suggested that
  • and particularly the theory of natural selection in 1877) had previously told Krause, ‘He is a very
  • and he regretted going beyond histether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and
  • travellerneither cross nor ennuied’ (Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: 125
  • … & that it was suppressed gout. Also how well off he wd be, w. is a matter of some consequence
  • to say that he has opposed it’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: …
  • get home ‘& began drumming at once’ (Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [27 August 1879] (DAR 219
  • of laws he had received from Cambridge University in 1877. Emma Darwin recorded that Darwin found
  • it dominated the picture (letter from Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield, [17 July 1879] (DAR 219.9: …
  • German men of science quarrelled (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [6 September 1879] (DAR

People featured in the Dutch photograph album

Summary

List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…

Matches: 6 hits

  • … List of people appearing in the  photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in …
  • … and forenames Occupation Age in 1877 Residence Date …
  • … Leiden 13 June 1823 Rotterdam 2 June 1877 Zoeterwoude …
  • … Died just a few months after the album was sent to Charles Darwin at the age of 53 …
  • … Geologist, Economist an Darwinist. Corresponded with Darwin and translated The descent of Man in …
  • … 5 October 1808 Wildenborch 4 June 1877 Klein Dochteren …

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: 19 hits

  • Darwins views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with
  • in beetles. The unity of human species Darwin believed that the same process of sexual
  • gradually increase those features over long periods of time. Darwins theory was based partly on the
  • seemed to prevail across the globe. In Descent , Darwin also addressed widely held beliefs
  • ofspecies’, ‘varieties’, andraces’. Darwin argued forcefully for the unity of the human species, …
  • Gender and civilisation In his early notebooks, Darwin remarked that survival value or
  • … , B74). In his later writings on plants and animals, Darwin remained consistent on this point, and
  • improvement, or design. However, when it came to humans, Darwin reintroduced the structure of
  • and present, on the basis of theircivilization’. Here Darwin drew on contemporary anthropology, …
  • colonial conquests and expansion abroad. Thus, while Darwins views on race differed widely
  • in the success of nations’ ( Descent 1: 239). For Darwin, the civilising process was essentially
  • men, and of non-European peoples becomingcivilized’ (i.e. European). Of the three Yahgans who had
  • Kingsley, 6 February [1862] Letter from F. W. Farrar, 6 November 1865 Letter
  • Press. Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. 2009. Darwin's sacred cause . London: Allen
  • of Science 6: 923 [in a special issue onDescent of Darwin: race, sex, and human nature’]. …
  • … . New York: The Free Press. Voss, Julia. 2007, Darwins pictures: views of evolutionary
  • with women Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] …
  • Treat, 5 January 1872 Letter to [E. M. Dicey?], [1877] Letter to C. A. Kennard
  • 28 January 1882 Further Reading: Darwin, Descent of man (1871), 2: 3269. …

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: 26 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
  • the advantages of both while Francis was working abroad. Darwin was privy to the inner workings of
  • methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument
  • that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. Darwin described his experimental practice
  • 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. …
  • become adapted to perform new functions, like climbing? For Darwin, physiology was a way of seeing
  • attracting students from all over Europe and beyond. When Darwins son Francis worked in this
  • …   ‘Mad about drops of waterDarwins interest in the diversified movements of
  • connection is revealed only though correspondence because Darwin never published on bloom. In August
  • focusing light rays, and burn sections of the leaf blade. Darwin asked whether Farrers gardener had
  • …   ‘Very curious resultsIn May 1877, Darwin asked one of his most trusted
  • of movement ( letter from RILynch, [before 28 July 1877] ). ‘ I do not believe I sh d . …
  • FranksTransversal-Heliotropismus’ ( letter from WEDarwin10 February [1880] ). …
  • … ‘ I am very sorry that Sachs is so sceptical, for I w drather convert him than any other half
  • aslittle discsandgreenish bodies’ ( letter to WTThiselton-Dyer29 October 1879 ). …
  • that he had not been able to observe earlier ( letter to WTThiselton-Dyer20 November 1879 ). …
  • those of Gray, who had written an article on the subject in 1877 (A. Gray 1877e). Gray had reported
  • pay more for at the usual rate of charging per inch &c they w dbe over £40’; he suggested

Darwin as mentor

Summary

Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…

Matches: 12 hits

  • Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific …
  • … Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin …
  • … on insufficient grounds. Letter 3934 - Darwin to Scott, J., [21 January 1863] …
  • … material worthy of publication. Letter 4185 - Darwin to Scott, J., [25 & 28 May …
  • … worker you are!”. Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March 1871] …
  • … “lucid vigorous style”. In consultation with Emma, Darwin offers Henrietta “some little memorial” in …
  • … so many observations without aid. Letter 8146 - Darwin to Treat, M., [5 January 1872] …
  • … scientific journal”. Letter 8171 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L., [21 January 1872] …
  • … stooping over holes for hours which “tried my head”. Darwin notes that Lucy is worth her weight in …
  • … he had repeated the experiment. Letter 9580 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H. D., [1 August …
  • … be submitted to the publisher. Letter 9613 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [30 August 1874 …
  • … Letter 11096 - Darwin to Romanes, G. J., [9 August 1877] Darwin points out a mistake made …

Referencing women’s work

Summary

Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…

Matches: 16 hits

  • Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, …
  • set of selected letters is followed by letters relating to Darwin's 1881 publication
  • throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, Miss, [April 1860] …
  • anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D. F., [12 November
  • Nevill is referenced by name for herkindnessin Darwins Fertilisation of Orchids . …
  • critic. Letter 4370 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [April - May 1865] Darwin
  • asfriends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 March 1865] …
  • B”. Letter 7060 - Wedgwood, F. J. to Darwin, [1867 - 72] Darwins
  • in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [9 June 1867 - …
  • in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., [30 January 1868
  • baby in Mary Barton. Letter 8321 - Darwin to Litchfield, H. E., [13 May
  • at him. Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [15 June 1872] Darwins
  • Letter 8427 - Darwin to Litchfield H. E., [25 July 1872] Darwin thanks Henrietta for
  • Letter 11221 - Darwin to Darwin, H., [1 November 1877] Darwin asks his sons, …
  • … . Letter 12745 - Darwin to Wedgwood, K. E. S., [8 October 1880] Darwin
  • Letter 13037 - Darwin to Darwin, W. E., [5 February 1881] Darwin discusses

Natural Science and Femininity

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…

Matches: 13 hits

  • thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity
  • feminine powers of feeling and aesthetic appreciation, Darwin and his male colleagues struggled to
  • Letters Letter 109 - Wedgwood, J. to Darwin, R. W., [31 August 1831] Darwin
  • professional work on his return. Letter 158 - Darwin to Darwin, R. W., [8 & 26
  • and taking in the aesthetic beauty of the world around him. Darwin describes thestrikingcolour
  • and walks into town with Emma. Letter 555 - Darwin to FitzRoy, R., [20 February 1840] …
  • published his findings both in Expression and in an 1877 article titled, ‘ A Biographical
  • borders of his garden. Letter 2864 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [12 July 1860] …
  • saw anything so beautiful”. Letter 4230 - Darwin to GardenersChronicle, [2 July 1863] …
  • brought into the house immediately after a rain storm. Here, Darwins scientific investigation is
  • thedelicate siliceous shellsmight at least provide Darwin with aesthetic pleasure. …
  • conducted in his home. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to Wedgwood, S. E., [9 November 1868] …
  • Letter 10821 - Graham C. C. to Darwin, [30 January 1877] Psychologist Christopher Graham

Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep

Summary

In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…

Matches: 27 hits

  • lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to
  • in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments to
  • plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in his role as
  • from botanical research was provided by potatoes, as Darwin took up the cause of an Irish
  • would rid Ireland of famine. Several correspondents pressed Darwin for his views on religion, …
  • closed with remarkable news of a large legacy bequeathed to Darwin by a stranger as a reward for his
  • birthday ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 February [1878] ), Darwin reflected that it wasmore
  • Expression ), and the final revision of Origin (1872), Darwin had turned almost exclusively to
  • Movement in plants In the spring of 1878, Darwin started to focus on the first shoots and
  • were enrolled as researchers, as were family members. Darwin asked his niece Sophy to observe
  • … ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [187880] ). While Darwin was studying the function of
  • on one side, then another, to produce movement in the stalk. Darwin compared adult and young leaves
  • after growth has ceased or nearly ceased.’ Finally, Darwin turned to plant motion below the
  • precision the lines of least resistance in the ground.’ Darwin would devote a whole chapter to the
  • that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] ). Having
  • moisture, and various chemical and nutritive substances, Darwin next considered sound. He explained
  • instrument to various plants. To confirm the results, Darwin borrowed a siren from Tyndall, who had
  • ill-luck to them, are not sensitive to aerial vibrations’, Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my
  • 8 August. ‘Alas Frank is off tomorrow to Wurzburg,’ Darwin wrote to Thiselton-Dyer on 2 June , ‘ …
  • German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June [1878] ). …
  • to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] ). Two weeks later
  • not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). It is
  • had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July 1878] ): ‘The oats
  • we must have’, Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July 1878] ), ‘a strong
  • me to jump to conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] ). One day
  • the German Association of Naturalists in September 1877, Darwins outspoken supporter Ernst Haeckel
  • him of the soundness of London property ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 13 December [1878] ). ‘This is

People featured in the Dutch photograph album

Summary

Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from scientific admirers in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Hester Loeff for identifying and researching them. No. …

Matches: 4 hits

  • … list of people that appeared in the  photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 …
  • … Title and forenames Occupation Age in 1877 Residence Date of birth …
  • … Leiden 13 june 1823 Rotterdam 2 june 1877 Zoeterwoude …
  • … 5 october 1808 Wildenborch 4 june 1877 Klein Dochteren …

Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms

Summary

‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…

Matches: 23 hits

  • heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old
  • to adapt to varying conditions. The implications of Darwins work for the boundary between animals
  • studies of animal instincts by George John Romanes drew upon Darwins early observations of infants, …
  • of evolution and creation. Many letters flowed between Darwin and his children, as he took delight
  • Financial support for science was a recurring issue, as Darwin tried to secure a Civil List pension
  • with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. …
  • Charles Harrison Tindal, sent a cache of letters from two of Darwins grandfathers clerical friends
  • divines to see a pigs body opened is very amusing’, Darwin replied, ‘& that about my
  • registry offices, and produced a twenty-page history of the Darwin family reaching back to the
  • the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 ). Darwins sons George and Leonard also
  • and conciliate a few whose ancestors had not featured in Darwins Life . ‘In an endeavour to
  • to find an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and Emma Darwin, …
  • wants a grievance to hang an article upon’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [28 January 1880] ). …
  • one or both to his daughter Henrietta ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 1 February [1880] ). ‘The
  • he will have the last word’, she warned ( letter from H. E. Litchfield, [1 February 1880] ). ‘He
  • the genus given by Gray in an article and textbook (A. Gray 1877 and A. Gray 1879, pp. 201). ‘I
  • pretended, ‘but the subject has amused me’ ( letter to W. C. McIntosh, 18 June 1880 ). Members of
  • the reasons, I should be greatly obliged’ ( letter from W. Z. Seddon, 2 February 1880) . Darwin
  • he added, ‘hardly anybody has accepted’ ( letter to W. Z. Seddon, 4 February 1880 ). On 16
  • aided in any way direct attacks on religion’ ( letter to E. B. Aveling, 13 October 1880 ). Finally
  • to the greatest biologist of our time’ ( letter from W. D. Roebuck to G. H. Darwin, 25 October 1880
  • his great doctrines …“Come of Age”‘ ( letter from W. C. Williamson to Emma Darwin, 2 September 1880
  • his voice as clearly as if he were present’ (letters to C. W. Fox, 29 March 1880 and 10 [April

Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings

Summary

‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…

Matches: 26 hits

  • Editions Plants always held an important place in Darwins theorising about species, and
  • his periods of severe illness. Yet on 15 January 1875 , Darwin confessed to his close friend
  • way to continuous writing and revision, activities that Darwin found less gratifying: ‘I am slaving
  • bad.’ The process was compounded by the fact that Darwin was also revising another manuscript
  • coloured stamens.’ At intervals during the year, Darwin was diverted from the onerous task of
  • zoologist St George Jackson Mivart. In April and early May, Darwin was occupied with a heated
  • chapter of the controversy involved a slanderous attack upon Darwins son George, in an anonymous
  • on 12 January , breaking off all future communication. Darwin had been supported during the affair
  • Society of London, and a secretary of the Linnean Society, Darwins friends had to find ways of
  • pp. 1617). ‘How grandly you have defended me’, Darwin wrote on 6 January , ‘You have also
  • in public. ‘Without cutting him direct’, he advised Darwin on 7 January , ‘I should avoid him, …
  • … & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January 1875 ). Darwin had also considered taking up
  • … , ‘I feel now like a pure forgiving Christian!’ Darwins ire was not fully spent, however, …
  • in the same Quarterly article that attacked George. Darwin raised the matter at the end of the
  • to rest, another controversy was brewing. In December 1874, Darwin had been asked to sign a memorial
  • Hensleigh and Frances Wedgwood. She had corresponded with Darwin about the evolution of the moral
  • could not sign the paper sent me by Miss Cobbe.’ Darwin found Cobbes memorial inflammatory
  • memorial had been read in the House of Lords (see ' Darwin and vivisection ').   …
  • medical educators, and other interested parties. Darwin was summoned to testify on 3 November. It
  • … ( Report of the Royal Commission on vivisection , p. 183). Darwin learned of Kleins testimony
  • agree to any law, which should send him to the treadmill.’ Darwin had become acquainted with Klein
  • in April 1874 (see Correspondence vol. 22, letters from E. E. Klein, 14 May 1874 and 10
  • day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 July] 1875).   …
  • plants (Carus trans. 1876a). The German publisher E. Schweizerbartsche Verlagshandlung began to
  • were involved in the launch of Kosmos in April 1877. From Haeckel, Darwin received a copy of a
  • agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 ). It

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: 24 hits

  • On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July
  • … … of having grown older’. This portrait, the first of Darwin with his now famous beard, had been
  • 52 hours without vomiting!! In the same month, Darwin began to consult William Jenner, …
  • prescribed a variety of antacids and purgatives, and limited Darwins fluid intake; this treatment
  • the dimorphic aquatic cut-grass  Leersia . In May, Darwin finished his paper on  Lythrum
  • he had set aside the previous summer. In October, Darwin let his friends know that on his
  • to the surgeon and naturalist Francis Trevelyan Buckland, Darwin described his symptoms in some
  • November and December were also marked by the award to Darwin of the Royal Societys Copley Medal; …
  • been unsuccessfully nominated the two previous years. As Darwin explained to his cousin William
  • it was conferred, brought a dramatic conclusion to the year. Darwin also wrote to Fox that he was
  • progressin Britain. Challenging convention Darwins concern about the acceptance of
  • …  vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin wrote to Hooker: ‘The only approach to work
  • …  produce tendrils However, the queries that Darwin, describing himself asa broken-down
  • tendrils’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [8 February 1864] ). Darwins excitement about his
  • … ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 June [1864] ). When Darwin asked Oliver whether the tendrils of
  • for his teacherly tone, explaining that he had felt that Darwin had misunderstood some accepted
  • … ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864] ). Though Darwin replied with his typical humility
  • habits of climbing plants’ (‘Climbing plants’), which Darwin submitted to the Linnean Society in
  • was often the case, he was interested in transitional forms. Darwin came to think, for example, that
  • of dimorphic and trimorphic plants’), and later in his 1877 bookThe different forms of flowers on
  • Menyanthes  ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [20 May 1864] ), or his
  • in the second edition of  Orchids , published in 1877. These publications were partly inspired by
  • circulating with the 1864 subscription fund ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 1 February [1864] ). …
  • … … & too light to turn into candlesticks’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 1 December 1864 ). …

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest

Summary

The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of  Origin. Darwin got the fourth…

Matches: 21 hits

  • The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now
  • and also a meeting with Herbert Spencer, who was visiting Darwins neighbour, Sir John Lubbock. In
  • all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
  • hypothesis of hereditary transmission. Debate about Darwins theory of transmutation
  • alleged evidence of a global ice age, while Asa Gray pressed Darwins American publisher for a
  • for the Advancement of Science. Fuller consideration of Darwins work was given by Hooker in an
  • frustrations were punctuated by family bereavement. Two of Darwins sisters died, Emily Catherine
  • from painful illness. Diet and exercise Among Darwins first letters in the new year
  • every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). Darwin had first consulted Jones in July
  • me any harmany how I cant be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). Towards
  • of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January [1866] ). …
  • after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèewhich I dreamed of 2 nights running. …
  • on those terms so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [  c . 10 May 1866] ). …
  • there are over 200 medallions of Papa made by a man from W ms  photo in circulation amongst the
  • Georg Bronn, had been published in 1860 and 1863 by the firm E. Schweizerbartsche
  • teleological development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). Also in
  • species wasmerely ordinaryly diœcious’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [7 May11 June 1866] ). On
  • is a case of dimorphic becoming diœcious’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 20 June [1866] ). …
  • I am well accustomed to such explosions’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 22 June [1866] ). He urged
  • natural selection, and with special creation ( letter from W. R. Grove, 31 August 1866 ). Hooker
  • indeed at poor Susans loneliness’ ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7

'An Appeal' against animal cruelty

Summary

The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…

Matches: 7 hits

  • … many persons Squires Ladies & MPs' (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [6–27 …
  • … the campaign than she expected (see the letter from Emma Darwin to William Erasmus Darwin, [2 …
  • … distributing the 'cruelty pamphlet', and letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December …
  • … paper Animal World , and prominently linked Charles Darwin"s name to the offer of a prize …
  • … a further public appeal against the use of steel traps in 1877 ( Spectator , 6 January 1877, p. 15 …
  • … for working horses with sore necks (see letter from Emma Darwin to William Erasmus Darwin, [23 April …
  • … not been identified; however, see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December [1863]. Only two …

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: 27 hits

  • At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of  The variation of
  • markedly, reflecting a decline in his already weak health. Darwin then began punctuating letters
  • am languid & bedeviled … & hate everybody’. Although Darwin did continue his botanical
  • letter-writing dwindled considerably. The correspondence and Darwins scientific work diminished
  • of the water-cure. The treatment was not effective and Darwin remained ill for the rest of the year. …
  • the correspondence from the year. These letters illustrate Darwins preoccupation with the
  • to mans place in nature  both had a direct bearing on Darwins species theory and on the problem
  • detailed anatomical similarities between humans and apes, Darwin was full of praise. He especially
  • in expressing any judgment on Species or origin of man’. Darwins concern about the popular
  • Lyells and Huxleys books. Three years earlier Darwin had predicted that Lyells forthcoming
  • first half of 1863 focused attention even more closely on Darwins arguments for species change. …
  • … ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin reiterated in a later letter that it
  • of creation, and the origin of species particularly, worried Darwin; he told Hooker that he had once
  • letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] ). Darwin did not relish telling Lyell of his
  • … ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Nevertheless, Darwins regret was profound that the
  • thebrutes’, but added that he would bring many towards Darwin who would have rebelled against
  • from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The botanist Asa Gray, Darwins friend in the United States, …
  • off ( see letter from Asa Gray, 20 April 1863 ). In May, Darwin responded to Gray that Lyells and
  • or   Modification, ’. Faction fighting Darwin was not alone in feeling disaffected
  • in the subject. ‘The worst of it is’, Hooker wrote to Darwin, ‘I suppose it is virtually Huxleys
  • that he had contributed to the proofs of human antiquity. Darwin and Hooker repeatedly exchanged
  • seen how indignant all Owens lies and mean conduct about E. Columbi made me… . The case is come to
  • this subject seems to get rarer & rarer’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 18 April [1863] ), …
  • for the Natural History Review  ( see letter to H. W. Bates, 12 January [1863] ). Darwin added
  • Copley Medal had been unsuccessful ( see letter from E. A. Darwin to Emma Darwin, 11 November [1863
  • on the bookcase and around the head of the sofa ( letter to W. E. Darwin, [25 July 1863], and
  • was hidden by overgrown trees and shrubs ( see letter from W. D. Fox, 7 September [1863] ). Emma

Science: A Man’s World?

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…

Matches: 12 hits

  • Discussion Questions | Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth
  • Letters Darwins Notes On Marriage [April - July 1838] In these notes, …
  • of family, home and sociability. Letter 489 - Darwin to Wedgwood, E., [20 January 1839] …
  • theories, & accumulating facts in silence & solitude”. Darwin also comments that he has
  • by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to Darwin, [6 September 1862] …
  • are not those of her sex”. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] …
  • … “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, [2 January 1864] …
  • of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 March 1864] …
  • ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., [20 November 1865] …
  • masculine nor pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., [8 November 1869] …
  • read the pamphlet herself. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May 1872] …
  • to women. Letter 10746Darwin to Dicey, E. M., [1877] Darwin gives his
Page:  1 2  Next