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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: 21 hits

  • … and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved …
  • … A large portion of the letters Darwin received in 1873 were in response to  The expression of 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 ) …
  • … copy of the  Handbook for the physiological laboratory  (1873), a detailed guide to animal …
  • … Darwin’s other main focus of botanical investigation in 1873 was cross- and self-fertilisation, work …
  • … 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 …
  • … 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873] , “Did I ever boast to you on the …
  • … anonymously in the  Edinburgh Review  in April ([Baynes] 1873). Darwin asked one of his Scottish …
  • … 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

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: 16 hits

  • … 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
  • … 5 December 1871 ). When Darwin began writing in February 1873, he asked Hooker for names of …
  • … system to follow ( To J. D. Hooker, 17 February 1873 ). Despite also working on experiments with …
  • … with this & get it published’ ( To Asa Gray, 11 March [1873] ). In April 1873, the …
  • … Translators, Reviewers, &c.’ ( To John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). In reply to his German …
  • … when it will be published’ ( To J. V. Carus, 8 May [1873] ). Hermann Müller also wrote from …
  • … my further working’ ( From Hermann Müller, 10 June 1873 ). Darwin, in turn, had found Müller’s …
  • … them by different routes’ ( To Hermann Müller, 30 May 1873 ). Although Darwin had completed a …
  • … must turn to the vegetable kingdom’ In June 1873, Delpino informed Darwin that …
  • … to avoid crossing ( From Federico Delpino, 18 June 1873 ). Darwin was intrigued. ‘I am very glad …
  • … Bees’, he told Delpino ( To Federico Delpino, 25 June [1873] ). Darwin’s suspicion that sweet peas …
  • … his crossing experiments through the early summer, by August 1873, Darwin decided to shift focus …
  • … effects of Interbreeding’ ( To J. V. Carus, 2 August [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a …
  • … conditions of life’ ( To  Nature , 20 September [1873] ). Just as the free-swimming barnacle …
  • … of their parents’ ( To Fritz Müller, 25 September 1873 ). But by March 1874, some doubts seemed to …
  • … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …

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: 27 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. …
  • … of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, …
  • … briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
  • … expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
  • … birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to …
  • … of an angry pig and her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, …
  • … that she make observations of her pet cats. Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 …
  • … without the birds attacking the buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to …
  • … and her father of plants and insects. Men: Letter 2221 - Blyth, E. to Darwin …
  • … specimens and bird observations from Calcutta. Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 …
  • … “enthusiasm and indomitable patience”. Letter 4242 - Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin …
  • … contained in “a little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 …
  • … he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom. Letter 5602 - Sutton, S. to …
  • … expression of emotion in chimpanzees and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von …
  • Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873] Mary Treat provides a detailed …
  • … 9156  - Wallace, A. R . to Darwin, [19 November 1873] Wallace reassures Darwin that …
  • … 9157  - Darwin to Da rwin, G. H., [20 November 1873] Darwin offers the work of …
  • Letter 8719  - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 January 1873] Darwin gives Mary Treat close …
  • … 9157  - Darwin to Da rwin, G. H., [20 November 1873] Darwin offers the work of …

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: 26 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] ). …
  • … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
  • … 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] …
  • … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
  • … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
  • … Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). …
  • … had suggested a new edition of the coral book in December 1873, when he realised the difficulty a …
  • … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence  vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
  • … Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January …
  • … to take so sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March …
  • … sent an apology for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); …
  • … numbers and sex ratios among the Pitcairn islanders ( letter from William Dealtry, 16 January 1874 …
  • … will say that I have pounded the enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). …
  • … by none but anatomists; and never mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). …
  • … the return on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 …
  • … by the conciseness & clearness of your thought’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 20 April 1874 ). …
  • … of human evolution and inheritance himself.  In August 1873, he had published in the  Contemporary …
  • … the use of the Down schoolroom as a winter reading room in 1873 (see  Correspondence , vol. 21, …
  • … ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 July [1874] ). In 1873, Hooker had begun a series of …
  • …  vol. 21, letter from Francis Darwin,  [11 October 1873] ). Darwin wasted several weeks in …
  • … Moulinié, who had died after a period of ill health in 1873.  Edmond Barbier corrected defects in …
  • … was a copy of Joseph Simms’s book on physiognomy (Simms 1873), which contained Darwin’s portrait to …

Language: key letters

Summary

How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…

Matches: 11 hits

  • … whom he exchanged information and ideas. Letter 346: Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, C. S., 27 Feb …
  • … Caucasian languages separated from one stock.” Letter 2070: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, …
  • … is the grinding down of former continents.” Letter 3054: Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 2 …
  • … former,—which I tell him is perfectly logical.” Letter 5605: Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. …
  • … whilst young, do they scream & make loud noise?” Letter 7040: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to …
  • … speech from gradually growing to such a stage” Letter 8367: Darwin, C. R. to Wright, …
  • … & thus unconsciously altering the breed. Letter 8962: Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, …
  • … judge of the arguments opposed to this belief[.]” Letter 10194: Max Müller, Friedrich to …
  • … want, at least in the Science of Language […]” Letter 9887: Dawkins, W. B. to Darwin, C. R. …
  • … hold that language is not a test of race […]” Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., …
  • … of wanting to eat, for this movement makes a sound like the letter m.” “For some time past I have …

Women as a scientific audience

Summary

Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…

Matches: 29 hits

  • … Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
  • … Tollet for proofreading and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. …
  • … her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
  • … from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
  • … he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
  • … in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
  • … he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
  • … so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
  • … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
  • … Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
  • … of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
  • … the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
  • … Darwin assumes that 'A. B. Blackwell' is a man. Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to …
  • … him to the psychology of Herbert Spencer. Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin …
  • … his statements on a lack of reasoning in animals. Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to …
  • … during a visit to an asylum with her father. Letter 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
  • … on any comments that she feels might be suitable. Letter 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to …
  • … and beauty in the process of sexual selection. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
  • … of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8778 - Forster, L. M . to Darwin, H. …
  • … and the showing of teeth in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to …
  • … and hopes Darwin will complete her questionnaire. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. …
  • … of questions which she hopes aren’t too silly. Letter 10415 - Darwin to Herrick, S. …
  • … and is pleased that his work has interested her. Letter 10508 - Treat, M. to Darwin …
  • … it nearly all night before she could lay it down. Letter 13547 - Tanner, M. H. …
  • … involving worms which occurred in her garden. Letter 13650 Kennard, C. A. to Darwin …
  • … Reading Variation Letter 5712 - Dallas, W. S. to Darwin, [8 December 1867] …
  • … array of facts” contained in the work. Letter 5861 - Blyth, E. to Darwin, [11 …
  • … are a few things which must be altered”. Letter 5928 - Gray, A. to Darwin, [25 …
  • … to be made to the text for the second edition. Letter 6040 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to …

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: 24 hits

  • … of departure reviews of Origin . The second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. Wallace to …
  • … everything is the result of “brute force”. Letter 2855 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 3 …
  • … nature, as he is in a “muddle” on this issue. Letter 3256 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
  • … shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. Letter 3342 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
  • … He asks Gray some questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 …
  • … of my precipice”. Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
  • … of variations. Darwin and Graham Letter 13230 — Darwin, C. R. to Graham, …
  • … of people, including members of his own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, …
  • … about his “honest & conscientious doubts”. Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. …
  • … there is a danger in giving up revelation”. Letter 2534 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, …
  • … need of an act of intervention to bring change. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
  • … with that knowledge which only He can give me.” Letter 5303 — Boole, M. E. to Darwin, C …
  • … that his theory be compatible with her faith. Letter 5307 — Darwin, C. R. to Boole, M. …
  • … and science should each run its own course. Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E. …
  • … “with qualifications”, if he wishes. Letter 8837 — Darwin, C. R. to Doedes, N. D., 2 …
  • … man’s intellect, “but man can do his duty”. Letter 12041 — Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, …
  • … most correct description of my state of mind”. Letter 12757 — Darwin, C. R. to Aveling, …
  • … as examples to illustrate his ideas on beauty. Letter 4752 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
  • … discusses humming birds and orchids as examples. Letter 4939 — Shaw, James to Darwin, C …
  • … a long discussion on beauty in the natural world. Letter 4943 — Darwin, C. R. to Shaw, …
  • … beauty of flowers is solely to attract insects. Letter 5003f — Shaw, James to Darwin, C …
  • … Beauty against the Duke of Argyll’s criticisms. Letter 5004 — Darwin, C. R. to Shaw, …
  • … of beauty being displayed in conspicuous parts. Letter 5060 — Shaw, James to Darwin, C. …
  • … 9122 — Darwin, C. R. to Down School Board, [Nov–Dec 1873] Darwin, Sir John Lubbock, Ellen …

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: 29 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 …
  • … known philosopher and poet’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter from Francis Beaufort to Robert …
  • … these things with the when & the where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May …
  • … paternal grandparents thought ‘perfect in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). …
  • … heard of him ‘constantly, & always with pride’ ( letter from Reginald Darwin, 29 March 1879 ). …
  • … essay might end up ‘interfering with each other’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 27 March 1879 ). Darwin …
  • … made such an introduction ‘almost indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin …
  • … everything into ridicule. He hates scientific men’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 May 1879 ). …
  • … must be ‘in some degree interesting to the public’ ( letter to Reginald Darwin, 10 April [1879] ). …
  • … ‘very tastefully and well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and …
  • … ‘more perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). …
  • … telling, and he regretted going beyond his ‘tether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 …
  • … never again to be tempted out of his ‘proper work’ ( letter to James Paget, 14 July 1879 ). At …
  • … of the tips of radicles, the embryonic roots of seedlings ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 June [1879 …
  • … experienced obstacles from the start, as he reported in a letter of 29 May . Sachs had changed …
  • … and after Farrer’s second marriage to Darwin’s niece in 1873 the Darwins had stayed at the Farrers’ …

Referencing women’s work

Summary

Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … earthworms . Selected letters Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. …
  • … work are referenced throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, …
  • … her identity is both anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D …
  • … Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., …
  • … being acknowledged publicly as a science critic. Letter 4370 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
  • … are identified only as “friends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 …
  • … Sir C. Lyell” or received from “Miss. B”. Letter 7060 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
  • … was referenced in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C …
  • … are not cited in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., …
  • … description of a crying baby in Mary Barton. Letter 8321 - Darwin to …
  • … he would “feel the public humming” at him. Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, …
  • … lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly rely”. Letter 8427 - Darwin to Litchfield H …
  • … of Henrietta’s considerable editorial input. Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 …
  • … Letters relating to Earthworms Letter 7428 - Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [4 …
  • … depth of furrows in an old field near his house. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R. to …
  • … activity in the fields of North Wales. Letter 8193 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H …
  • … published discussion of earthworm activity . Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. …
  • … discussion of turf-based worm castings . Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, …
  • … lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly rely”. Letter 11221 - Darwin to Darwin …
  • … are referenced in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12742 - Darwin, H. to Darwin, …
  • … "My son Horace" in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12745 - Darwin to …
  • … anonymously in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12760 - Wedgwood, K. E. S. to …
  • … but does not identify the workers in question. Letter 13037 - Darwin to Darwin, …

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: 17 hits

  • … his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
  • … 11   My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my …
  • … be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
  • … on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
  • … a brace of letters 25   I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
  • … might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
  • … Atlantic. HOOKER:   28   Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
  • … notions of natural Selection and would see whether it or my letter bears any date, I should be very …
  • … 55   My good dear friend, forgive me. This is a trumpery letter influenced by trumpery feelings. …
  • … do a good deal to secure it. Darwin passes Gray’s letter to Hooker with a cringe. …
  • … full relief from all anxiety. Darwin shows Gray’s letter to Hooker. DARWIN:  …
  • … back. JANE GRAY:   189   [Jane Gray. Letter to her sister. Fall, 1868.] Mr Darwin …
  • … DARWIN:   192   My dear Gray. When I look over your letter[s] … and see all the things you …
  • … me, and yet was most anxious till two days ago, when I got a letter from him in excellent spirits. …
  • … GRAY (BOSTON, 1893) 2A GRAY TO CLARA ?, 3 MARCH 1873 3 A GRAY. MEMOIR OF …
  • … TO GRAY AT THIS TIME 189 JANE LORING GRAY, LETTER TO HER SISTER, 1868 or 1869 …
  • … & 1 MARCH 1870 197 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER, 3 JULY 1873 198  TO A GRAY 5 …

Science, Work and Manliness

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters In 1859, popular didactic writer William Landels published the first edition of what proved to be one of his best-selling works, How Men Are Made. "It is by work, work, work" he told his middle class audience, …

Matches: 11 hits

  • … Letters Letter 282 - Darwin to Fox, W. D., [9 - 12 August 1835] Darwin …
  • … “a little reading, thinking and hammering”. Letter 1533 - Darwin to Dana, J. D., [27 …
  • … involved in producing such a magnum opus. In a subsequent letter , Darwin describes Dana’s …
  • … that de Bosquet has bestowed on the subject. Letter 2669 - Bunbury, C. J. F. to Darwin, …
  • … a work of “astonishing labour and patience”. Letter 4262 - Darwin to Gray, A., [4 …
  • … 134 crosses which was “no slight labour”. Letter 3901 - Darwin to Falconer, H., [5 & …
  • … not depleted completely his health and strength. Letter 4000 - Darwin to Dana, J. D., …
  • … . It is, Darwin says, “a monument of labour”. Letter 4185 - Darwin to Scott, J., [25 …
  • … a wonderful, indefatigable worker you are!”. Letter 4997 - Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, [4 …
  • … systematically to collect and arrange facts. Letter 8153 - Darwin to Darwin, W. E., [9 …
  • … and anxiety” involved in the editorial process. Letter 9157 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H., …

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

  • … Many 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: 27 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] …
  • … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
  • … I d  have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
  • … completed revisions of the ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was …
  • … him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
  • … with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
  • … doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
  • … weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
  • … with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
  • … in an additional & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 …
  • … orang-utan, and the bird of paradise  (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ) …
  • … does himself an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
  • … geological structures of the South American cordillera ( letter to Charles Lyell, 20 May 1869 ), …
  • … of the same species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February …
  • … role of earthworms in the formation of the soil ( letter to  Gardeners’ Chronicle , 9 May [1869] …
  • … sundew), a genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March …
  • … for either the fourth or the fifth English editions ( see letter from Victor Masson, 29 September …
  • … not employ [her] to translate “Domestic Animals”’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 November [1869] ). …
  • … incorporating his latest revisions (Moulinié trans. 1873).  Reinwald and Moulinié had been engaged …
  • … before offering my book to English readers.—’ ( letter from Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). …
  • … He literally poured boiling oil over the bumptious man’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker,  7 September …

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: 17 hits

  • … handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller, 22 February …
  • … Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter dates to see the individual letters …
  • … Correspondent Letter date Location …
  • … Africa)? ] mentioned in JPM Weale letter, but Bowker's answers not found …
  • … Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
  • … Square W London, England enclosed in a letter from Henry Maudsley …
  • … South Africa possibly included in letter from Mansel Weale …
  • … Peradeniya, Ceylon enclosed in letter from G.H.K. Thwaites …
  • … Egypt] possibly included in letter(s) from Asa Gray Nile …
  • … Lake Wellington, Australia letter to F.J.H. von Mueller nodding, …
  • … Abbey Place, London, England letter to Emma Darwin baby expression …
  • … Penmaenmawr, Conway, Wales letter to Emma Darwin infant daughter …
  • … Square W, London, England Enclosed letter from Dr. C. Browne …
  • … W., London, England enclosed in letter from W. W. Reade Hottentots …
  • … Weale, J.P.M. [Jan 1873] Bedford, Cape of Good Hope, …
  • … England (about Australia) encloses letter from Austrialian friend, letter not …
  • … forwarded by Smyth; Wilson sent letter to Ferdinand von Mueller Victoria Aborigines …

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: 28 hits

  • … from correspondents in response to the work, and by 1873 began preparing a second edition, which …
  • … had considered combining the works in a single volume ( letter to J. V. Carus, 7 February 1875 ). …
  • … because Darwin never published on bloom. In August 1873, while on holiday in Southampton at the home …
  • … by bloom, but his main preoccupation in the summer of 1873 was his experimental work on …
  • … themselves from the injurious effects of water. By November 1873, he was already devising …
  • … , a plant that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from R. I. Lynch, [before 28 July …
  • … 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] ). …
  • … experiments and devised a new test, which he described in a letter to his mother, ‘ I did some …
  • … 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 …
  • … of cotton that he had not been able to observe earlier ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 20 …
  • … might have been too weak to lift the weight of the seed ( letter from Asa Gray, 3 February 1880 ). …
  • … germination occurred, the plant would be killed by frost ( letter from Asa Gray, 4 April 1880 ). …
  • … Plants’ or ‘The Nature of the Movements of Plants’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 23 April [1880] ). …
  • … Phytographie  (A. de Candolle 1880). In his letter of thanks for the book, Darwin promised to send …
  • … for advice about the number of copies they should print ( letter to John Murray, 10 July 1880 ). …
  • … works, Murray was willing to publish on the usual terms ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 15 July 1880 ). …
  • … only suggest printing more copies or raising the price ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 20 July 1880 ). …
  • … Stahl’s paper with him, for the relevant page numbers ( letter to Francis Darwin, 5 August [1880] …
  • … publisher, Eduard Koch had already agreed to publish it ( letter from J. V. Carus, 18 September …
  • … as stereotypes of the text were available from Murray ( letter from D. Appleton & Co., 17 …
  • … corollas or the reactive movement of pistils and stamens ( letter from Édouard Heckel, 23 September …

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: 30 hits

  • … of respect and affection’. He hinted as much in his letter of 4 June : ‘you will see I have done …
  • … little understood. Darwin had begun studying bloom in August 1873, but had broken off to concentrate …
  • … 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 …
  • … frog spawn; the gospel of dirt the order of the day’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 27 January [1877] …
  • … credence to racist prejudice in Descent of man . In a letter from an unknown correspondent on …
  • … the subjects of Siebold’s study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October …
  • … our blood and thus keep back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles …
  • … and wives of ‘men of the white race’. In a follow-up letter he warned, ‘you find them in multituds …
  • … polish serves to hide the absence of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). …
  • … in New Guinea, who reportedly had hard inflexible tails ( letter from Arthur Mellersh, 1 January …
  • … up Pangenesis with wicked imprecations’ (Trollope 1867; letter to G. J. Romanes, [1 and 2 December …
  • … disclaimed its ‘scientific value’, he confessed in a letter of 25 November 1877 that the book …
  • … so many men exhibit is in many cases purely physical’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 10 September …
  • … give them drink so that they become quite tipsy’ ( letter to W. M. Moorsom, 11 September [1877] ). …
  • … held by respectable people and licensed by the state’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 13 September …
  • … be the greatest of all possible evils to mankind’ ( draft letter to Charles Bradlaugh, 6 June 1877 …
  • … hope that will allow me to send you a cheque for £10’ ( letter to [Francis Lloyd], 1 May [1877] ). …

Darwin and the Church

Summary

The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…

Matches: 22 hits

  • … & I can see it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] …
  • … wrote to the contrary: ‘I am sorry to see in your last letter that you still look forward to the …
  • … near the British Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] …
  • … it is a sort of scene I never ought to think about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). …
  • … However, what remains is cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to …
  • … (a local charity), which he administered from 1848 to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] …
  • … he would make an excellent Guardian [of the Poor Fund]’ (letter to J. W. Lubbock, 28 March [1854] …
  • … club the use of his own lawn for its meetings (Moore 1985; letter to J. S. Henslow, 17 January …
  • … the family’s dog, Quiz, when he moved away from Down (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 December [1861] ) …
  • … was considered to be a cross between a cow and a red deer (letter from J. B. Innes, 7 December …
  • … ancestor. Please think of my request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed …
  • … and leaves Moses to take care of himself. Letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 …
  • … take care of the financial complications he left behind (letter from S. J. O’H. Horsman, 2 June …
  • … seemed to have made off with the church’s organ fund (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 June [1868] ). So …
  • … by Horsman relating to the Down school and organ funds (letter to J. B. Innes, 13 January 1871 ). …
  • … Dissenters’ chapel, rather than the Down parish church (letter to J. B. Innes, 1 December 1868 ). …
  • … in the Parish, but preaches, I hear, very dull sermons’ (letter to J. B. Innes, 18 January [1871] …
  • … capital testimonials to his wife’s qualifications’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 5 June 1871 ). …
  • … support, and presented their answer to the School Committee (letter to Down School Board, [after …
  • … of letters to both men, vainly seeking to reconcile them (letter from John Lubbock, 5 April [1875] …
  • … During the reign of Ffinden, there is an interesting letter from Darwin to the evangelist J. W. C. …
  • … do not know that there is a drunkard left in the village’ (letter to J. W. C. Fegan, [December …

Animals, ethics, and the progress of science

Summary

Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…

Matches: 15 hits

  • … by the prospect of animals suffering for science. In a letter to E. Ray Lankester, he wrote: ‘You …
  • … another word about it, else I shall not sleep to-night’ ( letter to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871 …
  • … pangenesis. Darwin was taken aback, and swiftly replied in a letter to Nature , insisting that he …
  • … deserved credit for his ‘ingenuity and perseverance’ ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] …
  • … for further cross-circulation and ‘Siamesing’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
  • … Some of the results were promising, but inconclusive (see letter from G. J. Romanes, 14 July 1875 …
  • … results will be necessary to convince physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 July 1875 ). …
  • … for your work; & I suppose birds can be chloroformed (letter to G. J. Romanes, 27 December …
  • … handbook for the physiological laboratory (Klein et al. 1873), a two volume work designed for …
  • … branded physiologists as ‘demons let loose from hell’ ( letter to F. B. Cobbe, [14 January 1875] ) …
  • … detail here . He stated his position most frankly in a letter to Henrietta, 4 January [1875] . …
  • … point of view I have rejoiced at the present agitation. ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January …
  • … science of Physiology as doomed to death in this country. ( letter To T. H. Huxley, 14 January 1875 …
  • … are now in the position of a persecuted religious sect’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 June [1876] ) …
  • … of the utility of experiment amongst people in general’ ( letter from T. L. Brunton, 12 February …

4.7 'Vanity Fair', caricature

Summary

< Back to Introduction A letter to Darwin from his publisher John Murray of 10 May 1871 informed him, ‘Your portrait is earnestly desired – by the Editor of Vanity Fair. I hope Mr Darwin may consent to follow the example of Murchison – Bismark [sic] …

Matches: 3 hits

  • … < Back to Introduction A letter to Darwin from his publisher John Murray of 10 May …
  • … (‘Men of the Day’, no. 57, ‘Old Bones’, 1 March 1873) (EH88202629). A printed caption has been added …
  • … Vanity Fair , no. 152 (30 Sept. 1871), p. 107. Letter from John Murray to Darwin, 10 May 1871 (DCP …