To [A. J. Woodhouse?] 25 January [1867?]
Summary
Two queries on teeth: 1. Is there evidence of inherited peculiarities in milk teeth?
2. Are male incisors longer than female?
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Alfred James Woodhouse |
Date: | 25 Jan [1867?] |
Classmark: | DAR 261.11: 14 (EH 88206066) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13645 |
From J. S. Bowerbank [4 November 1867]
Summary
Reports two observations on crossing in dogs: the preservation of both pure types in the offspring of a pointer and a setter, and the influence of a first mating with a mongrel on the progeny of a Barbary bitch and a subsequent Barbary male.
Author: | James Scott Bowerbank |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [4 Nov 1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 160: 261 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13780 |
From S. E. Wedgwood [1867–72?]
Summary
Jessie [Wedgwood] says driving in sun made one of her eyes water.
Author: | Sarah Elizabeth (Elizabeth) Wedgwood |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [1867–72?] |
Classmark: | DAR 195.4: 104 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13856 |
To George Robert Waterhouse 5 March [1867?]
Summary
Wishes to know the correct name for the British Museum’s specimen of an Abyssinian wolf described by Wilhelm Rueppell, Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien [1835–40] .
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | George Robert Waterhouse |
Date: | 5 Mar [1867?] |
Classmark: | Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (Archives DF PAL/100/9/22) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1394 |
To Daniel Oliver 1 June [1867]
Summary
Asks DO to identify a plant grown from earth adhering to the foot of a woodcock.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
Date: | 1 June [1867] |
Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3587 |
From W. E. Darwin 9 September [1867]
Summary
Suggests investments for CD;
discusses the opening of the Blackmore Museum, Salisbury;
mentions Edward Lumb of Buenos Aires, with whom CD stayed in Argentina.
Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 9 Sept [1867] |
Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 30) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4609F |
From John William Salter 4 January [1867]
Summary
Thanks CD for his kindness and hopes one day to return it.
Finds more and more observations fall in with CD’s theory but still finds it difficult to account for the sudden leaps in the fossil record and to explain why some organisms first appear as such high forms.
Author: | John William Salter |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 4 Jan [1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 177: 11 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4969 |
From John Brodie Innes 1 September [1867]
Author: | John Brodie Innes |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 1 Sept [1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 167: 5 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5205 |
From E. A. Darwin to Emma Darwin [before 19 November 1867]
Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
Addressee: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
Date: | [before 19 Nov 1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 105: B121 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5334 |
From Erasmus Alvey Darwin to Emma Darwin [before 3 February 1867?]
Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
Addressee: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
Date: | [before 3 Feb 1867?] |
Classmark: | DAR 105: B122–3 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5335 |
From George Henslow [c. August 1867?]
Author: | George Henslow |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [c. Aug 1867?] |
Classmark: | DAR 166: 148 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5336 |
From Edward Blyth [2–30 March 1867]
Summary
Discussion of origin of domestic sheep races. Some comments on the yak and the wild ancestors of the llama and alpaca.
Author: | Edward Blyth |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [2–30 Mar 1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 160: 208 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5337 |
To Charles Henry Middleton 20 [1867?]
Summary
Sorry he cannot remember where S. Filippe [San Felipe?] is.
Doubts that bones of ox, sheep, and horse could have been deposited in guano [on coast of Chile], but they would be worth examination.
[Tipped in copy of Origin (1866) with CHM’s bookplate.]
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Henry Middleton |
Date: | 20 [Jan-Dec] 1867 |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (in Middleton’s copy of Origin 4th ed., BB.5.6) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5341 |
From E. A. Darwin 22 [March 1867]
Summary
Is sending a copy of [John] Shaw’s book, which Lady Bell says is based on Charles Bell’s papers [possibly C. Bell, A treatise on diseases of the urethra, 3d ed. with notes by John Shaw (1822)].
Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 22 [Mar 1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 105: B56 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5342 |
From Thomas Henry Huxley [before 7 January 1867]
Summary
On Haeckel’s Generelle Morphologie; the logical argument for natural selection is still incomplete. THH jumps over the hole by an act of faith.
Author: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [before 7 Jan 1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 102: 134a–d |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5343 |
To Athenæum 1 January 1867
Summary
Expresses his support for new books being sold with the pages cut.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Athenæum |
Date: | 1 Jan 1867 |
Classmark: | Athenæum, 5 January 1867, pp. 18–19 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5343F |
From Fritz Müller 1 January 1867
Summary
Describes his experiments in fertilising Oncidium flexuosum and comparison with Notylia.
Has been examining Catasetum.
Encloses seeds of two species of Gesneria and describes hairs in the seed capsule. Hairs in other plants seem to have a different function.
Starting tomorrow for a botanical excursion on the Continent.
Author: | Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) Müller |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 1 Jan 1867 |
Classmark: | Möller ed. 1915–21, 2: 104–9; DAR 157a: 104 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5344A |
From John Murray 2 January [1867]
Summary
William Clowes [printer for J. Murray] estimates that Variation will come to a first volume of 648 pages and a second volume of 624 pages – which is too much for volumes the same size as Origin. Murray proposes a larger size.
Author: | John Murray |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 2 Jan [1867] |
Classmark: | DAR 171: 342 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5345 |
To John Murray 3 January [1867]
Summary
Sorry about enormous size of Variation MS, but cannot shorten it now. If JM is afraid to publish, CD will consider agreement cancelled. Suggests he ask someone with judgment to read the MS. Has written concluding chapter on man. Whether it will be included depends on size of volume.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Murray |
Date: | 3 Jan [1867] |
Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms.42152 ff. 158–160) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5346 |
To William Bernhard Tegetmeier 6 January [1867]
Summary
Returns some of WBT’s skulls.
His MS is with printer, but book [Variation] will probably not be out until November.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Bernhard Tegetmeier |
Date: | 6 Jan [1867] |
Classmark: | Archives of the New York Botanical Garden (Charles Finney Cox Collection) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5347 |
Darwin, C. R. | (236) |
Hooker, J. D. | (24) |
Murray, John (b) | (19) |
Carus, J. V. | (11) |
Wallace, A. R. | (9) |
Darwin, C. R. | (431) |
Hooker, J. D. | (51) |
Murray, John (b) | (30) |
Carus, J. V. | (21) |
Wallace, A. R. | (17) |
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Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute
Summary
Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The …
- … publisher in the final week of 1866. It would take all of 1867 to correct proofs, and just when …
- … becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in 1867, as he continued to circulate a list of …
- … transmutation theory. Three important new correspondents in 1867 were Hermann Müller and Anton Dohrn …
- … the New Year’s greeting, ‘may you be eupeptic through 1867 & your friends & the world in …
- … publisher, John Murray, he wrote to Murray on 3 January 1867 , ‘I cannot tell you how sorry I am …
- … suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a Book’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 January [1867] …
- … books, Descent and Expression . In the same letter, Darwin revealed the conclusion to his …
- … Darwin’s time. The first proof-sheets arrived on 1 March 1867 and the tedious work of correction …
- … variation of animals and plants under domestication . In a letter to his son William dated 27 …
- … of his brother’s embryological papers with his first letter to Darwin of 15 March 1867 , although …
- … . Indeed, he told his publisher, John Murray, in a letter of 4 April [1867] , not to send …
- … had received other offers, notably one from Vogt in April 1867, to translate the new work. Carus had …
- … tell me, at what rate your work will be published’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). This …
- … & sent to him, he may wish to give up the task’ ( letter to Carl Vogt, 12 April [1867] ). …
- … fit person’ to introduce the work to the German public ( letter from J. V. Carus, 15 April 1867 ). …
- … Vogt should translate my book in preference to you’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 18 April [1867] ). …
- … varieties at the eye, which resulted in a mottled hybrid ( letter from Robert Trail, 5 April 1867 …
- … seems to me, if true, a wonderful physiological fact’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). …
- … it will be a somewhat important step in Biology’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 22 August [1867] ). …
- … if you attack it & me with unparalleled ferocity’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 November [1867] …
- … own discretion; anyhow most ought to be introduced’ ( letter to W. S. Dallas, 8 November [1867] ). …
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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: 23 hits
- … expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to …
- … Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter dates to see the individual letters …
- … Correspondent Letter date Location …
- … Barber, Mary E. [after Feb 1867] [Grahamstown, Cape …
- … Bowker, J.H. [10 Dec 1867] [Cape of Good Hope (South …
- … Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
- … Square W London, England enclosed in a letter from Henry Maudsley …
- … Darwin, Francis 20 June 1867 Unknown? …
- … Erskine, H. N. B. 1 Nov 1867 [Ahmednuggur, Bombay, …
- … Gaika, Christian 7 July 1867 Bedford [Cape of Good …
- … Geach, F.F. June 1867 Johore, Malaysia …
- … Gibbs, George 31 March 1867 Smithsonian Institution, …
- … Peradeniya, Ceylon enclosed in letter from G.H.K. Thwaites …
- … Gray, Asa 26 March 1867 Cambridge, Massachusetts, …
- … Egypt] possibly included in letter(s) from Asa Gray Nile …
- … Haast, J.F.J. von 12 May - 2 June 1867 Christchurch, …
- … Haast, J.F.J. von 4 Dec 1867 Christchurch, New …
- … Hagenauer, F.A. [12 Sept 1867] Lake Wellington, …
- … Huxley, H.A. 22 Mar [1867] Abbey Place, London, …
- … Penmaenmawr, Conway, Wales letter to Emma Darwin infant daughter …
- … Square W, London, England Enclosed letter from Dr. C. Browne …
- … W., London, England enclosed in letter from W. W. Reade Hottentots …
- … England (about Australia) encloses letter from Austrialian friend, letter not …
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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: 8 hits
- … a series of experiments, reporting back to Bornet in August 1867 that all but one of the varieties …
- … ( To Fritz Müller, [late December 1866 and] 1 January 1867 ). The following year, his experiments …
- … to the conditions that might affect his results. In March 1867, he told his close friend Joseph …
- … two distinct plants’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to …
- … & so have been rarely crossed’ ( To Asa Gray, 15 April [1867] ). One of these ‘exotics’ was …
- … for part of the year ( To J. T. Moggridge, 1 October [1867] ). Darwin was beginning to suspect …
- … [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
- … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …
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A fly on the flower: From Hermann Müller, 23 October 1867
Summary
In March 1867, Hermann Müller, a young teacher of natural sciences at a provincial Realschule (a type of secondary school that emphasised the natural sciences) in Lippstadt in the Prussian province of Westphalia, sent Darwin two papers on the mosses of…
Matches: 3 hits
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: 24 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 during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
- … 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 …
- … Letter 5585 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [26 July 1867] Darwin praises Henrietta’s …
- … Letter 5403 - Darwin to Carus, J. V. [17 February 1867] Darwin thanks Carus for his …
- … 5410 - Darwin to Muller, J. F. T., [22 February 1867] Darwin thanks Muller for …
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Language: key letters
Summary
How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…
Matches: 11 hits
- … whom he exchanged information and ideas. Letter 346: Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, C. S., 27 Feb …
- … Caucasian languages separated from one stock.” Letter 2070: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, …
- … is the grinding down of former continents.” Letter 3054: Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 2 …
- … former,—which I tell him is perfectly logical.” Letter 5605: Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. …
- … whilst young, do they scream & make loud noise?” Letter 7040: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to …
- … speech from gradually growing to such a stage” Letter 8367: Darwin, C. R. to Wright, …
- … & thus unconsciously altering the breed. Letter 8962: Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, …
- … judge of the arguments opposed to this belief[.]” Letter 10194: Max Müller, Friedrich to …
- … want, at least in the Science of Language […]” Letter 9887: Dawkins, W. B. to Darwin, C. R. …
- … hold that language is not a test of race […]” Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … of wanting to eat, for this movement makes a sound like the letter m.” “For some time past I have …
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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: 4 hits
- … Sunday to Mahomet. ( to John Lubbock, 26 March [1867] ) The most striking …
- … 'not a little in the dark' ( to John Lubbock, 26 March [1867] ). Trouble with the …
- … William, up in a banking career, and Darwin's last known letter to John Lubbock, sent …
- … down.” In the last year of his life Darwin provided a letter of introduction for Lubbock's …
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: 27 hits
- … Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
- … Tollet for proofreading and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. …
- … her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
- … from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
- … he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
- … he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
- … so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
- … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
- … Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
- … of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
- … the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
- … Darwin assumes that 'A. B. Blackwell' is a man. Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to …
- … him to the psychology of Herbert Spencer. Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin …
- … his statements on a lack of reasoning in animals. Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to …
- … during a visit to an asylum with her father. Letter 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
- … on any comments that she feels might be suitable. Letter 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to …
- … and beauty in the process of sexual selection. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
- … of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8778 - Forster, L. M . to Darwin, H. …
- … and the showing of teeth in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to …
- … and hopes Darwin will complete her questionnaire. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. …
- … of questions which she hopes aren’t too silly. Letter 10415 - Darwin to Herrick, S. …
- … and is pleased that his work has interested her. Letter 10508 - Treat, M. to Darwin …
- … it nearly all night before she could lay it down. Letter 13547 - Tanner, M. H. …
- … involving worms which occurred in her garden. Letter 13650 Kennard, C. A. to Darwin …
- … Reading Variation Letter 5712 - Dallas, W. S. to Darwin, [8 December 1867] …
- … array of facts” contained in the work. Letter 5861 - Blyth, E. to Darwin, [11 …
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…
Scientific Networks
Summary
Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…
Matches: 25 hits
- … and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
- … in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
- … botanist Asa Gray. Darwin and Hooker Letter 714 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
- … and he is curious about Hooker’s thoughts. Letter 729 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., …
- … to Hooker “it is like confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
- … wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … and asks him to append the ranges of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. …
- … and relationships of alpine flora in the USA. Letter 2125 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
- … and their approach to information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D …
- … first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … ends with a discussion of lamination of gneiss. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
- … up his doubts about Darwin’s doctrines. In his second letter he talks about his visit with Falconer. …
- … was on the Beagle voyage and afterwards. Letter 152 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. …
- … is Henslow’s “bounden duty to lecture me”. Letter 196 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, C. R. …
- … sends home a copy of his notes on the specimens. Letter 249 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, …
- … sends news of Cambridge and mutual friends. Letter 251 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S …
- … illness and specimens are sent to Henslow. Letter 272 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S. …
- … collection and plans to cross the Cordilleras. Letter 1189 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
- … Letter 5457 — Müller, H. L. H. to Darwin, C. R., 23 Mar 1867 Müller explains how Origin …
- … 5471 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, H. L. H., 29 Mar [1867] Darwin learns that German botanist …
- … Letter 5481 — Müller, H. L. H. to Darwin, C. R., 1 Apr [1867] Müller thanks Darwin for the …
- … Letter 5657 — Müller, H. L. H. to Darwin, C. R., 23 Oct 1867 Müller thanks Darwin for the …
- … Letter 5585 — Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, H. E., 26 July [1867] Darwin writes to his daughter …
- … Letter 5745 — Barber, M. E. to Darwin, C. R., [after Feb 1867] In this letter, naturalist, …
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: 23 hits
- … earthworms . Selected letters Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. …
- … work are referenced throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, …
- … her identity is both anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D …
- … Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., …
- … being acknowledged publicly as a science critic. Letter 4370 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … are identified only as “friends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 …
- … Sir C. Lyell” or received from “Miss. B”. Letter 7060 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
- … was referenced in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C …
- … are not cited in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., …
- … description of a crying baby in Mary Barton. Letter 8321 - Darwin to …
- … he would “feel the public humming” at him. Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, …
- … lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly rely”. Letter 8427 - Darwin to Litchfield H …
- … of Henrietta’s considerable editorial input. Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 …
- … Letters relating to Earthworms Letter 7428 - Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [4 …
- … depth of furrows in an old field near his house. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R. to …
- … activity in the fields of North Wales. Letter 8193 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H …
- … published discussion of earthworm activity . Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. …
- … discussion of turf-based worm castings . Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, …
- … lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly rely”. Letter 11221 - Darwin to Darwin …
- … are referenced in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12742 - Darwin, H. to Darwin, …
- … "My son Horace" in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12745 - Darwin to …
- … anonymously in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12760 - Wedgwood, K. E. S. to …
- … but does not identify the workers in question. Letter 13037 - Darwin to Darwin, …
Scientific Practice
Summary
Specialism|Experiment|Microscopes|Collecting|Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of scientific communication, rather than as integral to knowledge making. This section shows how correspondence could help to shape the practice of science, from…
Matches: 24 hits
- … | Microscopes | Collecting | Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of …
- … with detailed correspondence about barnacles. Letter 1514 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. …
- … of one idea. – cirripedes morning & night.” Letter 1480 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, …
- … on embryological stages than Huxley thinks. Letter 1592 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. H …
- … and difficulties of botanical experimentation. Letter 4895 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J …
- … on Anelasma which he thinks seems probable. Letter 5173 — Müller, J. F. T. to …
- … and on some plants which seem to be dichogamous. Letter 5429 — Müller, J. F. T. to …
- … and crossed with pollen of other species. Letter 5480 — Müller, J. F. T. to Darwin, C. …
- … Claus, Die freilebenden Copepoden [1863]. Letter 5551 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. …
- … on the use and importance of the microscope. Letter 207 — Darwin, C. R. to Fox, W. D., …
- … with a microscope ranks second only to geology. Letter 1018 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, …
- … “take advantage of your wicked offer of assistance”. The letter is full of observations on barnacles …
- … ed., Manual of scientific enquiry (1849)]. Letter 1167 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
- … finds this microscope “wonderfully superior”. Letter 1174 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … specimens and information for his barnacle book. Letter 1140 — Darwin, C. R. to Ross, J …
- … to the Arctic in search of Sir John Franklin. Letter 1262 — Darwin, C. R. to Hancock, …
- … discusses Lithotrya and its burrowing habits. Letter 1495 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … at his collection to check on his suspicions. Letter 1370 — Darwin, C. R. to Covington, …
- … only one specimen is known to exist in the world. Letter 1251 — Darwin, C. R. to Gould, …
- … between theory and practice in natural history. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, …
- … first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … with the former and deferring the species paper. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
- … have progressed but Hooker is not converted. Letter 1339 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
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Edward Lumb
Summary
Edward Lumb was born in Yorkshire. According to the memoirs of his daughter Anne, Lady Macdonell, he travelled to Buenos Aires aged sixteen with his merchant uncle, Charles Poynton, and after some fortunate enterprises set up in business there. In 1833…
Matches: 5 hits
- … in Argentina and Uruguay. Edward Lumb gave Darwin a letter of introduction to them , and Mr and …
- … correspondence after Darwin’s return to England, since a letter of 1847 refers to information …
- … still at Buenos Aires, or even still alive. However, in 1867 Darwin’s son, William, went to the …
- … , and there met Mr Blackmore who had just received a letter from Mr Lumb. Lady Macdonell recorded …
- … persuaded her husband to go back to Buenos Aires in October 1867. However, they had eventually …
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A tale of two bees
Summary
Darwinian evolution theory fundamentally changed the way we understand the environment and even led to the coining of the word 'ecology'. Darwin was fascinated by bees: he devised experiments to study the comb-building technique of honey bees and…
Matches: 3 hits
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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: 22 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, …
- … political, and religious differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 …
- … MS, but Darwin will offer to send it to journal. Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his views from anything Darwin wrote to him. Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … he does not feel this alters the justice of case. Letter 2299 — Hooker, J. D. & …
- … reasons for arranging the joint presentation. Letter 2306 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … is now planning a 30-page abstract for a journal. Letter 2337 — Wallace, A. R. to …
- … paper public unaccompanied by his own views. Letter 6024 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
- … of minute variations and sexual selection. Letter 6033 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, …
- … George Darwin’s notes on Wallace’s argument. Letter 6045 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
- … and form new species without being isolated. Letter 6058 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. …
- … relating to sterility that they will never agree. Letter 6095 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … cannot be increased through natural selection. Letter 6104 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…
Matches: 24 hits
- … of departure reviews of Origin . The second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. Wallace to …
- … everything is the result of “brute force”. Letter 2855 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 3 …
- … nature, as he is in a “muddle” on this issue. Letter 3256 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
- … shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. Letter 3342 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … He asks Gray some questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 …
- … of my precipice”. Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
- … of variations. Darwin and Graham Letter 13230 — Darwin, C. R. to Graham, …
- … of people, including members of his own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, …
- … about his “honest & conscientious doubts”. Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. …
- … there is a danger in giving up revelation”. Letter 2534 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, …
- … need of an act of intervention to bring change. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
- … with that knowledge which only He can give me.” Letter 5303 — Boole, M. E. to Darwin, C …
- … that his theory be compatible with her faith. Letter 5307 — Darwin, C. R. to Boole, M. …
- … and science should each run its own course. Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E. …
- … “with qualifications”, if he wishes. Letter 8837 — Darwin, C. R. to Doedes, N. D., 2 …
- … man’s intellect, “but man can do his duty”. Letter 12041 — Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, …
- … most correct description of my state of mind”. Letter 12757 — Darwin, C. R. to Aveling, …
- … as examples to illustrate his ideas on beauty. Letter 4752 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … discusses humming birds and orchids as examples. Letter 4939 — Shaw, James to Darwin, C …
- … a long discussion on beauty in the natural world. Letter 4943 — Darwin, C. R. to Shaw, …
- … beauty of flowers is solely to attract insects. Letter 5003f — Shaw, James to Darwin, C …
- … Beauty against the Duke of Argyll’s criticisms. Letter 5004 — Darwin, C. R. to Shaw, …
- … Letter 5565 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, C. R., 6 June 1867 Clergyman Charles Kingsley …
- … 5648 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. R., 12–13 Oct [1867] Darwin thinks naturalist A. R. …
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Sexual selection
Summary
Although natural selection could explain the differences between species, Darwin realised that (other than in the reproductive organs themselves) it could not explain the often marked differences between the males and females of the same species. So what…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Variation under domestication, neared completion in 1867, that he systematically sought more …
- … Typical is his query to Fritz Müller in February 1867 : Do you know of any lowly …
- … later quoted at length in Descent . Darwin (whose letter to Brent is missing) seems to …
- … as an argument in favour of Divine creation (Campbell 1867, pp. 203–4). Brent gave it as his …
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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: 25 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 …
- … 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 …
- … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
- … find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
- … sooner or later write differently about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The …
- … leaves into their burrows ( Correspondence vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 …
- … on the summit, whence it rolls down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The …
- … light on it, which would have pleased me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, …
- … annelid seemed to have rather the best of the fight’ ( letter from G. F. Crawte, 11 March 1882 ). …
- … by the American educator Emily Talbot (Talbot ed. 1882). His letter to Talbot written the previous …
- … by the flippant witlings of the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice …
- … men, and their role as providers for the family. In his letter, he conceded that there was ‘some …
- … of our homes, would in this case greatly suffer’ ( letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … she be fairly judged, intellectually his inferior, please ( letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 January …
- … he has allied himself to so dreadful a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 February 1882 …
- … Would my actions be the same without my consciousness?’ ( letter from John Collier, 22 February …
- … a solid scientific foundation cannot be overestimated’ ( letter to William Jenner, 20 March [1882] …
- … to delight in his children’s accomplishments. In a letter to Anthony Rich, he shared several of his …
- … Lyell had been a strong advocate of common descent. In 1867, Lyell expressed his enthusiasm for …
- … of the organic world ( letter from Charles Lyell, 16 July 1867 ). In the same year, Darwin made a …
- … property’ ( letter to George Warington, 11 October [1867] ). Respecting the privacy of …
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John Murray
Summary
Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…
Matches: 20 hits
- … end of 1845, Darwin was not happy with Colburn’s terms ( Letter 856 ). Instead he asked his friend …
- … John Murray, to open negotiations with his own publisher ( Letter 824 ). Lyell’s talk with Murray …
- … have transacted the business with me’ (27 August [1845] Letter 908 ). Thus began the business …
- … copies some pages in Darwin’s chapter were transposed ( Letter 1244 ). Darwin was anxious lest an …
- … & make the poor workman some present’ (12 June [1849] Letter 1245 ). Darwin’s next …
- … his ‘big species book’; on 18 June 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace with the …
- … asked Lyell to act as his intermediary with John Murray ( Letter 2437 ), who, without even reading …
- … not repent of having undertaken it’ (15 October [1859] Letter 2506 ). Murray decided on a retail …
- … proud at the appearance of my child’ ([3 November 1859] Letter 2514 ). In the event, all Murray’s …
- … – and a second edition was immediately called for ( Letter 2549 ). In the end Murray paid Darwin …
- … (Variation ), but work progressed slowly ( Letter 3078 ); meanwhile in 1862 Murray published On …
- … Murray only offered Darwin half profits for this title ( Letter 3261 ); it was never a best-seller …
- … more despondent: ‘I fear it can never pay’ (3 January [1867] Letter 5346 ). In the end Murray …
- … to Brazil, the beginning of a life-long correspondence ( Letter 4881 ). Subsequently Darwin …
- … the risk himself. Murray suggested printing 750 copies ( Letter 6597 ), but Darwin decided on 1000 …
- … fail, I think, to be much read’ (28 September [1870] Letter 7329 ). Murray decided to print 2500 …
- … hope to Heaven book will sell well’ (12 January [1871] Letter 7438 ). A second printing was …
- … America, of St George Mivart‘s Genesis of species ( Letter 7907 ) ; this was Darwin’s …
- … By November of that year, fourteen copies had been sold ( Letter 8044 ). Meanwhile, Darwin was …
- … Darwin chose to print the photographic illustrations ( Letter 7773 ), proved to be expensive ( …
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Race, Civilization, and Progress
Summary
Darwin's first reflections on human progress were prompted by his experiences in the slave-owning colony of Brazil, and by his encounters with the Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego. Harsh conditions, privation, poor climate, bondage and servitude,…
Matches: 15 hits
- … he had witnessed man in his most "primitive wildness" ( letter to Henslow, 11 April 1833 …
- … of botany at Cambridge, John Stevens Henslow. Letter 204 : Darwin to Henslow, J. S., …
- … 1833 which took effect in the following year. Letter 206 : Darwin to Darwin, E. C., 22 …
- … of the polygenist theory of human descent. Letter 4933 : Farrar, F. W. to Darwin, …
- … about the state of civilization of the natives. Letter 5617 , Darwin to Weale, J. P. M …
- … wonderful fact in the progress of civilization" Letter 5722 , Weale, J. P. M. to …
- … of Species , Darwin discussed his views on progress in a letter to Charles Lyell, insisting that …
- … of life" ( Origin , 6 th ed, p. 98). Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C …
- … not profit it, there would be no advance.— " Letter 6728 : from Charles Lyell, 5 …
- … but may guide the forces & laws of Nature." Letter 6866 : From Federico Delpino …
- … in this inner principle, inborn in all things." Letter 8658 : to Alpheus Hyatt, 4 …
- … Wallace, and the philosopher William Graham. Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C., …
- … the less intellectual races being exterminated." Letter 3439 : Darwin to Kingsley, …
- … race, viewed as a unit, will have risen in rank." Letter 4510 : Darwin to Wallace, …
- … entirely on intellectual & moral qualities. Letter 13230 : Darwin to Graham, …