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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: 25 hits
- … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the …
- … the whole of the confounded book out of my head’. But a large proportion of Darwin’s time for the …
- … , ‘for as my son Frank says, “you treat man in such a bare-faced manner.”‘ The most lively debate …
- … of illustrating his book. The year also brought a significant milestone for the family, as …
- … as feelings of hope for her future happiness combined with a sense of loss. Descent of man …
- … [of] the facts, during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working …
- … in the late 1830s. In recent years, Darwin had collected a wealth of material on sexual selection …
- … published on 24 February, and all 2500 copies were sold in a week. ‘Murray says he is “torn to …
- … three more printings, 2000 in March, 2000 in April, and a further 1000 in December. The level of …
- … and the speed at which they appeared. Arrangements for a US edition had been in place since December …
- … promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ). The profits for Darwin were …
- … first two printings, Darwin wrote to Murray on 20 March 1871 , ‘It is quite a grand trade to be a …
- … 19, Appendix IV). Four of Darwin’s five sons received a copy, and his daughter Henrietta, who had …
- … in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). Reaction …
- … to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 February 1871 ). The African explorer and …
- … pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). The geologist William Boyd Dawkins …
- … to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). Thomas Henry Huxley marvelled that …
- … tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). Asa Gray remarked, somewhat …
- … and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) Like his previous book, …
- … arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 ). Samples of hair arrived from …
- … his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 April 1871] )). Hinrich Nitsche, ‘the lucky …
- … orang-utan foetus ( letter from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871 ). Darwin thought he might use the …
- … poor return’ ( letter to Hinrich Nitsche, 25 April [1871] ). Animal anecdotes appeared in …
- … space each morning ( letter from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871 ; letter from B. J. Sulivan, 11 …
- … ( letter to Asa Gray, 16 July [1871] , letter to S. R. S. Norton, 23 November [1871] ). …
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Matches: 13 hits
- … Dyaks Brooke, C.A.J. 30 April 1871 …
- … Chaumont, F.S.B.F. de 11 March 1871 Woolston, …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 3 April 1871 West Riding …
- … Donders, F.C. 28 March 1871 Utrecht, Netherlands …
- … Foster, Michael 4 June [1871] Trinity College, …
- … Gray, Asa 14 April 1871 Cambridge, Massachusetts, …
- … Gray, Asa 10 & 14 March [1871] Cambridge, …
- … Mivart, G.J. 26 Jan 1871 North Bank, London, England …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 1 Feb 1871 11 St Mary Abbot's …
- … Rejlander, O.G. [1871] Victoria Street, London, …
- … Smith, Andrew 1 Feb. 1871 11 Saint Mary Abbot's …
- … Smith, Andrew 17 April 1871 16 Alexander Square, …
- … Swinhoe, Robert 14 March 1871 33 Oakley Square, …
Controversy
Summary
The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…
Matches: 19 hits
- … Disagreement & Respect | Conduct of Debate | Darwin & Wallace The best-known …
- … sharp theoretical differences with him; on the other hand, a number of his public critics assisted …
- … quickly deteriorated and Darwin came to regard him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick …
- … but he assures Sedgwick he does not send his book out of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. …
- … “grand principle natural selection ” is “but a secondary consequence of supposed, or known, …
- … true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to Sedgwick, Adam, 26 Nov [1859] …
- … of his book. He is grieved “to have shocked a man whom I sincerely honour”. He mentions that he has …
- … Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. R., 12 Nov 1859 Owen says to Darwin he will welcome …
- … as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, [10 Dec 1859] …
- … Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, 13 Dec [1859] Darwin responds to Owen’s remarks …
- … eminent in science. Letter 2767 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 25 Apr [1860] Darwin …
- … aggressive tactics. Letter 5500 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. A., 12 Apr [1867] …
- … Letter 5533 — Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, C. R., 12 May 1867 Haeckel thanks Darwin for the …
- … attack is essential. Letter 5544 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. A., 21 May [1867] …
- … theory in England. Darwin and Wallace Much has been written …
- … years, was very upset at the prospect of losing priority to Wallace, while at the same time wanting …
- … much about the social structure of Victorian science. Wallace would become one of Darwin's most …
- … to Lyell and encloses a manuscript by naturalist A. R. Wallace. Darwin has been forestalled. “ . . . …
- … 1858] Darwin writes to Lyell saying that everything in Wallace’s sketch also appears in his …
Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions
Summary
Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...
Matches: 1 hits
- … myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, …
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: 20 hits
- … Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of On the origin of …
- … his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a bit for I must prepare a new edit. of …
- … views on all points will have to be modified.— Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( …
- … Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a response to a critique of natural selection …
- … of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory as a major challenge requiring a thorough and …
- … morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now missing) …
- … myself atrociously’, Darwin wrote to Alfred Russel Wallace on 2 February , ‘I meant to say …
- … now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , and …
- … Thomson’s work challenged by both Thomas Henry Huxley and Wallace. He confided to Huxley, ‘I find …
- … of information which I have sent prove of any service to M r . Darwin I can supply him with much …
- … . Natural selection and humans: differences with Wallace But even as Darwin’s research …
- … from you, & I am very sorry for it On 24 March, Wallace wrote to Darwin about a …
- … which is to me absolutely unassailable’. In the article, Wallace claimed that certain human …
- … civilization. Such features had only emerged, according to Wallace, through the agency of ‘a Power …
- … laws in definite directions and for special ends’ ([Wallace] 1869b, pp. 393–4). Darwin was …
- … & 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 ). …
- … Sweetland Dallas’s edition of Fritz Müller’s Für Darwin (Dallas trans. 1869). The book, an …
- … creation, if he is not completely staggered after reading y r essay’. The work received a …
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: 19 hits
- … the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye to the crafting of his legacy. …
- … animals in November, the year marked the culmination of a programme of publication that can be …
- … of man and selection in relation to sex , published in 1871, these books brought a strong if …
- … earthworms in shaping the environment. The former led to a series of books and papers, and the …
- … years before. In his private life also, Darwin was in a nostalgic frame of mind, picking up …
- … June the previous year. He intended the edition to be a popular one that would bring his most …
- … should be affordable: ‘do you not think 6s is too dear for a cheap Edit? Would not 5s be better? . . …
- … set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 February 1872 ). …
- … translations of both Descent and Origin was a particular frustration: `I naturally desire …
- … letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). A worsening breach The criticisms …
- … in the sixth edition were those made by Mivart himself. In a new chapter on ‘miscellaneous …
- … or the mouth parts of the baleen whale. Alfred Russel Wallace was one of several correspondents to …
- … of Whale & duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ). …
- … Mivart was among those who wrote in January to wish Darwin a happy new year, before the month was …
- … `chiefly perhaps because I do it badly’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 3 August [1872] ). …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 12 July [1872] ). Darwin and Wallace: diverging views Indignation on …
- … & new views which are daily turning up’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 August [1872] ). …
- … you agreed to let them have it for love!!!’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 1 August 1872 ). It …
- … & have not taken care of ourselves’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 20 November 1872 ). A …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 9 hits
- … and accountant John Jenner Weir, ‘If any man wants to gain a good opinion of his fellow man, he …
- … or in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in …
- … on the subject to the zoologist Albert Günther: ‘a drunkard might as well say, he would drink a …
- … early as 1865, the two-volume work appeared in January 1868. A final delay caused by the indexing …
- … manuscript to the publisher in February 1867, and had spent a good deal of that year reading and …
- … . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] ). The review was …
- … entomologist Benjamin Dann Walsh on 25 March 1868 . Wallace maintained that males got whatever …
- … of natural selection. Darwin resumed the debate with Wallace that he had begun the previous year, …
- … this evening I have swung back to old position’. Wallace persisted, producing a fifteen-point …
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: 21 hits
- … to correct proofs, and just when completion seemed imminent, a further couple of months were needed …
- … oversized two-volume Variation and instead write a short (as he then expected) ‘Essay on Man’. …
- … selection in forming human races, and there was also to be a chapter on the meaning and cause of the …
- … selection in relation to sex ( Descent ), published in 1871, and the chapter on expression into …
- … for decades, it was only now that he began to work with a view to publishing his observations. …
- … his work on expression in 1867, as he continued to circulate a list of questions on human expression …
- … Darwin corrected them. Closer to home, two important works, a book by the duke of Argyll, and an …
- … defence of the theory in the capable hands of Alfred Russel Wallace. At the same time, Darwin was …
- … self-sterility, pollination, and seed dispersal with a growing network of correspondents who worked …
- … atmosphere that he so much needed in what was becoming a highly combative and emotional arena. …
- … chapter and remained doubtful whether or not to include a chapter ‘on Man’. After a few days, he …
- … Darwin also introduced the subject to Alfred Russel Wallace, who suggested in his response of 11 …
- … “supplemental remarks on expression”’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [12–17] March [1867] ). Darwin’s …
- … debated the topic on a theoretical level was Alfred Russel Wallace. In a letter to Wallace written …
- … aviary to see whether this was the case ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1867] ). He also …
- … butterflies resulted from sexual selection was implicit. Wallace’s response contained much more than …
- … being challenged at a fundamental level. In his response to Wallace ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 26 …
- … the course of several months. In the 1867 correspondence, Wallace steered clear of the issue of …
- … of colour in both insects and birds. Darwin conceded that Wallace had made a convincing argument …
- … than I c d have succeeded in doing’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 29 April [1867] ). Thus Darwin …
- … Wallace published a long article, ‘Creation by law’ (A. R. Wallace 1867c), which responded to Jenkin …
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: 23 hits
- … kingdom , published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide …
- … to the American botanist Asa Gray, ‘I have just begun a large course of experiments on the …
- … ( To Édouard Bornet, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin began a series of experiments, reporting back to …
- … ( To Edouard Bornet, 20 August [1867] ). It was only after a new season of experiments that Darwin …
- … unnoticed, had it existed in all individuals of such a common garden plant. Perhaps in the case of …
- … of these seeds to Müller, hoping that he would ‘raise a plant, cover it with a net, & observe …
- … generations. In June 1869, Müller remarked, on receiving a new batch of seeds from Darwin, ‘that it …
- … plants’ ( To Fritz Müller, 12 May 1870 ). From a fairly early stage in his experimental …
- … & about which I dont know whether you w d care, is that a great excess of, or very little …
- … weight, or period of germination in the seeds of Ipomœa. I remember saying the contrary to you & …
- … indisputably germinate quicker than seeds produced by a cross between two distinct plants’ ( To …
- … in sweet peas simply did not exist in Britain. During a visit to Darwin in May 1866, Robert …
- … Darwin informed George Bentham, ‘I am experimenting on a very large scale on the difference in power …
- … to me’ ( To George Bentham, 22 April 1868 ). A month later, he had another set of remarkable …
- … elongating vegetative cells enclosing the sperm, provide a conduit through the style to the ovary of …
- … of self-fertilisation’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 23 July [1871] ). Darwin also informed Müller of this …
- … in his hothouse ( To Fritz Müller, 2 August [1871] ). By late 1871, Darwin was already …
- … generations’ ( To Federico Delpino, 22 November 1871 ). Delpino replied that he looked forward to …
- … and horticulture ( From Federico Delpino, 5 December 1871 ). When Darwin began writing in February …
- … Julius Carus, who wrote in early May, Darwin stated, ‘M r Murray announced my next book without …
- … the set of all my works, I would suggest 1,500’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 16 September 1876 ). In the …
- … 16 December 1876 ). One critical review came from Alfred Wallace, who complained, ‘I am afraid this …
- … of hybrids, has not yet been produced’ ( From A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…
Matches: 8 hits
- … although he tended to avoid the subject as much as possible. A number of correspondents tried to …
- … nor is it clear that by challenging design, he provided a position completely incompatible with all …
- … point of departure reviews of Origin . The second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. …
- … for the attention now given to the subject. He poses Gray a question on design in nature, as he is …
- … He also discusses his views on design. He shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. …
- … idea of Pangenesis”. He talks about Gray giving him a good slap at his concluding paragraph, where …
- … of the fittest” instead of “Natural Selection”. Wallace urges Darwin to stress frequency of …
- … Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E., 16 Nov [1871] Darwin explains why he must …
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
- … was far more extensive than Darwin had anticipated. As a result, Descent , like Variation , …
- … the material on emotion; it would eventually appear as a separate book in 1872 ( Expression of the …
- … of natural selection to humans from Alfred Russel Wallace and St George Jackson Mivart, and heated …
- … Lyell, ‘thank all the powers above & below, I shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding …
- … eighteen years of age. Darwin clearly expected her to make a considerable contribution, instructing …
- … He worried that parts of the book were ‘too like a Sermon: who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn …
- … disagreed: ‘Certainly to have you turned Parson will be a change I expect I shall want it enlarging …
- … looking exclusively into his own mind’, and himself, ‘a degraded wretch looking from the outside …
- … side of human descent. On 7 March 1870, Darwin made a note on the shape of human ears: ‘W. has seen …
- … made drawings of ears of monkeys & shortly afterwards he saw a man with tip & instantly …
- … statue of Puck, the mischievous fairy in Shakespeare’s A midsummer night’s dream. Darwin …
- … sketch in Descent , and discussed the ‘tip’ as a rudimentary organ, describing its frequency and …
- … 1: 22-3). Humans as animals: facial muscles A more troubling anatomical feature for …
- … debate over human evolution grew more heated. Alfred Russel Wallace had expressed reservations about …
- … year (see Correspondence vol. 17, letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). His views were …
- … (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …
- … they had in the past to sustain goodwill and mutual respect. Wallace’s new book, titled …
- … When he received the book, Darwin was full of praise for Wallace’s ‘modesty and candour’. ‘I hope it …
- … each other, though in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). Darwin …
- … essays (later revised as Genesis of species (Mivart 1871)), Mivart tried to carve out a position …
- … Bruce, about the possibility of inserting a question in the 1871 census about cousin marriage. …
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: 22 hits
- … 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day archivist, this actor uses the …
- … the environment in which the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and …
- … indicate an edit in the original text not, necessarily, a pause in the delivery of the line. A …
- … Jane the final days of Professor Asa Gray, Harvard Botanist. A series of strokes affect adversely …
- … dinner, though there had seemed some threatening of a cold, but he pronounced himself… GRAY …
- … quick breathing and some listlessness, so that he was nursed a little on Friday… That evening …
- … him on the success of the treatment. There seemed a weakness of the right hand, which, however, …
- … that they may be held theistically… Indeed, I expect that a coming generation will give me the …
- … bright and well, but on going down to breakfast there came a slight shock in the right arm, …
- … the address so that it could be read. Gray takes up a copy of his paper on Darwin. …
- … perambulations along the ‘Sand Walk’ at Down. He is a man of enormous enthusiasm and good humour, …
- … his Christian belief and Darwin discovers that Alfred Wallace has developed his own strikingly …
- … of the package (an essay from New Guinea from Alfred Russel Wallace) throws Darwin into a fluster. …
- … of last year… / Why I ask this is as follows: Mr Wallace who is now exploring New Guinea, has …
- … will be smashed. … 49 [Yet] there is nothing in Wallace’s sketch which is not written out …
- … that I can do so honourably, 50 knowing that Wallace is in the field…. / It seems hard on …
- … Dr Gray… I shall be glad of your opinion of Darwin and Wallace’s paper. GRAY: 58 …
- … on all hands. DARWIN: 65 My dear [Mr Wallace], I have told [my publisher] Murray …
- … paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r] 178 doctrine that each variation has been …
- … TO JD HOOKER 12 OCTOBER 1849 6 C DARWIN TO R FITZROY, 1 OCTOBER 1846 7 …
- … TO A GRAY, 27 NOVEMBER 1859 65 C DARWIN TO A WALLACE, 13 NOVEMBER 1859 66 …
- … HOOKER, 3 JULY 1873 198 TO A GRAY 5 FEBRUARY [1871] 199 A GRAY TO C …
Have you read the one about....
Summary
... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.
Matches: 1 hits
- … cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but …
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: 25 hits
- … Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively …
- … Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin …
- … home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L to Darwin, [8 & 9 May …
- … to Darwin’s queries about Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 …
- … January 1868] Darwin asks Thomas Huxley to pass on a questionnaire to his wife, Henrietta. …
- … Darwin’s niece, Margaret, passes on observations of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, …
- … of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] …
- … [23 April 1874] Thereza Story-Maskelyne responds to a letter of Darwin’s which was …
- … Calcutta. Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 July 1862] Darwin tells …
- … on orchids and passes on their observations contained in “a little treatise”. Letter 4436 …
- … March 1864] Darwin thanks Hooker for posting to him a number of plants to aid his work on …
- … queries about Expression . Haast also encloses a photograph of the giant Diornis …
- … to Emma Darwin’s sister, Sarah, with observations of a Sphinx moth. The moth examined the …
- … Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
- … 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 7433 - Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [9 January 1871] Darwin’s brother-in-law, …
- … Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
- … Letter 8113 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [20 December 1871] Mary Treat describes her …
- … describes experiments he is undertaking in his home to test Wallace’s theory that birds reject …
- … who conducted numerous experiments for Darwin and Wallace from the comfort of his “ pretty garden …
- … Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March 1871] Darwin reports to …
- … Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
- … 8089 - Darwin to Litc hfield, H. E., [2 December 1871] Darwin sends a chapter on …
- … in the editorial process. Letter 9156 - Wallace, A. R . to Darwin, [19 November …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 16 hits
- … chlorophyll by examining thin slices of plant tissue under a microscope. When not experimenting, he …
- … more weak than usual. To Lawson Tait, he remarked, ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly …
- … early April, he was being carried upstairs with the aid of a special chair. The end came on 19 April …
- … 1881. But some of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater …
- … the nature of their contents, if immersed for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. …
- … up the results on Brazilian cane, with Darwin providing a detailed outline: ‘I had no intention to …
- … ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). He received a specimen of Nitella opaca , a species …
- … It proved to be very popular, with reviews appearing in a wide range of journals and newspapers (see …
- … indeed more than complimentary.’ ‘If the Reviewer is a young man & a worker in any branch of …
- … believe in natural selection having done much,—but this is a relatively unimportant point. Your …
- … taken up by individual readers. James Frederick Simpson, a musical composer, had provided Darwin …
- … power. This was confirmed by one of his correspondents. A clerk, George Frederick Crawte, recounted …
- … steps’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 28 August [1871] ; see also Correspondence vol. 19, …
- … names to appear’ ( letter to Louisa Stevenson, 8 April 1871 ). It was Darwin’s name that was …
- … who had undertaken observations years earlier. In 1871, he had asked Henry Johnson to observe the …
- … vol. 19, letter to Henry Johnson, 23 December 1871 , and Earthworms , pp. 221–8). Darwin …
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: 26 hits
- … On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 …
- … of dimorphic plants with William’s help; he also ordered a selection of new climbing plants for his …
- … physician-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria. Jenner prescribed a variety of antacids and purgatives, and …
- … of the five physicians Darwin had consulted in 1863. In a letter of 26[–7] March [1864] , Darwin …
- … continued throughout the summer. When he finished a preliminary draft of his paper on climbing …
- … 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 …
- … arose over the grounds on which it was conferred, brought a dramatic conclusion to the year. Darwin …
- … his observations indoors ( Correspondence vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin …
- … However, the queries that Darwin, describing himself as ‘a broken-down brother-naturalist’, sent to …
- … for another specimen: ‘I want it fearfully for it is a leaf climber & therefore sacred’ ( …
- … transitional forms. Darwin came to think, for example, that a leaf, while still serving the …
- … eventually aborting to form true tendrils. After observing a variety of climbing plants, he argued …
- … we may conclude that L. nissolia is the result of a long series of changes . . .’ When he told …
- … of the paper, he noted: ‘I have been pleased to find what a capital guide for observation, a full …
- … dimorphic Primula and Linum species, that when a short-styled plant with long stamens was …
- … 5 September 1864 ). Fritz Müeller sent his book, Für Darwin , and Darwin had it translated by a …
- … the slavery practised in North America. Alfred Russel Wallace Unlike in the preceding …
- … with very little commentary. However, when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him a copy of his recently …
- … Some other readers were also aware of the significance of Wallace’s paper as the first published …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 22 [May 1864] ). He added that he wished Wallace had written Lyell’s section on …
- … the question of human origins ( Correspondence vol. 11). Wallace, however, traced a possible path …
- … by natural selection in humans, was new to Darwin. Wallace’s paper dealt not only with human …
- … that Darwin, who later endorsed monogenism, supported Wallace’s attempt to mediate in the …
- … on intellectual & moral qualities’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
- … of man , and selection in relation to sex ( Descent ) in 1871. Along with other publications 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: 18 hits
- … in this botanical research, eventually renouncing plans for a medical career to become his father’s …
- … and he was clearly delighted by Francis’s decision. A large portion of the letters Darwin …
- … occasional criticisms, some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed …
- … in science were manifest in his leading roles in creating a private memorial fund for Thomas Henry …
- … the main focus of Darwin’s study of insectivorous plants, a group that also included the Venus fly …
- … and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous Drosophyllum …
- … tentacles to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this …
- … seemed analogous to muscular contraction in animals: “a nerve is touched … a sensation is felt” ( …
- … research on insectivorous plants involved collaboration with a wide range of experts, including the …
- … assistance of William Turner Thiselton-Dyer, was engaged in a taxonomic study of the pitcher plant, …
- … on plant movement and digestion led him to seek help from a different quarter, experimental …
- … Emanuel Klein at the Brown Animal Sanatory Institution, a centre of medical research in London. On …
- … Handbook ‘s other contributors, Thomas Lauder Brunton, a specialist in pharmacology, and John Scott …
- … had known effects on animals. To test whether the plants had a nerve-like structure, Darwin …
- … issue with a definition recently advanced by Alfred Russel Wallace, that instinct was the …
- … February 1873] ). Huggins’s letter prompted replies from Wallace and others, who suggested that the …
- … vicar, George Sketchley Ffinden, who had been appointed in 1871. Darwin had usually been on good …
- … unorthodoxy, troubling and potentially undermining (J. R. Moore 1985, pp. 471–2). A courted …
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: 22 hits
- … homeland by Robert FitzRoy several years earlier as part of a missionary enterprise. Darwin was …
- … In his private notebooks, he modeled evolution after a tree of life or coral that was " …
- … toward increased complexity and variety, he suggested, was a bi-product of the abundance of life; …
- … design, while others such as Charles Lyell and Alfred Russel Wallace placed limits on natural …
- … the dispute between monogenists and polygenists will "die a silent and unobserved death" …
- … moral powers. The "grade of civilization", he wrote, "seems a most important element …
- … Henslow, J. S., 11 April 1833 "The Fuegians are in a more miserable state of barbarism …
- … shown at elections, has been rising against Slavery.— What a proud thing for England, if she is the …
- … be altered; the only alteration I am aware of is forming a much higher estimate of the Negros …
- … have remained unaltered for say 5000 years—is not this a very strong argument for the Polygenist? …
- … questionnaire on expression in the Cape Colony, and received a set of replies from the South African …
- … kind in taking such great trouble about expression, which is a subject that interests me to an …
- … ... is almost purely an appeal to the emotions, & the longer a Kafir has been on a Mission …
- … of Species , Darwin discussed his views on progress in a letter to Charles Lyell, insisting that …
- … , 6 th ed, p. 98). Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C., 11 October [1859] …
- … Silurian age to present day. I grant there will generally be a tendency to advance in complexity of …
- … very simple conditions it would be slight & slow. How could a complex organisation profit a …
- … be entirely explained by Natural Selection I rather hail Wallace’s suggestion that there may be a …
- … clergymen Charles Kingsley, the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, and the philosopher William Graham …
- … have risen in rank." Letter 4510 : Darwin to Wallace, A. R., 28 [May 1864] …
- … [ available at archive.org ] and Primitive Culture (1871) [ available at archive.org ] …
- … (1864) [ available at archive.org ] Alfred Russel Wallace, "The origin of human races …
John Murray
Summary
Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…
Matches: 20 hits
- … travel and science. He was the grandson of John Macmurray, a Scot who had arrived in London, altered …
- … Darwin Archive at Cambridge University Library a similar number of letters from John Murray …
- … had been unsatisfactory. When they came to discuss a second edition, probably at the end of 1845, …
- … whose Principles of geology (1830-3) had proved to be a scientific best-seller for the second …
- … parts (July to September 1845) before being reissued in a single volume. Returning to Murray the …
- … three years later was not so successful. Darwin contributed a section on using a microscope and a …
- … mistake: if this had happened, he wanted to ‘write to M r Clowes & make the poor workman …
- … by specialist societies and would not have interested a commercial publisher. In 1854 Darwin had …
- … his ‘big species book’; on 18 June 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace with the …
- … Lyell and Joseph Hooker hastily arranged for a joint paper by Darwin and Wallace to be read at the …
- … ). Darwin was not convinced that Origin would be a success: shortly before publication he wrote …
- … (15 October [1859] Letter 2506 ). Murray decided on a retail price of 14 s ., selling to the …
- … sale – Mudie’s lending library took 500 copies – and a second edition was immediately called for ( …
- … profits of nearly £3000. The third John Murray made a successful business decision when he …
- … to publish Charles Lyell’s books he was not himself a convert to new scientific ideas such as …
- … in Geology (1877), an argument against Lyell’s view of a world that is slowly and continuously …
- … half profits for this title ( Letter 3261 ); it was never a best-seller, but it received some …
- … to print 1500 copies: the first issue sold out within a few days ( Letter 5844 ). Darwin’s …
- … ‘I hope to Heaven book will sell well’ (12 January [1871] Letter 7438 ). A second printing was …
- … planning a third ( Letter 7604 ). In the summer of 1871, Darwin decided to publish on …
