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Dramatisation script

Summary

Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007

Matches: 23 hits

… Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig …
… as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified …
… correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring …
… Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day …
… Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart Mill, Emma Darwin, Horace Darwin… and acts as a sort …
… the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and between the audience and …
… this, he sends out copies of his Review of the Life of Darwin. At this time in his life, Asa …
… friends in England, copies of his ‘Review of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it …
… his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
… 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my …
… be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
… on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
… a brace of letters 25 I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
… might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
… Atlantic. HOOKER: 28 Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
… in the mud. BEGINNING OF WAR IN AMERICA: 1861-1862 In which the start of the American …
… cause. Tension. THE DARWIN BOYS: 1862 In which Darwin reports one …
… paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r] 178 doctrine that each variation has been …
… ARTS AND SCIENCES, PROCEEDINGS XVII, 1882 4 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 10 MAY 1848 …
… 1856 33 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, 14 MARCH 1862 34 JD HOOKER TO C DARWIN, …
… 1861 115 A GRAY TO CHARLES WRIGHT, 17 APRIL 1862 116 A GRAY TO RW CHURCH 7 MAY …
… 10 JUNE 1861 121 A GRAY TO C DARWIN, 31 MARCH 1862 122 JD HOOKER TO C …
… 16 DEC 1861 124 A GRAY TO ENGELMANN, 20 FEB 1862 125 A GRAY TO C DARWIN, 31 …

Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants

Summary

Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…

Matches: 21 hits

… Towards the end of 1862 , Darwin resolved to build a small hothouse at Down House, for ‘experimental …
… hothouse early in 1863 marked something of a milestone in Darwin’s botanical work, since it greatly …
… book (Down House MS) and Correspondence vol. 5, letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 April [1855] ). …
… Though his greenhouse was probably heated to some extent, Darwin found himself on several occasions …
… a construction suitable for tropical plants. In 1861 and 1862 , while preparing Orchids , he was …
… make observations and even experiments on his behalf. Darwin’s decision to build a hothouse …
… its sensitivity to touch (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December …
… his employer’s hothouses over the previous two years. In a letter of 24 December [1862 ] ( …
… Encyclopedia of gardening (Loudon 1835), a copy of which Darwin signed in 1841 (see the copy in …
… he had had, he would ‘probably have made a mess of it’ (letter to G. H. Turnbull, [16? February …
… adding ‘I shall keep to curious & experimental plants’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January …
… of Westerham, with whom he had dealt over many years. In his letter to Hooker, Darwin mentioned that …
… of the plants you want before going to Nurserymen’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 January 1863] ) …
… I shall avoid[,] of course I must not have from Kew’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 January [1863] ) …
… continuing: ‘Do you not think you ought to be sent with M r Gower to the Police Court?’ (William …
… had ‘4 houses of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , …
… which he received in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February 1863 ). …
… Kent ( Post Office directory of the six home counties 1862 ). 3. Asclepias curassavica. …
… The reference is to James Bateman, an orchid specialist (R. Desmond 1994). 17. Stylidium …
… C. hæmatostigma. …
… Cyanophyllum magnificum M r Low 29 | of Melastomaceæ …

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: 21 hits

… | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
… community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
… Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
… silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
… to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
… be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
… Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
… Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
… Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 May 1870] …
… Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 July 1862 ] Darwin tells American naturalist Asa …
… the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 …
… Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
… 3681 - Wedgwood, M. S. to Darwin, [before 4 August 1862 ] Darwin’s niece, Margaret, …
… in Llandudno. Letter 4823 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] …
… Lychnis diurna. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R . to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
… lawn. Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. R., [24 February 1872] Darwin …
… Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
… garden ”. Letter 6083 - Casparay, J. X. R. to Darwin, [2 April 1868] …
… lady”. Darwin, E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March, 1862 - DAR 219.1:49) Emma Darwin …
… Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
… - Darwin to Wedgwood, K. E. S, M. S. & L. C., [4 August 1862 ] Darwin thanks his “angel …

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: 19 hits

… Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those …
… a broad variety of women had access to, and engaged with, Darwin's published works. A set of …
… Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
… that his views are original and will appeal to the public. Darwin asks Murray to forward the …
… it had been proofread and edited by “a lady”. Darwin, E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March 1862 …
… 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 …
… in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to Darwin, [16 July 1875] …
… in her garden. Letter 13650 Kennard, C. A. to Darwin, [28 January 1882] …
… Variation . Letter 6126 - Binstead, C. H. to Darwin, [17 April 1868] …
… of Variation . Letter 6237 - Bullar, R. to Darwin, [9 June 1868] …

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: 28 hits

… In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
… letters on climbing plants to make another paper. Darwin also submitted a manuscript of his …
… protégé, John Scott, who was now working in India. Darwin’s transmutation theory continued to …
… Argyll, appeared in the religious weekly, Good Words . Darwin received news of an exchange of …
… Butler, and, according to Butler, the bishop of Wellington. Darwin’s theory was discussed at an …
… in the Gardeners’ Chronicle . At the end of the year, Darwin was elected an honorary member of …
… year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend of …
… in August. There was also a serious dispute between two of Darwin’s friends, John Lubbock and …
… The death of Hugh Falconer Darwin’s first letter to Hooker of 1865 suggests that the family …
… having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
… had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
… his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium …
… may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
… always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
… for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
… gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
… added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
… ineffective, and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] …
… of anything, & that almost exclusively bread & meat’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 August [1865] …
… Darwin had received a copy of Müller’s book, Fü r Darwin , a study of the Crustacea with reference …
… on Verbascum. Darwin had suggested to Scott in 1862 , when Scott was working at the Royal Botanic …
… vol. 10, letter to John Scott, 19 November [1862 ] ). Darwin had already written to Hooker of …
… … inheritance, reversion, effects of use & disuse &c’, and which he intended to publish in …
… disturbing the serenity of the Christian world’ (Brewster 1862 , p. 3). John Hutton Balfour, though …
… vol. 10, letter from J. H. Balfour, 14 January 1862 ). According to Hooker, Balfour’s prejudice …
… He wrote to Hooker, ‘I doubt whether you or I or any one c d do any good in healing this breach. …
… Hooker’s behalf, ‘He asks if you saw the article of M r . Croll in the last Reader on the …
… ‘As for your thinking that you do not deserve the C[opley] Medal,’ he rebuked Hooker, ‘that I …

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: 23 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 …
… 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 Darwin’s preoccupation with the …
… to man’s place in nature both had a direct bearing on Darwin’s species theory and on the problem …
… from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
… detailed anatomical similarities between humans and apes, Darwin was full of praise. He especially …
… ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
… than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
… from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
… leap from that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
… with Owen when it became clear that Owen’s November 1862 description of the recently discovered …
… sentence from the second edition of Antiquity of man (C. Lyell 1863b, p. 469), published in …
… work on mimicry in butterflies, which had been published in 1862 (see Correspondence vol. 10). …
… to the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury in September 1862 ( see letter to Julius von Haast, 22 …
… men, given at the Museum of Practical Geology at the end of 1862 , and published as a book in early …
… that had already occupied much of his time in 1861 and 1862 . With the publication in 1862 of his …
… a question he had been struggling with in 1861 and 1862 ; he wanted to determine experimentally …
… Edinburgh, had initiated the correspondence in November 1862 with a letter correcting Darwin’s …
… ( see letter to Asa Gray, 23 February [1863] , and Loring 1862 ). However, his tolerance of Gray’s …
… very slowly recovering, but am very weak’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [29 September? 1863] ). …
… Thomas’s Hospital, London ( letter from George Busk, [ c. 27 August 1863] ). Brinton, who …

Floral Dimorphism

Summary

Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Floral studies In 1877 Darwin published a book that included a series of smaller studies on botanical subjects. Titled The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, it consisted primarily of…

Matches: 12 hits

… | Experiment Floral studies In 1877 Darwin published a book that included a …
… with the Linnaean Society. In his autobiography Darwin commented on the joy this work gave him: …
… by only a few persons." These botanical studies also gave Darwin an opportunity to collaborate …
… The materials in this teaching module highlight Darwin’s relationships with two of his closest …
… by Jim Endersby that reflects on the role of sympathy in Darwin's work and in his friendship …
… years previous to the publication of that work, highlighting Darwin’s ability to carry out themes …
… SOURCES Book Darwin, C. R. 1877. The different forms of flowers on plants of the …
… Dimorphic Plants: Primulaceae Letters Letter Packet: Floral Dimorphism …
… and the appearance of his new Orchid book. Letter 3515 - Daniel Oliver to Darwin, 23 …
… find anything distinctly dimorphic in the Oxalis. Letter 3757 - Joseph Dalton Hooker to …
… on the difference between his scientific abilities and Darwin’s and notes what he perceives to be …
… family, his personal health, and his botanic work all in one letter ? Why or why not? …

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: 12 hits

… and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
… when strong institutional structures were largely absent. Darwin had a small circle of scientific …
… in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
… section contains two sets of letters. The first is between Darwin and his friend Kew botanist 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, …
… information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct [1848] …
… Letter 3800 — Scott, John to Darwin, C. R., [11 Nov 1862] Scottish gardener John Scott notes …
… Letter 3805 — Darwin, C. R. to Scott, John, 12 Nov [1862] Darwin thanks Scott for bringing …

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: 25 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 Darwin’s fluid intake; this treatment …
… the dimorphic aquatic cut-grass Leersia . In May, Darwin finished his paper on Lythrum …
… thus completing the work he had started on the genus in 1862 . His varied botanical observations and …
… he had set aside the previous summer. In October, Darwin let his friends know that on his …
… and he received more letters of advice from Jenner. In a letter of 15 December [1864] to the …
… As Darwin explained to his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of 30 November [1864] , ‘the …
… observations indoors ( Correspondence vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin …
… gradation by which leaves produce tendrils’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [8 February 1864] ). …
… fearfully for it is a leaf climber & therefore sacred’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 June [1864] …
… matters which routinists regard in the light of axioms’ ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864 …
… long series of changes . . .’ When he told Asa Gray in a letter of 29 October [1864] that he was …
… paper was published, Darwin remarked to Hooker in a letter of 26 November [1864] that nothing …
… of the two species with the common oxlip. In a letter of 22 October [1864] , Darwin triumphantly …
… the ‘splendid case of Dimorphism’ in Menyanthes ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. …
… act. In his ongoing quest to confirm the statement in his 1862 book on orchids that nature ‘abhors …
… this interest. At the start of the year, he received a letter , insect specimens, and an article on …
… Scott, a gardener at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in 1862 with a letter regarding the …
… 5 September 1864 ). Fritz Müeller sent his book, Für Darwin , and Darwin had it translated by a …
… and Book of Joshua critically examined (Colenso 1862 –79). After reading extracts from Colenso’s …
… Correspondence vol. 10, letter to Asa Gray, 6 November [1862 ] ). A declaration that Erasmus …
… but Lyell says when I read his discussion in the Elements [C. Lyell 1865] I shall recant for fifth …
… on intellectual & moral qualities’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …

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: 16 hits

… Discussion Questions | Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth …
… Letters Darwin’s Notes On Marriage [April - July 1838] In these notes, …
… theories, & accumulating facts in silence & solitude”. Darwin also comments that he has …
… an hour “with poor Mrs. Lyell sitting by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to …
… whose attractions are not those of her sex”. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 …
… her own steam and is a “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, …
… ornaments in the making of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 …
… the young, especially ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., …
… Anderson is “neither masculine nor pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., …
… to him as a published science author, is a man. Letter 7314 - Kovalevsky, S. to Darwin, …
… Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum , (1829). Letter 7329 - Murray, J. to Darwin, [28 …
… to prick up what little is left of them ears”. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
… almost out of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8079 - Norton, S. R. to Darwin, [20 …
… but has not read the pamphlet herself. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May …
… narrative so not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
… patience. Letter 13607 – Darwin to Kennard, C. A., [9 January 1882] Darwin …

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: 17 hits

… Darwin’s 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. Darwin’s theory was based partly on the …
… seemed to prevail across the globe. In Descent , Darwin also addressed widely held beliefs …
… of ‘species’, ‘varieties’, and ‘races’. 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 their ‘civilization’. Here Darwin drew on contemporary anthropology, …
… colonial conquests and expansion abroad. Thus, while Darwin’s views on race differed widely …
… in the success of nations’ ( Descent 1: 239). For Darwin, the civilising process was essentially …
… taken from their homeland in Tierra del Fuego to England, Darwin wrote: ‘in contradiction of what …
… ( Beagle diary , p. 143). He was delighted to receive a letter from an African correspondent …
… were often crossed in practice ( see correspondence with C. Kennard, below ). The implications of …
… and Progress Key letters: Letter to J. S. Henslow, 11 April 1833 …
… . New Haven: Yale University Press. Young, Robert J. C. 1995. Colonial desire: hybridity in …
… Correspondence with women Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February …

Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution

Summary

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

Matches: 21 hits

… The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the …
… in relation to Sex’. Always precise in his accounting, Darwin reckoned that he had started writing …
… gathered on each of these topics was far more extensive than Darwin had anticipated. As a result, …
… and St George Jackson Mivart, and heated debates sparked by Darwin’s proposed election to the French …
… shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
… anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
… corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
… , the latter when she was just eighteen years of age. Darwin clearly expected her to make a …
… who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
… abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
… philanthropist Frances Power Cobbe. At Cobbe’s suggestion, Darwin read some of Immanuel Kant’s …
… thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
… how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
… in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
… patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
… muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
… to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 …
… . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
… or crying badly; but I fear he will not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] …
… Lucy Wedgwood, who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). …
… (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …

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: 25 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 Darwin’s neighbour, Sir John Lubbock. In …
… Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But …
… all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
… hypothesis of hereditary transmission. Debate about Darwin’s theory of transmutation …
… alleged evidence of a global ice age, while Asa Gray pressed Darwin’s American publisher for a …
… able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
… once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
… see you out with our beagles before the season is over’ ( letter from John Lubbock, 4 August 1866 …
… work doing me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). …
… production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
… of “Domestic Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] …
… good deal I think, & have come to more definite views’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December …
… ‘I quite follow you in thinking Agassiz glacier-mad’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8[–9] September …
… you go on, after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèe—which I dreamed of 2 nights …
… so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [ c . 10 May 1866] ). Henrietta’s …
… teleological development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). Also in …
… by debates about a suitable translator, Bronn having died in 1862 . Finally, Julius Victor Carus, a …
… on dimorphism and dichogamy. As he had done since 1862 , Darwin relied on assistance from his …
… common broom ( Cytisus scoparius ) and the white broom ( C. multiflorus ) in his botanical …
… and June on the subject of Rhamnus catharticus (now R. cathartica ). Darwin had become …
… of separate sexes. William gathered numerous specimens of R. catharticus , the only species of …
… replied with a modified list, adding Fritz Müller’s Fü r Darwin , and a recent fossil discovery in …
… selection, and with special creation ( letter from W. R. Grove, 31 August 1866 ). Hooker later …
… indeed at poor Susan’s loneliness’ ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7 …

Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts

Summary

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

Matches: 28 hits

… At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
… appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a …
… & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
… Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
… material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwin’s interests remained extremely broad, and …
… plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to …
… Carl von Nägeli and perfectibility Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a …
… a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägeli’s paper …
… principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory …
… in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now …
… made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
… are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwin’s apparent confusion about Nägeli’s …
… than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
… is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
… tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
… a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
… data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
… I d have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
… of information which I have sent prove of any service to M r . Darwin I can supply him with much …
… & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). More …
… and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ), and …
… an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
… species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a …
… genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This …
… subject that he had been acquiring since its publication in 1862 . Darwin asked his son William to …
… Sweetland Dallas’s edition of Fritz Müller’s Fü r Darwin (Dallas trans. 1869). The book, an …
… creation, if he is not completely staggered after reading y r essay’. The work received a …
… whole meeting was decidedly Huxley’s answer to D r M c Cann. He literally poured boiling oil …

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: 28 hits

… Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, …
… couple of months were needed to index the work, a task that Darwin handed over to someone else for …
… and animals ( Expression ), published in 1872. Although Darwin had been collecting material and …
… A global reputation The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly …
… who might best answer the questions, with the result that Darwin began to receive replies from …
… Variation would be based on proof-sheets received as Darwin corrected them. Closer to home, two …
… Charles Fleeming Jenkin, challenged different aspects of Darwin’s theory of transmutation as …
… orchids are fertilised by insects ( Orchids ). While Darwin privately gave detailed opinions of …
… capable hands of Alfred Russel Wallace. At the same time, Darwin was persuaded by some German …
… suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a Book’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 January [1867] …
… to the printer, but without the additional chapter. In a letter written on 8 February [1867] to …
… books, Descent and Expression . In the same letter , Darwin revealed the conclusion to his …
… 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 …
… 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 …
… see your second volume on “The Struggle for Existence &c.” for I doubt if we have a sufficiency …
… “supplemental remarks on expression”’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [12–17] March [1867] ). Darwin’s …
… aviary to see whether this was the case ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1867] ). He also …
… level. In his response to Wallace ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 26 February [1867] ), Darwin defended …
… to the work I shall find it much better done by you than I c d have succeeded in doing’ ( letter …
… would confirm points that Darwin had only conjectured in his 1862 study, On the various contrivances …
… I have not a word to say against it but such a view c d hardly come into a scientific book’ ( …
… Wallace published a long article, ‘Creation by law’ (A. R. Wallace 1867c), which responded to Jenkin …

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: 22 hits

… 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species , printing …
… surprised both the publisher and the author. One week later Darwin was stunned to learn that the …
… the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
… his views. ‘One cannot expect fairness in a Reviewer’, Darwin commented to Hooker after reading an …
… he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] …
… but ‘unfair’ reviews that misrepresented his ideas, Darwin began to feel that without the early …
… it was his methodological criticism in the accusation that Darwin had ‘deserted the inductive track, …
… from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
… was a hypothesis, not a theory, therefore also displeased Darwin. Comparing natural selection to the …
… a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 18 February [1860] ). …
… phenomena it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] …
… issue of Macmillan’s Magazine . Fawcett asserted that Darwin’s theory accorded well with John …
… induction, ratiocination, and then verification. Darwin and his critics Specific …
… natural selection did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 …
… considered it more a failure than a success ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 February [1860] ). …
… naturalists because more accustomed to reasoning.’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 18 May 1860 ). …
… two physiologists, and five botanists ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 March [1860] ). Others, like …
… tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 3 April [1860] ). By the …
… favour of change of form’, namely those of embryology ( letter to Asa Gray, 10 September [1860] ). …
… his study of the geographical distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 …
… next year and published the results of the orchid study in 1862 . Back to the origin of sex: …
… He presented the results of his study in a paper of 1862 and in The different forms of flowers on …

Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin

Summary

The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…

Matches: 20 hits

… 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence …
… he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This …
… the composition and publication, in November 1859, of Darwin’s major treatise On the origin of …
… exceeded my wildest hopes By the end of 1859, Darwin’s work was being discussed in …
… has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
… The 'big book' The year 1858 opened with Darwin hard at work preparing his ‘big …
… his ninth chapter, on hybridism, on 29 December 1857, Darwin began in January 1858 to prepare the …
… appropriate. The correspondence shows that at any one time Darwin was engaged in a number of …
… The chapter on instinct posed a number of problems for Darwin. ‘I find my chapter on Instinct very …
… celebrated as a classic example of divine design in nature. Darwin hypothesised that the instinct of …
… of construction as it took place in the hive. As with Darwin’s study of poultry and pigeons, …
… as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
… throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
… work—& that I confess made me a little low—but I c d . have borne it, for I have the …
… his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
… selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
… Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
… on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors have dated the letter 18 [June 1858]. However, the …
… McKinney has suggested that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same …
… it is impossible that men like Lyell, Hooker, Huxley, H. C. Watson, Ramsay &c would change their …

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: 23 hits

… Letters | Selected Readings Darwin's first reflections on human progress were …
… human progress or cause degeneration. In the "Fuegians", Darwin thought he had witnessed …
… several years earlier as part of a missionary enterprise. Darwin was struck by the progress that had …
… been returned to their native land. After the voyage, Darwin began to question the …
… After the publication of Origin of Species , many of Darwin's supporters continued to …
… or extermination of other peoples and cultures. When Darwin wrote about the human races and …
… on human and animal behavior accumulated over three decades. Darwin argued forcefully for the unity …
… and beyond. Letters Darwin’s first observations of the peoples …
… of botany at Cambridge, John Stevens Henslow. Letter 204 : Darwin to Henslow, J. S., …
… Charles wrote to his sister, Emily Catherine Darwin, about witnessing slavery in the Portuguese …
… 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 …
… William Graham. Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C., 11 October [1859] I …
… Letter 3439 : Darwin to Kingsley, Charles, 6 February [1862 ] "It is very true what …
… in rank." Letter 4510 : Darwin to Wallace, A. R., 28 [May 1864] "Now …
… . New York: The Free Press, 1968. Robert J. C. Young, Colonial Desire: Hybridity in Theory, …

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: 28 hits

… the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells …
… by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing (1862 ), and in several papers on plants with …
… 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 remarkable’ In 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 ). Darwin’s 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 was ‘curious to see, on …
… ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870, Darwin reported that he was ‘rearing crossed …
… From a fairly early stage in his experimental programme, Darwin began to pay more attention to the …
… seeds of Ipomœa. I remember saying the contrary to you & M r Smith at Kew. But the result is …
… 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
… the sweet pea ( Lathyrus odoratus ), and in October 1867, Darwin wrote to James Moggridge to ask …
… of the year ( To J. T. Moggridge, 1 October [1867] ). Darwin was beginning to suspect that the …
… simply did not exist in Britain. During a visit to Darwin in May 1866, Robert Caspary, a …
… by the former ( From Robert Caspary, 18 February 1868 ). Darwin eagerly requested seed from both …
… was published on 30 January 1868. In April 1868, Darwin informed George Bentham, ‘I am …
… to elongate when the pollen touches the stigmatic surface. Darwin was able to discern that …
… plant sexual relations, Müller, who sent the publication to Darwin, reported that he was surprised …
… the fertility of the offspring (F. Müller 1868b, p. 629). Darwin urged further experimentation. ‘I …
… I am already plagued by foreign Translators, Reviewers, &c.’ ( To John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
… [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
… the set of all my works, I would suggest 1,500’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 16 September 1876 ). In the …
… of hybrids, has not yet been produced’ ( From A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this …

Darwin’s reading notebooks

Summary

In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…

Matches: 27 hits

… In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to …
… (DAR 119) opens with five pages of text copied from Notebook C and carries on through 1851; the …
… used these notebooks extensively in dating and annotating Darwin’s letters; the full transcript …
… *128). For clarity, the transcript does not record Darwin’s alterations. The spelling and …
… book had been consulted. Those cases where it appears that Darwin made a genuine deletion have been …
… a few instances, primarily in the ‘Books Read’ sections, Darwin recorded that a work had been …
… of the books listed in the other two notebooks. Sometimes Darwin recorded that an abstract of the …
… own. Soon after beginning his first reading notebook, Darwin began to separate the scientific …
… to be Read [DAR *119: Inside Front Cover] C. Darwin June 1 st . 1838 …
… [DAR *119: 2v.] White’s regular gradation in man [C. White 1799] Lindley’s …
… 8 vo p 181 [Latreille 1819]. see p. 17 Note Book C. for reference to authors about E. Indian …
… in brutes Blackwood June 1838 [J. F. Ferrie 1838]. H. C. Watson on Geog. distrib: of Brit: …
… Wiegman has pub. German pamphlet on crossing oats &c [Wiegmann 1828] Horticultural …
… [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
… 1834–40]: In Portfolio of “abstracts” 34 —letter from Skuckard of books on Silk Worm …
… M rs Fry’s Life [Fry 1847] Horace Walpoles letter to C t . of Ossory [Walpole 1848] …
… [Fellows 1839] Catherine 48 Life of Collins R.A. [Collins 1848] Phases of Faith …
… Asiatic Society ]—contains very little Macleay’s letter to D r Fleming [Macleay 1830] …
… [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
… du rire. In–8. A. Durand . 3 fr. 117 [Dumont 1862 ] Goethe. — Œuvres d’histoires …
… of the material from these portfolios is in DAR 205, the letter from William Edward Shuckard to …
… ( Notebooks , pp. 319–28). 55 The letter was addressed to Nicholas Aylward Vigors …
… 1848. Memoirs of the life of William Collins, Esq., R.A. 2 vols. London. *119: 23; 119: …
… à Buffon.) Paris. *119: 14v. Dumont, Léon. 1862 . Des causes du rire. Paris. *128: …
… by Richard Owen. Vol. 4 of The works of John Hunter, F.R.S. with notes . Edited by James F. …
… Robert. 1843. Memoirs of the life of John Constable, R.A., composed chiefly of his letters. …
… Peacock, George. 1855. Life of Thomas Young, M.D., F.R.S. London. *128: 172; 128: 21 …

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Darwin Correspondence Project

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