To W. D. Fox [7 June 1840]
Summary
Family news.
CD’s health is improving, but he has scarcely put pen to paper in the last half-year, and everything in the publishing line is going backwards.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | [7 June 1840] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 60) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-572 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … Family news. CD’s health is improving, but he has scarcely put pen to paper in the last …
- … about seven lines missing
〉 old friend much to endure in the ill-health of your wife. — … - … There is a degree of anxiety about the health of
〈 about ten lines missing〉 boy—(William … - … gradually, though very slowly, gaining strength & health, but previous to that time I was …
- … nearly six months in very indifferent health, so that I felt the smallest exertion most …
- … remain here about a month. — should my health continue getting stronger, I will, should …
To W. D. Fox 23 May [1863]
Summary
Health has been poor but eczema is improved.
A "squib" about Owen and Huxley on the brain has appeared in Public Opinion [3 (1863): 497–8].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 23 May [1863] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 139) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4181 |
To W. D. Fox 24 [October 1852]
Summary
News of his health; has been well of late, but cannot stand excitement. Hereditary weakness is another of his bugbears.
At work on cirripedes – "I hate a Barnacle as no man ever did before."
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 24 [Oct 1852] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 81) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1489 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … News of his health; has been well of late, but cannot stand excitement. Hereditary …
- … Hall, the Fox family home near Derby. CD’s Health diary (Down House MS) indicates that he …
- … London [£]4 17[ s . ]’ CD’s entry in his Health diary (Down House MS) indicates that the …
- … except M rs . Parker, who is much out of health; & so is Erasmus at his poor average: he …
- … not think last Treatment did me much good. —’ The Health diary shows that CD was unusually …
- … well during October 1852: this good health continued to the end of the year. See CD’s …
To W. D. Fox 16 April [1858]
Summary
Asks WDF for facts about stripes in horses and ponies.
Health has been very bad.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 16 Apr [1858] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 112a) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2256 |
To W. D. Fox 20 December [1844]
Summary
Tells of his father’s ill health.
Discusses mesmerism and Harriet Martineau’s recovery. If animals could be put into a stupor, he would be convinced. Suggests WDF have some mesmeriser attempt it with cats.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 20 Dec [1844] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 70) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-801 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Tells of his father’s ill health. Discusses mesmerism and Harriet Martineau’s recovery. If …
- … Account’ book, Down House MS). Harriet Martineau’s health had broken down in 1839. …
- … a course of mesmerism, after which her health was dramatically restored. She published an …
- … in deferring your visit. My Father’s health, I grieve to say, is now very uncertain: he …
To W. D. Fox 24 [March 1859]
Summary
Is correcting chapters [of Origin] for press.
Health has been wretched of late.
He values fame to a certain extent, but "if I know myself, I work from a sort of instinct to try to make out truth".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 24 [Mar 1859] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 120) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2436 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Is correcting chapters [of Origin ] for press. Health has been wretched of late. He values …
- … seem to have got over some of them in the recovery of your wife’s & own health. — I had …
- … not heard lately of your mother’s health, & am sorry to hear so poor an account. But [ …
- … such place, to see if I can anyhow give my health a good start, for it certainly has been …
To W. D. Fox 25–6 October [1865]
Summary
Bad health during last six months has prevented scientific work.
News of family.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 25–6 Oct [1865] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 146) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4924 |
To W. D. Fox 16 July [1872]
Summary
Is correcting proofs for Expression.
Family news.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 16 July [1872] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8413 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … 1872] . The failure of George Howard Darwin’s health in 1872 led him to seek a cure in the …
- … two of my sons being now in Germany for health sake. Henrietta has no child, & I hope …
- … is Caroline. Here is a full bulletin of health! Many thanks for your kind invitation; but …
- … reads, ‘G. came from Switz’. Horace’s poor health is confirmed by CD’s Account books–cash …
From Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox 8 December [1863]
Summary
Thanks WDF for his letter [on steel traps].
Gives a better report of CD’s health since he gave up water-cure.
Author: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 8 Dec [1863] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 142) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4355 |
To W. D. Fox [27 March 1851]
Summary
Sends condolences to WDF on the death of his father. Has brought his daughter [Anne] to J. M. Gully for the water-cure.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | [27 Mar 1851] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 78a) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1396 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … last visit. — I grieve to hear that your health prevents you attending the Funeral: this …
- … sorry indeed I am to hear that your health is not so good, even as formerly. Hereafter , …
- … my memory with you. — Long continued ill-health has much changed me, & I very often think …
- … in 1849. Anne Elizabeth Darwin , whose health had been failing since the summer of 1850 ( …
To W. D. Fox 14 February 1878
Summary
CD and Frank Darwin hard at work on physiology of plants.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 14 Feb 1878 |
Classmark: | University of British Columbia Library, Rare Books and Special Collections (Pearce/Darwin Fox collection RBSC-ARC-1721-1-74) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11358 |
To W. D. Fox 17 December [1860]
Summary
Writes of family photographs and health.
Is at work on an enlarged [3d] edition of Origin.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 17 Dec [1860] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 130a) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3025 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Writes of family photographs and health. Is at work on an enlarged [3d] edition of …
To W. D. Fox 30 November [1864]
Summary
The Copley Medal is considered a great honour, but such things make little difference to CD, except for the several kind letters he received. It shows that natural selection is making some progress.
His health is poor.
Work is crawling on Variation;
occasional botany recreative.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 30 Nov [1864] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 145) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4685 |
To W. D. Fox 7 March [1852]
Summary
Congratulates and "condoles" with WDF on a tenth child.
On education, he has not had courage to break away from "the old stereotyped stupid classical education"; has sent William to Rugby.
The first Ray Society volume [Living Cirripedia] is finished.
Has joined in a society to prosecute violators of the act against use of children in climbing chimneys.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 7 Mar [1852] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 80) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1476 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … there were no professions for sons, no ill-health to fear for them, no Californian gold—no …
- … by children. My dread is hereditary ill-health. Even death is better for them. My dear Fox …
- … at home. He may have consulted Gully about his own health in March 1851 when he took his …
- … Anne to Malvern for treatment, but his Health diary (Down House MS) shows no treatments …
To W. D. Fox 24 August [1866]
Summary
Family news. Describes [final] illness of Susan Darwin [d. 3 Oct 1866]. CD’s health better.
Making rapid progress on Variation.
Has heard of hybrids between moths mentioned by WDF.
Work on [4th] edition of Origin has delayed Variation.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 24 Aug [1866] |
Classmark: | Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology MSS 405 A. Gift of the Burndy Library) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5197 |
To W. D. Fox [30 April 1857]
Summary
His impressions of the hydropathic establishment and E. W. Lane. Is convinced the only thing for "chronic cases" is the water-cure.
Asks if WDF knows of any breed of pig that originated or was modified by a cross with a Chinese or Neapolitan pig, and whether the crossbreed bred true.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | [30 Apr 1857] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 103) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2085 |
To W. D. Fox [25 March 1843]
Summary
Sympathises with WDF’s persisting grief.
Describes Down House and additions being built, which interfere with Geology [of "Beagle"].
Bodily health is improved, but cannot stand mental excitement.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | [25 Mar 1843] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 66) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-665 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … interfere with Geology [ of "Beagle" ]. Bodily health is improved, but cannot stand mental …
To W. D. Fox 17 July [1853]
Summary
Discusses Rugby and education in general. The enormous proportion of time spent on classics checks interest "in anything in which reasoning & observation comes into play".
Expresses shock and sympathy on learning of the deaths in WDF’s house.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 17 July [1853] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 84) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1522 |
To W. D. Fox [31 March 1842]
Summary
Second letter of condolence, following burial of Mrs Fox.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | [31 Mar 1842] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 56) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-625 |
To W. D. Fox 4 [September 1863]
Summary
His bad health has caused him to return to Malvern.
Emma cannot find the gravestone of their child, Anne. Asks WDF whether he can remember its location.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
Date: | 4 [Sept 1863] |
Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 140) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4292 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … His bad health has caused him to return to Malvern. Emma cannot find the gravestone of …
letter | (65) |
Darwin, C. R. | (62) |
Darwin, Emma | (3) |
Wedgwood, Emma | (3) |
Fox, W. D. | (65) |
Darwin, C. R. | (62) |
Darwin, Emma | (3) |
Wedgwood, Emma | (3) |
1828 | (1) |
1830 | (1) |
1831 | (1) |
1833 | (1) |
1835 | (1) |
1836 | (2) |
1838 | (1) |
1840 | (1) |
1841 | (1) |
1842 | (3) |
1843 | (1) |
1844 | (1) |
1845 | (1) |
1849 | (2) |
1850 | (2) |
1851 | (2) |
1852 | (2) |
1853 | (4) |
1855 | (1) |
1856 | (2) |
1857 | (2) |
1858 | (2) |
1859 | (5) |
1860 | (2) |
1862 | (1) |
1863 | (4) |
1864 | (2) |
1865 | (1) |
1866 | (1) |
1867 | (1) |
1868 | (4) |
1870 | (2) |
1872 | (2) |
1873 | (1) |
1874 | (1) |
1877 | (1) |
1878 | (2) |
Darwin's health
Summary
On 28 March 1849, ten years before Origin was published, Darwin wrote to his good friend Joseph Hooker from Great Malvern in Worcestershire, where Dr James Manby Gully ran a fashionable water-cure establishment. Darwin apologised for his delayed reply to…
Matches: 6 hits
- … letter which he put down to his exceptionally poor health: Indeed all this winter, I …
- … up to its name. Darwin experienced chronic episodes of ill health, which increased in severity in …
- … treatment. In April 1864, Darwin attributed his improved health to Dr Jenner’s advice: ‘ drinking …
- … very least, it seems clear that Darwin’s periods of ill health were quite useful. Citing a troubled …
- … letter to Robert FitzRoy, [20 February 1840] . Darwin’s health diary (Down House MS), which he …
- … Darwin had sometimes noted the acidity of his vomit in his health diary (Down House MS; see Colp …
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: 8 hits
- … had plagued him since the spring of 1863. Because of poor health, Darwin corresponded little during …
- … and having scientific papers read to him. In March, his health improved enough for him to make some …
- … he could work (presumably at writing) for two hours. As his health grew worse during the last two …
- … flower-peduncle, petiole, leaf, and aerial roots. When his health deteriorated in 1863, he found …
- … forms of the trimorphic Lythrum , and when his health permitted in 1864 he drew up the results …
- … Sabine, 4 December [1864] ). Struggling with ill-health Darwin received news of …
- … form of letters during 1864; because of his fragile state of health, he saw few people outside the …
- … scientific colleagues, and he continued writing even as his health worsened again in November and …
Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 3 hits
- … 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat …
- … Jenner. In November and December of 1864, however, his health grew worse. In his ‘Journal’, Darwin …
- … for references to the extensive literature on CD’s health, see Colp 1977 and 1998, and Bowlby 1990. …
Darwin's illness
Summary
Was Darwin an invalid? In many photographs he looks wearied by age, wrapped in a great coat to protect him from cold. In a letter to his cousin William Fox, he wrote: "Long and continued ill health has much changed me, & I very often think with…
Climbing plants
Summary
Darwin’s book Climbing plants was published in 1865, but its gestation began much earlier. The start of Darwin’s work on the topic lay in his need, owing to severe bouts of illness in himself and his family, for diversions away from his much harder book on…
Darwin soundbites
Summary
From atheistical cats to old fogies in Cambridge, we've collected some of Darwin's pithier remarks - some funny, some serious - but all quotes from letters you can read in full here. We particularly like this one: Will you be so kind as…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Where's it from? On sickness, health, and bananas …you began your …
Dining at Down House
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…
Matches: 7 hits
- … One of Darwin's defining characteristics was his poor health. The letters provide insight into …
- … to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 Darwin’s ill health began on his Beagle voyage. In …
- … to their marriage, Emma expresses her concern for Darwin’s health, her sympathy for the frustration …
- … spiritualism. Darwin expresses his regrets that his own ill health prevents him from visiting the …
- … his own aches and pains, Lenny reports on their father’s health, noting that Darwin’s frustration …
- … of Darwin's personal life? 2. How did Darwin's health affect his scientific …
- … married. In it Emma expressed her concern for Darwin’s health, her sympathy for the frustration he …
Insectivorous plants
Summary
Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants began by accident. While on holiday in the summer of 1860, staying with his wife’s relatives in Hartfield, Sussex, he went for long walks on the heathland and became curious about the large number of insects caught by…
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 4 hits
- … friends and relatives, Darwin felt sufficiently restored in health to work for two or three hours a …
- … keeping up the battle, he gave up only from fatigue and ill health ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 …
- … that it was a success, and there is no doubt that his health improved, at least temporarily. This is …
- … a methodical mind keen to establish order: he chronicled his health, his daily and household …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 3 hits
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: 7 hits
- … and here, attended by every blessing except that of vigorous health… DARWIN: 4 My …
- … In truth there is nothing which I should enjoy more; but my health is not, and will, I suppose, …
- … able to suppress his anger. He is in his 70s and in poor health. SEDGWICK: 69 …
- … They are enjoying the furore. Darwin is more earnest, his health – mental and physical – is …
- … In which Drwin struggles more than usual with his health, grows a beard, and cancels The Times; and …
- … to cross over to England in two months… Mrs Gray’s health makes me anxious to avoid another winter …
- … if he had had a good laugh. Then, Darwin’s health dictates that he and his American guests …
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: 5 hits
- … dropped markedly, reflecting a decline in his already weak health. Darwin then began punctuating …
- … is the mother of fine children all over the world’. Health worries Despite his …
- … no reason why he should not recover his previous state of health. Brinton’s words must have …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 26 December [1863] ) that Darwin’s health fluctuated and showed little improvement …
- … from his sons. She was pessimistic about his prospects of health over the next few months: ‘When not …
List of correspondents
Summary
Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent. "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Benjamin (1) District Health Office (1) …
Expression
Summary
Darwin's interest in emotional expression can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the different sounds and gestures among the peoples of Tierra del Fuego, and on his return from the voyage he started recording observations…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The exigencies of the public service have already ruined my health, & curtailed my capacities. …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
Matches: 5 hits
- … respect for the elder naturalist, inquired after Darwin’s health, and expressed his desire to meet …
- … Galton, 13 September 1871 ). A return to poor health During the summer months, Darwin …
- … ). On 23 September he informed Murray that owing to poor health he had done nothing for six …
- … described the joyous occasion in great detail, her uncertain health requiring her to attend …
- … Murchison, and the earl of Derby. Given his poor state of health for much of the summer, it is …
Darwin on marriage
Summary
On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … be exclusively geological United States, Mexico Depend upon health & vigour & how far I …
- … music & female chit-chat.— These things good for one’s health.— [16] but terrible loss of …
- … to gain one’s bread.— (But then it is very bad for ones health[19] to work too much) Perhaps …
- … rather than with the advantages. [19] ‘for ones health’ interl.i [20] The heading …
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: 6 hits
- … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now …
- … consulted Jones in July 1865 and attributed his improved health by the end of that year to the diet …
- … with his brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin. Owing to improved health, Darwin was able to make a number …
- … she and Emma continued to play in safeguarding Darwin’s health and securing his privacy. Similarly, …
- … waterlilies prevailed over considerations of health in this case. Ernst Haeckel Nor …
- … died in October. On learning of Catherine’s poor state of health, Hooker, who had lost his father …
The full edition is now online!
Summary
For nearly fifty years successive teams of researchers on both sides of the Atlantic have been working to track down all surviving letters written by or to Charles Darwin, research their content, and publish the complete texts. The thirtieth and final…
Darwin and Fatherhood
Summary
Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten children. It is often assumed that Darwin was an exceptional Victorian father. But how extraordinary was he? The Correspondence Project allows an unusually…
Matches: 4 hits
- … country. Darwin frequently expressed regrets that his ill health (e.g., Darwin to J. D. Hooker, 14 …
- … to hydropathic spas or the seaside to strengthen their health. Although his interest in inheritance …
- … ). In addition to his fears for his children’s health, Darwin’s other principal concern as a …
- … and holidays at the seaside were often necessitated by ill health rather than pleasure. It was …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 8 hits
- … reminiscences, and laments about advancing age and poor health, with family friends from childhood, …
- … operation, combined with Moulinié’s increasingly poor health, led to yet further delay, and the new …
- … to Darwin which he, however, declined on the grounds of ill health. Expression : …
- … usual chemist, William Baxter, were not in this case for his health, but to test their effects when …
- … he repeated to several correspondents. His own health was slightly better than in the …
- … sons spent some time on the continent for the sake of their health ( see letter to W. D. Fox, 16 …
- … over their wills, and he poured out such a litany of ill health to one correspondent that Emma …
- … Darwin gracefully declined on the habitual grounds of ill health ( letter from J. S. Craig, 4 …