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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: 16 hits
- … continued: Darwin’s own works expanded on it, Thomas Henry Huxley gave lectures about it, and Henry …
- … but really I do think you have a good right to be so’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 and] 20 …
- … species. Darwin attempted to dissuade him from this view ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 14 [January 1862 …
- … & 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 …
- … and pronounced them ‘simply perfect’, but continued ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 18 December [1862] ) …
- … resigned to their difference of opinion, but complained ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 28 December [1862 …
- … letters, Darwin, impressed, gave him the commission ( see letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] …
- … protégé, telling Hooker: ‘he is no common man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ). …
- … out of four or five sets of experiments’ ( letter to M. T. Masters, 24 July [1862] ). The …
- … with ‘good dashes of original reflexions’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 13 January [1862] ). He warmly …
- … & admirable papers I ever read in my life’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, 20 November [1862] ). He …
- … telling him of the need for a second edition ( letter from H. G. Bronn, [before 11 March 1862] ), …
- … 3/4 hour, night & day’ that saved the boy ( letter to M. T. Masters, 24 July [1862] ). By …
- … by … particularly active young wolves’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 9 October 1862 ). Darwin …
- … views, though not to natural selection ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 13 January 1862 ). Darwin …
Henrietta Huxley
Summary
A colourful and insightful exchange occurred in 1865 in a light-hearted conversation between Darwin and Henrietta Huxley, the wife of Darwin’s friend and colleague, Thomas Henry Huxley. Like her husband, Henrietta was a close friend and great champion of…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 17 hits
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … researcher Frederick William Henry Myers, and Thomas Henry Huxley, who sent a long report to Darwin …
- … that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874] ). This …
- … allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). Back …
- … sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). The …
- … and disease in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and …
- … additions to Descent was an eight-page note written by Huxley with the aim of ending a dispute …
- … ape and human brains, he asked for a clarifying note from Huxley (Desmond and Moore 2004, pp. xxxv …
- … anatomists; and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). The …
- … conciseness & clearness of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). …
- … the spread of various mental and physical disorders (G. H. Darwin 1873b). In July 1874, an anonymous …
- … over the ‘scurrilous libel’ on his son ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [27 July 1874] ). George, …
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: 19 hits
- … that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
- … persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
- … Charles Lyell, the respected geologist, and Thomas Henry Huxley, the zoologist and anatomist. Lyell …
- … from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
- … 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 …
- … than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
- … earlier in the century. Lyell’s Antiquity of man and Huxley’s Evidence as to man’s place in …
- … from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
- … 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 …
Reading my roommate’s illustrious ancestor: To T. H. Huxley, 10 June 1868
Summary
My roommate at Harvard College was Tom Baum, now a Hollywood screenwriter. Tom’s full name is Thomas Henle Baum, his middle name a reference to a German physician ancestor for whom the ‘Loop of Henle’ in the kidney had been named. Other than this iconic…
Matches: 3 hits
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: 7 hits
- … | Microscopes | Collecting | Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of …
- … contacts. His life-long friendship with Thomas Henry Huxley, for example, began with detailed …
- … of one idea. – cirripedes morning & night.” Letter 1480 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, …
- … He hopes Agassiz was sounder on embryological stages than Huxley thinks. Letter 1592 — …
- … and difficulties of botanical experimentation. Letter 4895 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J …
- … 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 …
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: 23 hits
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
- … be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
- … Expression 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., …
- … expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
- … is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
- … 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 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 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] …
- … with minnows. Letter 2781 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [3 May 1860] …
- … 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 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [2 September 1847] Darwin asks Mrs. Whitby …
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: 19 hits
- … species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
- … human race. In 1861, Lubbock joined Thomas Henry Huxley, Busk, and several other supporters …
- … Galton. In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, evidently in response …
- … in correspondence with Joseph Dalton Hooker, Asa Gray, and Huxley but he never spoke out publicly …
- … about Lyell’s failure to support him. In April 1863, in a letter to the Athenæum , he discussed a …
- … transmutation; he also wrote to Lyell telling him about the letter to the Athenæum . 9 …
- … 1863b, p. 213). In May 1864, Lubbock received a letter from Falconer, who reiterated his …
- … 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 …
- … and went on to say that he intended to make a copy of his letter to show to friends. 18 In …
- … wrote to Darwin to ask what he thought of the affair ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 June 1865] ). …
- … he reiterated his admiration for Lubbock’s book ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [4 June 1865] ). A week …
- … in the dispute. When Hooker pressed him for an opinion ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 July 1865 ), …
- … 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 …
- … Hooker, vol. 14, doc. 183–4). 15. Letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 March 1865, in BL MSS ADD …
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: 18 hits
- … learn that the book was on sale even in railway stations ( letter to Charles Lyell, 14 January …
- … the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
- … some of those whose support he most wanted: Thomas Henry Huxley, William Benjamin Carpenter, and …
- … he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] …
- … his theory would have been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A …
- … from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
- … 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] …
- … natural selection did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
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: 26 hits
- … What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 November [1872] …
- … anything more on 'so difficult a subject, as evolution’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 27 July …
- … best efforts, set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 February 1872 ) …
- … condition as I can make it’, he wrote to the translator ( letter to J. J. Moulinié, 23 September …
- … translation remained unpublished at the end of the year ( letter from C.-F. Reinwald, 23 November …
- … to the comparative anatomist St George Jackson Mivart ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January …
- … comparison of Whale & duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ) …
- … enclosed a copy of an article replying to Thomas Henry Huxley’s scathing review of Genesis of …
- … a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 5 January 1872 ). …
- … Darwin would renounce `fundamental intellectual errors’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 6 January …
- … was silly enough to think he felt friendly towards me’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 8 January [1872 …
- … hoping for reconciliation, if only `in another world’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 10 January …
- … have been ungracious in him not to thank Mivart for his letter. He promised to send a copy of the …
- … partly in mind, `chiefly perhaps because I do it badly’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 3 August [1872] …
- … Darwinism is to be the theme. Surely the world moves!’ ( letter from Mary Treat, 13 December 1872 …
- … to find that Weismann accepted it at least in part ( letter to August Weismann, 5 April 1872 ). ‘I …
- … few naturalists in England seem inclined to believe it’ ( letter to Herman Müller, [before 5 May …
- … the theories of natural and sexual selection to bees (H. Müller 1872), and with his reply Darwin …
- … reached the buzzing place where I myself was standing’ ( letter to Hermann Müller, [before 5 May …
- … for myself it is dreadful doing nothing’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 October [1872] ). He was far …
- … by her husband, Richard Buckley Litchfield ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 13 May 1872 ). Delivery …
- … 'I know that I am half-killed myself’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 25 July 1872 ). A …
- … Charlton Bastian’s recent book on the origin of life (H. C. Bastian 1872; Wallace 1872d) left him …
- … muscles when attending women in labour ( letter from J. T. Rothrock, 25 November 1872 ); others …
- … ). Plants that move and eat `Now, pray don’t run off on some other track till you have …
- … 23 December 1872, CD note ), and he exclaimed to Thomas Huxley that he would like a society formed, …
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: 5 hits
- … 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.' ( 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 …
Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms
Summary
‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…
Matches: 19 hits
- … my grandfather’s character is of much value to me’ ( letter to C. H. Tindal, 5 January 1880 ). …
- … have influenced the whole Kingdom, & even the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 …
- … delighted to find an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and …
- … much powder & shot’ ( Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 , and …
- … modified; but now I much regret that I did not do so’ ( letter to Samuel Butler, 3 January 1880 ). …
- … , sending one or both to his daughter Henrietta ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 1 February [1880] ). …
- … he will have the last word’, she warned ( letter from H. E. Litchfield, [1 February 1880] ). ‘He …
- … 1 February 1880 ). Even the great controversialist Thomas Huxley recommended silence: ‘take no …
- … him Darwinophobia? It is a horrid disease’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 February 1880 ). …
- … I was, also, rarely fit to see anybody’ ( letter to S. H. Haliburton, 13 December 1880 ). …
- … thus one looks to prevent its return’ ( letter from J.-H. Fabre, 18 February 1880 ). Darwin shared …
- … biologist of our time’ ( letter from W. D. Roebuck to G. H. Darwin, 25 October 1880 ). The …
- … to Emma Darwin, 2 September 1880 ). In April, Thomas Huxley had delivered an address at the Royal …
- … about 21 years since the Origin appeared”‘ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 11 [April] 1880 ). While …
- … been developed through natural selection’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 11 May 1880 ). Worthy …
- … claim is not that he is in need, so much as that he can’t find employment’ ( Correspondence vol. …
- … In October, Darwin had discussions with John Lubbock and Huxley and was encouraged about Wallace’s …
- … be a very great relief to me and if such men as Darwin & Huxley think I may accept it I …
- … prevailing superstitions of this country!’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, [after 26 November 1880] ). …
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: 25 hits
- … intended for publication in Variation , to Thomas Henry Huxley for evaluation, and persuaded his …
- … 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] …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
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: 18 hits
- … & 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] ). …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … 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] …
- … would no doubt do if we had proper data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter …
- … to see Thomson’s work challenged by both Thomas Henry Huxley and Wallace. He confided to Huxley, ‘I …
- … been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
- … and fossil discoveries in Patagonia and Wales ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 May 1869 , letter …
- … part at Darwin’s most outspoken British supporter, Thomas Huxley, whose address ‘The physical basis …
- … “punctum saliens” of the whole meeting was decidedly Huxley’s answer to D r M c Cann. He …
- … man’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 7 September 1869 ). Huxley playfully groused that as usual …
- … greater fools of themselves than they did’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 28 September 1869 ). …
- … into which … I do not care to follow him’ ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 9 October 1869 ). Farrer …
- … Freedom and Will and High Design—’ (letter from T. H. Farrer, 13 October 1869). …
- … to set foot on summit of a mountain.—’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 9 July [1869] ). Earlier …
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: 17 hits
- … do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ) …
- … to her liking, ‘to keep in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). …
- … and had forsaken his lunch and dinner in order to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 …
- … they believe to be the truth, whether pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). …
- … and Oldham … They club together to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). …
- … one’s n th . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). …
- … habits, furnished with a tail and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) …
- … ‘will-power’ and the heavy use of their arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 …
- … in order to make it darker than the hair on his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 …
- … Mivart. An expert on primates and a former protegé of Huxley’s, Mivart had written several articles …
- … Agassiz, Abraham Dee Bartlett, Albert Günther, George Busk, T. H. Huxley, Osbert Salvin, and William …
- … , published the following year. Darwin was also pleased that Huxley took up the defence in an …
- … and misquoting of both Darwin and Catholic theology (T. H. Huxley 1871). Huxley judged Mivart to be …
- … ‘accursed Popery and fear for his soul’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley and H. A. Huxley, 20 September …
- … who was ‘as good as twice refined gold’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 September [1871] ). …
- … up to the last with quinine & sherry’ ( letter from H. E. Litchfield to Charles and Emma Darwin …
- … themselves with the reflection that ‘Truth doesn’t die’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 28 September …
St George Jackson Mivart
Summary
In the second half of 1874, Darwin’s peace was disturbed by an anonymous article in the Quarterly Review suggesting that his son George was opposed to the institution of marriage and in favour of ‘unrestrained licentiousness’. Darwin suspected, correctly,…
Matches: 12 hits
- … to liberty of marriage’ in the Contemporary Review (G. H. Darwin 1873b). In this article, George …
- … it for publication in the next issue of the Quarterly ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 29 July 1874 …
- … kind of thing Murray would be likely to wish to circulate ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] …
- … them explicitly, he might be thought to endorse them ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 5 August 1874 ). …
- … of encouraging licentiousness. A postscript to Darwin’s letter, which may belong to another letter, …
- … on board Darwin’s comments and sent a fair copy of his letter with his letter of 6 [August] 1874 …
- … the form of an apology without actually apologising. Huxley intervenes In December, …
- … on George ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1874 ). Huxley met Mivart at an evening meeting, …
- … Dec 20th 1874. Private & Confidential Dear Huxley. I thank you for your …
- … Science, Technology and Medicine Archives) Huxley did not share this letter with …
- … devoid of all the instincts of a gentleman’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 23 December 1874 ). …
- … remaining | Your’s very faithfully | St Geo Mivart T. H. Huxley Esq Sec R.S. &c &c …
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: 5 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 …
- … on hybridity in the new edition of Origin . He encouraged Huxley to read it, noting, ‘ Asa Gray …
- … (p. 82) and clarified the meaning to Fritz Müller in a letter in September 1866, ‘ What I meant in …
- … than in the short-styled form ’, Darwin annotated this letter, wondering, ‘Would it be worth while …
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: 20 hits
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
- … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
- … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
- … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
- … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
- … 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 …
- … 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's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 24 hits
- … roles in creating a private memorial fund for Thomas Henry Huxley, and in efforts to alleviate the …
- … I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
- … work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
- … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
- … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
- … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
- … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
- … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
- … on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
- … “he would fly at the Empr’s throat like a bulldog” ( letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, …
- … force & truth of the great principle of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 …
- … the heavy breathing that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish …
- … with up lines; & sadness & decay with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April …
- … with the advance of civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). …
- … have never felt an inclination to have a second dose” ( letter from Robert Swinhoe, 26 March 1873 …
- … of an orbital one produces snapping of the jaws” ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 16 April 1873 …
- … could be transmitted to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February 1873 ). …
- … a large sum in his own name. Together with Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin drafted an appeal to …
- … it would offend his father ( enclosure to letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 December 1873 ). In …
- … conversation with Emma Darwin, and Darwin began to sound out Huxley’s friends on the matter. The …
- … from J. D. Hooker, [7 April 1873] ). A group of Huxley’s close friends, including Hooker, …
- … happiness to us to the last day of our lives” ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 23 April 1873 ). Huxley …
- … been without energy & without hope” ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 24 April 1873 ). He accepted …
- … to starve sweat & purge it away” ( letter from G. H. Darwin, [1 October 1873] ). He also …
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: 20 hits
- … Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But …
- … 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 …
- … vigour into scientific work, remarking to Fox, ‘I don’t believe in your theory of moderate mental …
- … production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
- … submitted a preliminary sketch of pangenesis to Thomas Henry Huxley in 1865 (see Correspondence vol. …
- … of “Domestic Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
- … 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] ). …
- … 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 , …
