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Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 21 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation …
- … & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a letter of 23 [June …
- … of man and his history039; The first five months of 1863 contain the bulk of the …
- … Charles Lyell, the respected geologist, and Thomas Henry Huxley, the zoologist and anatomist. Lyell …
- … put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] . When Huxley’s book described the …
- … views of human dignity and intelligence, exclaiming to Huxley: ‘I declare I never in my life read …
- … circles following the publication of Lyell’s and Huxley’s books. Three years earlier Darwin …
- … earlier in the century. Lyell’s Antiquity of man and Huxley’s Evidence as to man’s place in …
- … origins was further increased by the discovery in March 1863 of the Moulin-Quignon jaw, the first …
- … bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 June 1863 ). Although English experts …
- … in learned journals and the press during the first half of 1863 focused attention even more closely …
- … would sway many towards a new way of thinking, while Huxley’s book would scare them off ( see …
- … Antiquity of man of the ongoing debate between Owen, Huxley, and others concerning the comparative …
- … is’, Hooker wrote to Darwin, ‘I suppose it is virtually Huxley’s writing, & that L. will find …
- … on 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 …
- … to J. D. Hooker, [9 May 1863] , and memorandum from G. H. Darwin, [before 11 May 1863]) . …
- … at the end of 1862, and published as a book in early 1863 (T. H. Huxley 1863a). Though Darwin was …
- … natural sterility of species, when crossed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 10 [January 1863] ). He …
- … both self-pollination and cross-pollination ( letter to P. H. Gosse, 2 June [1863] ). The …
- … and Lyell’s Antiquity of man ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 25 February 1863 , and letter …
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: 6 hits
- … continued: Darwin’s own works expanded on it, Thomas Henry Huxley gave lectures about it, and Henry …
- … & Nicotiana being partially sterile together. He failed. Huxley replied ( letter from T. H. …
- … The issue arose again when, through November and December, Huxley delivered a series of lectures to …
- … he is no common man This correspondence with Huxley made Darwin keener than ever to …
- … part of his popular exposition of Darwin’s theory (Rolle 1863; see letter to Friedrich Rolle, 17 …
- … views on transmutation in a paper on the aye-aye. However, Huxley described the event, detailing how …
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
- … human race. In 1861, Lubbock joined Thomas Henry Huxley, Busk, and several other supporters …
- … ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). On 6 February 1863, Antiquity of man (C. Lyell 1863a) …
- … Busk, Prestwich, and Galton. In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, …
- … Bath in 1864 (C. Lyell 1864). 3 By November 1863 a third edition of Antiquity of …
- … of several aspects of the book. Throughout the first half of 1863, Darwin discussed the book in …
- … aggrieved about Lyell’s failure to support him. In April 1863, in a letter to the Athenæum , he …
- … is by me. Evidently, he then showed the note to Huxley and asked for his opinion on the …
- … C. Lyell 1863c that were almost identical. He did not, as Huxley had suggested, send Lyell the text …
- … involvement is the fact that, although he corresponded with Huxley in June and July and had seen …
- … resolve the dispute. Lubbock continued to seek advice from Huxley, Hooker, and other X-club friends …
- … in person with Darwin. Lyell wrote to Darwin, Hooker, and Huxley and also showed the correspondence …
- … his preface 27 Hooker also encouraged Lyell to follow Huxley’s advice, and told Huxley, …
- … one deal with Lubbock’. 28 Lyell quickly agreed to Huxley’s proposal, although he decided to …
- … note on p. 11. Unlike the earlier controversies of 1863 where the disputants had quarrelled …
- … 13). The third edition had originally appeared in November 1863. In spite of Lyell’s 1865 revisions, …
- … (Original version of the last section, printed in November 1863) In conclusion, I wish it to …
- … evidence appealed to. 53 Harley Street: November 1863 Preface, C. Lyell 1863c, pp. …
- … in the interval between the autumn of 1861 and February 1863. In this long interval my thoughts had …
- … 2. Letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 20 February 1863 (British Library, Add. MSS 49640). …
- … of C. Lyell 1863a, see Darwin039;s Life in Letters, 1863 , (introduction to Correspondence …
- … vol. 11, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] . On Lyell’s unwillingness to commit …
- … Hooker, vol. 14, doc. 183–4). 15. Letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 March 1865, in BL MSS ADD …
Inheritance
Summary
It was crucial to Darwin’s theories of species change that naturally occurring variations could be inherited. But at the time when he wrote Origin, he had no explanation for how inheritance worked – it was just obvious that it did. Darwin’s attempt to…
Matches: 6 hits
- … in invisible ink on the germ039; ( to J. D. Hooker, 26 [March 1863] ). Years before he …
- … for comment. They were not enthusiastic. Thomas Henry Huxley was worried that its speculative nature …
- … anticipation of our modern Theories—and that stupid ass, Huxley, prevented his publishing them” . . …
- … papers will I fear, make widely opposite remarks.039; ( to T. H. Huxley, [17 July 1865] ). He …
- … he has read it twice & is not sure that he understands it. H. Spencer says the view is quite …
- … he shall wait, before he expresses his opinion. . . Old Sir H. Holland says he has read it twice …
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
- … Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin thanks Mary Whitby …
- … in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October 1862] …
- … Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [31 July 1863] Lydia Becker details her …
- … pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., [30 January 1868] …
- … Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. to Darwin, H. E., [after 14 October 1869] …
- … Letter 9426 - Story-Maskelyne , T. M. to Darwin, [23 April 1874] Thereza …
- … buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] …
- … patience”. Letter 4242 - Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin, [16 July 1863] …
- … Women: Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] …
- … Letter 4823 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] Darwin’s niece, Lucy, …
- … Leith Hill Place. Letter 6139 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [22 April 1868] …
- … Letter 4235 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [8 July 1863] Lydia Becker sends Darwin a …
- … Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R . to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] Amy Ruck reports the …
- … in a tin box. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] …
- … Letter 4139 - Darwin, W. E. to Darwin, [4 May 1863] William sends the results of a …
- … Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [2 September 1847] Darwin questions Mrs. …
- … “eyebrows”. Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] …
- … Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [31 July 1863] Lydia Becker details her …
- … with minnows. Letter 2781 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [3 May 1860] …
- … 4233 - Tegetmeier, W. B. to Darwin, [29 June - 7 July 1863] Tegetmeier updates Darwin …
- … can understand it. Letter 3896 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H, [before 25 February 1863] …
- … daughter, Henrietta. Letter 4010 - Huxley, T. H. to Darwin, [25 February 1863] …
- … Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] Darwin secretly passes on …
- … Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [2 September 1847] Darwin asks Mrs. Whitby …
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: 9 hits
- … contacts. His life-long friendship with Thomas Henry Huxley, for example, began with detailed …
- … & night.” Letter 1480 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. H., 23 Apr [1853] …
- … He hopes Agassiz was sounder on embryological stages than Huxley thinks. Letter 1592 — …
- … Letter 4895 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. T., 20 Sept [1865] Darwin thanks Müller for …
- … seems probable. Letter 5173 — Müller, J. F. T. to Darwin, C. R., 2 Aug 1866 Müller …
- … be dichogamous. Letter 5429 — Müller, J. F. T. to Darwin, C. R., 4 Mar 1867 Müller …
- … other species. Letter 5480 — Müller, J. F. T. to Darwin, C. R., 1 Apr 1867 Müller …
- … extract from Carl Claus, Die freilebenden Copepoden [1863]. Letter 5551 — Darwin, C …
- … , and asks for references to cirripede descriptions by T. A. Conrad. …
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: 10 hits
- … some of those whose support he most wanted: Thomas Henry Huxley, William Benjamin Carpenter, and …
- … would have been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A chronological …
- … yet understand the concept of natural selection. Even Huxley, an avowed supporter, proved a …
- … inter se ,’ Darwin’s theory would remain unproven (T. H. Huxley 1860a). Darwin had long …
- … animal groups could give rise to new species, Darwin found Huxley’s lecture irritating and …
- … the geographical distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 ). But Baer …
- … earlier sessions, including the Thursday meeting at which Huxley and Owen ‘had a furious battle over …
- … ‘for half an hour’, ridiculing Darwin ‘badly & Huxley savagely’. Huxley rose in response and …
- … tried to answer the Bishop in such an assembly,’ he told Huxley; nonetheless he believed that ‘this …
- … his theory. ‘I can pretty plainly see’, he commented to Huxley on 2 December, ‘that if my view is …
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: 19 hits
- … intended for publication in Variation , to Thomas Henry Huxley for evaluation, and persuaded his …
- … the improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] ). It was not until …
- … of species; for if he is correct, we certainly have what Huxley calls new physiological species …
- … Scott had evidently started his crossing experiments in 1863 (see Correspondence vol. 11, …
- … health had been particularly bad, Darwin sent Thomas Henry Huxley a fair copy of a manuscript in …
- … hypothesis of pangenesis’, as it later became, to Huxley’s judgment with some trepidation. ‘It is a …
- … can hang on it a good many groups of facts.’ ( Letter to T. H. Huxley, 27 May [1865] .) The …
- … to Darwin of this hypothesis is obvious from his letter to Huxley, despite his apparent modesty, and …
- … was to all appearances his usual method of working. He asked Huxley not for detailed criticism, but …
- … from Darwin’s letter to him of 12 July [1865] . Huxley had evidently pointed out some similarity …
- … just & I will try to persuade myself not to publish.’ Huxley swiftly qualified what Darwin had …
- … anticipation of our modern Theories—and that stupid ass, Huxley, prevented his publishing them”… I …
- … of the only clue at present accessible—and don’t give the Philistines more chances of blaspheming …
- … humans (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter from J. H. Balfour, 14 January 1862 ). According …
- … vol. 11, letter from J. D. Hooker, 10 June 1863 ). However, probably the most enthusiastic …
- … that Lyell in his Antiquity of man , published in 1863, had made unacknowledged use of Lubbock’s …
- … work of reconciliation seems in the end to have been done by Huxley. In fact, Darwin’s immediate …
- … a trying year. In January he had influenza ( letter from F. H. Hooker, [27 January 1865] ); before …
- … on the affair, to her mother, ends, ‘I wish people weren’t so foolish’;. In November, Darwin and …
Forms of flowers
Summary
Darwin’s book The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, published in 1877, investigated the structural differences in the sexual organs of flowers of the same species. It drew on and expanded five articles Darwin had published on the…
Matches: 6 hits
- … of the same species would give rise to fertile progeny (T. H. Huxley 1860, pp.562-5). He later …
- … inter se) have ever been produced from a common stock’ (T. H. Huxley 1860, p. 198). In Origin , p …
- … was read at a meeting of the Linnean Society on 3 February 1863. Forms of flowers …
- … ‘They did not believe in my results’ In July 1863, when Lythrum was flowering, Darwin …
- … only produced seedlings of the same form, but in March 1863, Darwin told Scott that with regard to …
- … on hybridity in the new edition of Origin . He encouraged Huxley to read it, noting, ‘ Asa Gray …
Climbing Plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment A monograph by which to work After the publication of On the Origin of Species, Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, The Descent of Man, and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals in…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of tendrils, as described in the following excerpt from an 1863 letter he wrote to the English …
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: 16 hits
- … witlings of the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice looked to …
- … for him, as he has allied himself to so dreadful a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 …
- … person’. The two men also agreed on the deficiencies of Huxley’s argument that animals were …
- … ( letter from John Collier, 22 February 1882 ; T. H. Huxley 1881, pp. 199–245). Huxley used …
- … to William Jenner, 20 March [1882] ; see also letter from T. L Brunton, 12 February 1882 , and …
- … to G. H. Darwin, [ c . 28 March 1882] (DAR 210.3: 45)). Huxley urged Darwin to consult another …
- … can be placed to look after your machinery (I daren’t say automaton ) critically’ ( letter from …
- … were more automata in the world like you’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 27 March 1882 ). Darwin …
- … Natural History, that I went as Naturalist on the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the World & …
- … a few letters shortly after the publication of Origin . Huxley had written a number of glowing …
- … circle; I cannot tell how or where to begin’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 21 [January 1860] ). Darwin …
- … ( letter from Aleksander Jelski, [1860–82] ). In 1863, the final blow was dealt to Darwin’s …
- … a fallen enemy!’ ( letter to T. F. Jamieson, 24 January [1863] ). From 1863 to 1865, Darwin …
- … years following Origin, a number of Darwin’s friends, Huxley, John Lubbock, and Charles Lyell, …
- … of Darwinian theory to flowers and flower-visiting insects; H. Müller 1869)). Darwin was full of …
- … at least be a valid ground for divorce’ ( letter to H. K. Rusden, [before 27 March 1875] ). In …
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: 17 hits
- … easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). Darwin had …
- … daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
- … vigour into scientific work, remarking to Fox, ‘I don’t believe in your theory of moderate mental …
- … submitted a preliminary sketch of pangenesis to Thomas Henry Huxley in 1865 (see Correspondence vol. …
- … hybridisers had been a subject of debate between Darwin and Huxley, who had asserted the importance …
- … Shortly after the new edition was published, Darwin wrote to Huxley, ‘do read the Chapt. on …
- … I think, & have come to more definite views’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December [1866] ). …
- … interview with Mogg’, she wrote in May, ‘He didn’t scold me at all about fusca & lutea & we …
- … come & pay a morning call but that most likely you wdn’t see him & he said he shd be …
- … It is rather horrible to have another self fertiliser, isn’t it?’), as well as the role that she and …
- … clearly admired parts of the book, but he expressed to Huxley and others certain reservations and …
- … weak in his Greek, is something dreadful’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December [1866] ). …
- … by Heinrich Georg Bronn, had been published in 1860 and 1863 by the firm E. Schweizerbart’sche …
- … who was sympathetic to Darwin and had previously translated Huxley’s Man’s place in nature , was …
- … as a ‘thinking pump’: ‘I read aloud your simile of H. Spencer to a thinking pump, & it was …
- … prosecution on 2 November 1866. Spencer enclosed a letter by Huxley to the Pall Mall Gazette , …
- … their father’s death in 1848 until Catherine married in 1863. Catherine had written shortly before …
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: 1 hits
- … Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] Darwin hints that his daughter …
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: 10 hits
- … the long illness that had plagued him since the spring of 1863. Because of poor health, Darwin …
- … from that of the five physicians Darwin had consulted in 1863. In a letter of 26[–7] March [1864] …
- … leaf, and aerial roots. When his health deteriorated in 1863, he found that he could still continue …
- … scientific debate. He had begun taking the journal in April 1863 and was an enthusiastic subscriber. …
- … about the matter was eased when his cause was taken up by Huxley, whose critical notice of Flourens …
- … its death blow’ with the publication of Origin (T. H. Huxley 1864a, p. 567). In 1864, …
- … and their predecessors had continued to grow following the 1863 publication of Huxley’s Evidence …
- … volume on prehistoric humans to Darwin, and Hooker discussed Huxley’s heated dispute with officers …
- … failure to win the award in the two preceding years. An 1863 letter from the president of the Royal …
- … had there been any failure of justice’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 4 November 1864 ). …
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…
Suggested reading
Summary
Contemporary writing Anon., The English matron: A practical manual for young wives, (London, 1846). Anon., The English gentlewoman: A practical manual for young ladies on their entrance to society, (Third edition, London, 1846). Becker, L. E.…