Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Apache Server at dcp-public.lib.cam.ac.uk Port 443
Search:
in keywords
8 Items
Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots
Summary
Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…
Matches: 24 hits
- … his publishers, he warned that it was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
- … turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June …
- … home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26 …
- … many blessings, was finding old age ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
- … wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
- … itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
- … office to complete Horace’s marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
- … but they were ‘as nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
- … on your life’s work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
- … to wish Darwin a ‘long and serene evening of life’. This letter crossed with one from Darwin, …
- … the statement ‘In the beginning was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). …
- … as the ‘organ of “uncultivated materialism”’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). …
- … up the glory & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 …
- … wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879 …
- … me’, Darwin wrote enthusiastically to Reginald Darwin on 4 April , declaring that reading it was …
- … and he regretted going beyond his ‘tether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and …
- … independent of him as possible’, Francis told Darwin on 4 July, after reporting that he had …
- … with Ubba about your return’, Darwin wrote to Francis on 4 July , ‘He said “it is likely he will …
- … traveller … neither cross nor ennuied’ (Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: 125 …
- … to say that he has opposed it’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [4 August 1879] (DAR 219.1: …
- … ‘to be planted in my honour!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 4 November [1879] ). While in Coniston, …
- … frog be published in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 4 and 6 March [1879] ). When Darwin’s …
- … German men of science quarrelled (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [6 September 1879] (DAR …
- … agreed to their engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin …
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 22 hits
- … of respect and affection’. He hinted as much in his letter of 4 June : ‘you will see I have done …
- … have shared Hooker’s suspicion of ambitious gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August …
- … method of recording leaf motion for extended periods. In a letter to Thiselton-Dyer of 11 October …
- … … tap one of the young leaves with a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). …
- … , or to the vibratory flagella of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). …
- … in July 1877 (F. Darwin 1877b), and Darwin sent Cohn’s letter vindicating his son’s research to …
- … his sense of form and of motion was exact and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October …
- … the Westphalian Provincial Society for Science and Art. In a letter to Darwin written before 16 …
- … the only one full-page in size. Haeckel sent a personal letter of congratulation on 9 February , …
- … (see Appendix V). The album arrived with a long letter from the director and secretary of the …
- … reported, ‘but found him as soft & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ) …
- … write to Owen & offer himself you & me to dejeuner!!!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 June …
- … where I hope it may remain for centuries to come’ ( letter from C. C. Graham, 30 January 1877 ). …
- … you in the interests of truth, of man and of societies’ ( letter from Marcellin de Bonnal, [1877] …
- … to the old story to be horsewhipped by a duke!’ ( letter to J. M. Rodwell, 3 June 1877 ). Back …
- … Siebold’s study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October 1877 ). An …
- … blood and thus keep back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles …
- … to hide the absence of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). More …
- … exhibit is in many cases purely physical’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 10 September 1877 ). Darwin …
- … them drink so that they become quite tipsy’ ( letter to W. M. Moorsom, 11 September [1877] ). …
- … people and licensed by the state’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 13 September [1877] ). The only …
- … family friend, Elinor Dicey, Darwin wrote to Henrietta on 4 October , ‘You ought to have seen …
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
Matches: 22 hits
- … had considered combining the works in a single volume ( letter to J. V. Carus, 7 February 1875 ). …
- … the blade was immediately directed at an angle between 45 o & 90 o to the horizon ’. …
- … , a plant that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from R. I. Lynch, [before 28 July …
- … Horace’s machine in a paper (F. Darwin 1880, pp. 449–55). Diagram of a klinostat. …
- … was reported by Francis, who added that Sachs ‘ doesn’t think very much of Pfeffer, that is he says …
- … the woodblock using photography for scientific accuracy ( letter from J. D. Cooper, 13 December …
- … lost colour, withered, and died within a couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin, 28 February …
- … how their observations could have been so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879 …
- … the botanist Gaetano Durando, to find plants and seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February – 8 …
- … only the regulator & not cause of movement ’. In the same letter, Darwin discussed terminology, …
- … to replace Frank’s ‘Transversal-Heliotropismus’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 10 February [1880] ). …
- … many of the caustic ones were bent—so Sachs doesn’t believe in it a bit; he says the growth is …
- … ‘ I am very sorry that Sachs is so sceptical, for I w d . rather convert him than any other half …
- … experiments and devised a new test, which he described in a letter to his mother, ‘ I did some …
- … sawdust being suspended so that the bottom was inclined at 40° to the horizon, and the tips of the …
- … and it appeared in 1880 (F. Darwin 1880b). In the same letter, Francis revealed the frustration of …
- … on holiday in the Lake District, Darwin received a long letter from De Vries detailing his latest …
- … described as ‘little discs’ and ‘greenish bodies’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 29 October 1879 …
- … that he had not been able to observe earlier ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 20 November 1879 ). …
- … the plant would be killed by frost ( letter from Asa Gray, 4 April 1880 ). Darwin agreed, ‘ It …
- … decided to translate the work into German. Darwin needn’t have worried. Carus was ‘most happy to …
- … pay more for at the usual rate of charging per inch &c they w d . be over £40’; he suggested …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 24 hits
- … ‘my wife … poor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
- … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
- … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
- … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
- … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
- … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
- … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
- … him ‘basely’ and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
- … disgrace’ of blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
- … must have been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February …
- … as stemming a torrent with a reed’, he told Romanes on 4 June , but added, ‘Frank … who sputters …
- … her questions were ‘too silly to deserve an answer’ ( letter from S. B. Herrick, 12 February 1876 …
- … on Dionaea ‘to test the insect eating theory’ ( letter from Peter Henderson, 15 November 1876 …
- … sending Darwin small amendments to his results ( letter from Moritz Schiff, 8 May 1876 ). …
- … to get positive results in this year’s experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March …
- … in the Encyclopaedia Britannica the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September …
- … and to promote work he admired. He was so interested in a letter from Fritz Müller in Brazil …
- … with the ants that inhabited the trunk that he sent the letter to Nature for publication. ‘It …
- … communicated this information in an article in Nature ( letter from Johann von Fischer, [before …
- … say is do not commit suicide’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [4 June 1876] ). By midsummer, Darwin …
- … of illness & misery there is in the world’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 26 May [1876] ). A …
- … we have & you are one of the best of all’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 11 September [1876] ). …
- … been the subject of mere observation’ ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 31 December 1876 ). The Swiss …
- … size of pollen grains & state of stigma’, he told Gray on 4 December. Darwin also adopted …
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 24 hits
- … Hooker, ‘or as far as I know any scientific man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December [1878] ). …
- … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
- … when he finds out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] …
- … next considered sound. He explained to John Tyndall on 4 December: ‘The day before yesterday & …
- … Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). …
- … accursed German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June …
- … have nobody to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] …
- … but it is horrid not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). …
- … determine whether they had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 …
- … ‘There is one machine we must have’, Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July …
- … ‘He seems to me to jump to conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] …
- … the pot-plant every day & never the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July …
- … ‘I have borrowed Cieselski & read him,’ he reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878 …
- … he was unwell. ‘I was rather seedy last night & didn’t appear at the laboratory & this …
- … books & red-wine which is here the cure for all evils’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [24 and 25 …
- … is very sweet & pretty,’ he added a week later ( letter to Francis Darwin, 14 July [1878] ). …
- … in a booboo, whereas I ought to have said a gee-gee’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 17 July [1878] ). …
- … close down on the object, but he will always do so’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 August [1878] ). …
- … ill favour because however civilly I may word it a man can’t like to have his work torn to shreds …
- … bitter opponent’ ( Correspondence vol. 24, letter to T. C. Eyton, 22 April 1876 ). ‘When I …
- … of himself at Belfast,’ Darwin wrote to Hooker on 3 or 4 March . ‘I have often called him “that …
- … successive seminal generations’ ( enclosure to letter to T. H. Farrer, 7 March 1878 ). In the end, …
- … Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil ( letter to R. A. T. Gascoyne-Cecil, 18 May 1878 ). The issue …
- … him of the soundness of London property ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 13 December [1878] ). ‘This is …
Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers
Summary
In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…
Matches: 23 hits
- … in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
- … memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
- … Butler, as he told his daughter Henrietta Litchfield on 4 January , ‘would like its publication …
- … as for its success’, Darwin told Arabella Buckley on 4 January . Buckley had suggested …
- … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
- … publish, although he was sending his printers ‘in 3 or 4 weeks the M.S. of a quite small book of …
- … the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
- … whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
- … about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
- … for more suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March …
- … supposed he would feel ‘less sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The …
- … dead a work falls at this late period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). …
- … conversation with you’, a Swedish teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), …
- … add, however little, to the general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). …
- … regular ‘bread-winners’ ( Correspondence vol. 30, letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … any future publication & to acknowledge any criticism’ ( letter to C. G. Semper, 19 July 1881 …
- … view of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). …
- … the kindly protection of the high priests of science’ ( letter from Francisco de Arruda Furtado, 29 …
- … ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In these ways, Darwin kept up …
- … [1881] ). Feeling ‘awfully guilty’ for doing so, on 4 August Hooker sent Darwin a list of queries …
- … ‘I was a fool to go,’ he told William Darwin on 4 August , ‘but I could hardly have declined.’ He …
- … new investigations’. Thanking Wiesner for the book on 4 October , Darwin warned him, ‘I read …
- … the terms of the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act ( letter to T. L. Brunton, 19 November 1881 ). Darwin …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 18 hits
- … On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & that will do me some good, if I …
- … to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
- … He expressed his views to his daughter Henrietta on 4 January : ‘I wd gladly punish severely …
- … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
- … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
- … eyes of one variety into another ( Variation 2d ed. 1: 420–4, 2: 360). Darwin had encouraged …
- … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
- … am very glad indeed of your work,’ Darwin replied on 4 November , ‘though I cannot yet follow all …
- … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
- … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
- … signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
- … both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
- … occasions and finally arranged a visit to Down House on 4 May, but was not content with just one …
- … her presentation copy of Insectivorous plants ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 15 July [1875] ). Such …
- … of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). …
- … and had agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 …
- … lay of hair in eyelashes and on arms, a typically lengthy letter full of personal observations, …
- … examination it was pronounced to be of a ‘high type’ ( letter from Woodward Emery, 17 September …
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
