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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: 9 hits
- … engaged with critics publically. Letters exchanged with Adam Sedgwick, professor of geology at …
- … in the more private realm of correspondence. In the case of Sedgwick, Darwin was able to remain on …
- … came to regard him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, …
- … Darwin’s conclusion is diametrically opposed to that which Sedgwick has often advocated, but he …
- … friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to Sedgwick, Adam, 26 Nov [1859] Darwin says …
- … explain so many classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, …
- … of geology, Charles Lyell at length a conversation with Owen concerning Origin . Darwin notes …
- … Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, 13 Dec [1859] Darwin responds to Owen’s remarks …
- … with Harvard botanist Asa Gray. Darwin is annoyed at Owen’s malignity [ Edinburgh Rev. 111 …
List of correspondents
Summary
Below is a list of Darwin's correspondents with the number of letters for each one. Click on a name to see the letters Darwin exchanged with that correspondent. "A child of God" (1) Abberley,…
Matches: 17 hits
- … Bartlett, R. S. (1) Barwell, Richard (1) …
- … Bishop, I. P. (1) Bishop, Richard (1) …
- … Ellicott, C. J. (1) Elliot, Adam (1) …
- … Fiske, John (14) Fitch, Adam (3) …
- … Ford, R. S. (1) Fordman, Richard (1) …
- … (2) Frean, Richard (2) Frere, G. E. …
- … Hart, W. E. (1) Harte, Richard (1) …
- … Hill, Lewin (2) Hill, Richard (b) (5) …
- … College, London (1) Kippist, Richard (21) …
- … Ogle, William (38) Okes, Richard (1) …
- … Owen, G. S. (1) Owen, Richard (40) …
- … Ramu, H. (4) Randolph, Richard (2) …
- … Rich, Anthony (27) Richard, Henry (1) …
- … Seddon, W. Z. (2) Sedgwick, Adam (15) …
- … Rice, Thomas (2) Spruce, Richard (5) …
- … T. M. (2) Strachey, Richard (4) …
- … Whitby, M. A. T. (3) White, Adam (2) …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 5 hits
- … of thinking about the significance of John Gould’s and Richard Owen’s identifications of his bird …
- … had been spread by the publication by J. S. Henslow and Adam Sedgwick of excerpts from his letters, …
- … leading geologists of England—among them Charles Lyell, Sedgwick, and Buckland (see the reports by …
- … . The work comprises five parts: Fossil Mammalia , by Richard Owen; Mammalia , by G. R. …
- … C. Babington; the Chalcididae by Francis Walker; spiders by Adam White; infusoria by C. G. Ehrenberg …
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: 20 hits
- … literature, music, and the arts, the prominent anatomist Richard Owen denounced the account provided …
- … writing, & that L. will find great difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). Falconer and Owen were already engaged in a dispute over …
- … in January, Darwin, who was already ill-disposed towards Owen following his 1860 review of Origin …
- … and others found an additional reason to be annoyed with Owen when it became clear that Owen’s …
- … of the Jurassic fossil. When informed by Falconer of Owen’s ‘slip-shod and hasty account’ of the …
- … letter to Hugh Falconer, 20 [January 1863] ). Aside from Owen’s apparent oversights, Falconer …
- … now famous fossil in his correspondence and publications; Owen’s perceived failings, however, …
- … [1863] ). In March, after hearing from Lyell that Owen in his paper on the aye-aye claimed …
- … disappointment that the paper gave him no scope to attack Owen even though he ‘had partly composed …
- … did find an opportunity to enter his own protest against Owen with the appearance of an anonymous …
- … 1863] , and Appendix VII). The reviewer, soon identified as Owen, accused Carpenter, a physician …
- … Foraminifera probably derived from a few ancestral types. Owen also censured Darwin for subscribing …
- … into which life was first breathed’ ( Origin , p. 484). Owen preferred Jean Baptiste de Lamarck’s …
- … matter.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [29 March 1863] ). Owen’s endorsement of Lamarck rankled all …
- … of a scotched viper When Carpenter’s answer to Owen’s review was judged too weak a …
- … wrote a letter to the Athenæum in opposition to Owen’s review, in which he sought to advance his …
- … [7 May 1863] , and Appendix VII). He also suspected that Owen’s reply had won favour with the …
- … council of the Royal Society voted instead for the geologist Adam Sedgwick; Darwin suspected that …
- … of the first five months of the year, Darwin added: ‘Owen will not be right in telling Longmans that …
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: 4 hits
- … a series of attacks, the most vicious of which came from Richard Owen in the April issue of the …
- … twelve months after its publication make an impressive list. Adam Sedgwick, not surprisingly, …
- … track, the only track that leads to physical truth’ (Sedgwick 1860) that most wounded Darwin. Having …
- … to deflect such criticism. ‘I can perfectly understand Sedgwick or any one saying that nat. …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 24 hits
- … There appears to be good art. on Entozore 12 by Owen in Encyclop. of Anat. & Physiology [R. …
- … researches on the Horse in N. America— [Harlan 1835] Owen has it. & Royal Soc Lord …
- … immortality of Soul. amongst Ancients [Toland 1704] Adam Smith Moral Sentiments [A. Smith …
- … geological History of the Horse [Karkeek 1841]. (not read.) Owen not got these No s . …
- … read it— Erasmus has it Owens Brit. Mammalia [R. Owen 1846a]— Horner has it. (read) …
- … Rich d . 2 d . poor. Henry IV [Shakespeare: King Richard II ; King Henry IV ] …
- … July 5 th Owens Lectures on Invertebrata [R. Owen 1843–6] Aug 1 Bradley’s Husbandry 3. …
- … & G. Good Hope [Backhouse 1844] very poor Oct 1 Owen on Mylodon Robustus [R. Owen 1842]. …
- … ] 12. Sedgwicks Discourse on Study of Univers [Sedgwick 1850] 28 Steenstrup on …
- … [R. H. Dana [1840] (good) Bertrams [Trollope 1859] & Adam Bede [Eliot 1859] (excellent) …
- … British Association for the Advancement of Science (1854). Richard Owen gave the same paper at the …
- … is confused; the citation given is actually that of Richard Owen’s paper on Dinornis rather than …
- … all sorts of trees, shrubs, and flowers . Revised by Richard Bradley. London. *119: 19v.; 119: …
- … [Other eds.] *119: 13, 22; 119: 22b Beste, John Richard. 1855. The Wabash; or, …
- … Home life in Germany . London. 128: 11 Bradley, Richard. 1724. A general treatise of …
- … [Abstract in DAR 205.3: 143–51.] 128: 6 Dana, Richard Henry. [1840]. Two years before …
- … Eliot, George, pseud . (Marian Evans Cross). 1859. Adam Bede . 3 vols. Edinburgh. [Other …
- … of glaciers. Edinburgh. 119: 15b Ford, Richard. 1846. Gatherings from Spain . By the …
- … 119: 8a, 13a Hamilton, James. 1854. A memoir of Richard Williams . Edinburgh. 128: 9 …
- … in DAR 71: 87–8.] *128: 173; 128: 12 Harlan, Richard. 1835. Medical and physical …
- … the recent discoveries. London. 128: 3 Hinds, Richard Brinsley. 1843. The regions of …
- … . London. [Darwin Pamphlet Collection.] 119: 1a Sedgwick, Adam. 1850. A discourse on …
- … and conduct. London. 128: 27 Smith, Adam. 1759. The theory of moral sentiments. …
- … 7 vols. (Vol. 7: Account of the life and writings of Adam Smith … Account of the life and …
Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Henslow, Leonard Horner, Leonard Jenyns, Edward Forbes, and Richard Owen shows. These friends, with …
- … on species mutability with Hooker, Horner, Jenyns, Lyell, Owen, and Charles James Fox Bunbury; he …
- … of creation , published anonymously in 1844. His old friend Adam Sedgwick attacked the work …
- … Edward Forbes, William Lonsdale, Hugh Edwin Strickland, or Owen—the last with the caveat that he …
Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies
Summary
The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…
Matches: 10 hits
- … and of special creation. Supported by such authorities as Richard Owen and Louis Agassiz who …
- … however, was mild in comparison with the controversy between Richard Owen and Thomas Henry Huxley …
- … relationship between the human species and the higher apes. Owen had given anatomical lectures to …
- … brought back from West Africa by Paul Belloni Du Chaillu. Owen, while pointing out the similarities …
- … dissimilar. Huxley pointed out, publicly and acerbicly that Owen was mistaken in his interpretations …
- … For his part, Darwin enjoyed Huxley’s sparring with Owen, though periodically concerned at the …
- … attacks. On reading an article by Huxley that criticised Owen’s views on the brain, Darwin …
- … ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 January [1861] ). Ever since Owen’s highly critical and, Darwin felt, …
- … the year, he did not wish for ‘open quarrel’, but he and Owen would ‘never be friends again’ ( …
- … as 1860, Henslow had defended Darwin against criticism from Adam Sedgwick and Richard Owen. Darwin …
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: 2 hits
- … showing profound contempt of me. I feel convinced it is by Owen’. John Edward Gray, a colleague of …
- … clergymen, statesmen, poets, and men of science, including Adam Sedgwick, John Stevens Henslow, and …
Interview with Pietro Corsi
Summary
Pietro Corsi is Professor of the History of Science at the University of Oxford. His book Evolution Before Darwin is due to be published in 2010 by Oxford University Press. Date of interview: 17 July 2009 Transcription 1: Introduction …
