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The Lyell–Lubbock dispute
Summary
In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…
Matches: 21 hits
- … In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book …
- … some of whom took immediate action to mediate a solution. Charles Darwin had close ties with both …
- … his views were generally derided. 1 In 1859, Lyell visited several sites in France …
- … belief that these were indeed implements of early humans (C. Lyell 1859). In September 1860 he …
- … species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
- … regarding the age of the human species. The visits by both Lyell and Lubbock reflected the growing …
- … Lubbock reviewed the literature on the topic and noted that Charles Adolphe Morlot had summarised, …
- … Prehistoric times (Lubbock 1865). By 1860, Lyell had begun work on a sixth edition of …
- … Antiquity of man (see below, ‘Textual changes made to C. Lyell 1863c’). On 6 February 1863, …
- … Galton. In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, evidently in response …
- … about Lyell’s failure to support him. In April 1863, in a letter to the Athenæum , he discussed a …
- … transmutation; he also wrote to Lyell telling him about the letter to the Athenæum . 9 …
- … 1863b, p. 213). In May 1864, Lubbock received a letter from Falconer, who reiterated his …
- … his celebrated work on the ‘ Antiquity of man ,’ Sir Charles Lyell has made much use of my earlier …
- … me from any such inference. The statement made by Sir Charles Lyell, in a note to page 11 of his …
- … and went on to say that he intended to make a copy of his letter to show to friends. 18 In …
- … wrote to Darwin to ask what he thought of the affair ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [2 June 1865] ). …
- … he reiterated his admiration for Lubbock’s book ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [4 June 1865] ). A week …
- … it therefore did not ‘justify so severe an attack on Sir Charles Lyell’. 32 Darwin’s …
- … Stocking 1987, and Van Riper 1993. 2. Letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 20 …
- … 5. For two interpretations of Hugh Falconer’s attack on Charles Lyell, see Bynum 1984 and L. G. …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 19 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
- … that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
- … persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
- … by the publication in February of books by his friends Charles Lyell, the respected geologist, and …
- … from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
- … ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
- … Britain’s scientific circles following the publication of Lyell’s and Huxley’s books. Three …
- … than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
- … with animals now extinct had been rapidly accumulating. Lyell’s argument for a greater human …
- … as well as on evidence collected earlier in the century. Lyell’s Antiquity of man and Huxley’s …
- … from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
- … arguments for species change. In this context, Lyell’s discussion of the origin of species …
- … leap from that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public …
- … you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The …
- … letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , and letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … book’ from which he had ‘gained nothing’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12–13 March [1863] ). …
- … that the Public shall see how far you go’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 April [1863] ). …
Charles Lyell
Summary
As an author, friend and correspondent, Charles Lyell played a crucial role in shaping Darwin's scientific life. Born to a wealthy gentry family in Scotland in 1797, Lyell had a classical and legal education but by the 1820s had become entranced by…
Matches: 10 hits
- … As an author, friend and correspondent, Charles Lyell played a crucial role in shaping Darwin's …
- … than that allowed for by traditional Biblical criticism. Lyell believed, however, that the subject …
- … that could be viewed in action at the present time. In Lyell's view, this ruled out any sudden …
- … to keep up with the subsidence of the ocean floor. Although Lyell had originally suggested a …
- … Darwin always believed that his books 'came half out of Lyell's brains'. The …
- … against the transmutation of one species into another. (Lyell even suggested that looking for long …
- … the incomplete character of the fossil record.) Darwin told Lyell of his species work in a letter …
- … Alfred Russel Wallace did propose similar views, Lyell (with Joseph Hooker) engineered the ' …
- … in 1858. Darwin's views posed a terrible paradox for Lyell. In his view, what set humans …
- … from other forms of life. After an agonized struggle, Lyell did come round to accepting a limited …
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: 22 hits
- … learn that the book was on sale even in railway stations ( letter to Charles Lyell, 14 January …
- … the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
- … he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] …
- … his theory would have been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A …
- … from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
- … a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 18 February [1860] ). …
- … phenomena it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] …
- … current knowledge could not illuminate this ‘mystery’. Charles Lyell worried, among other things, …
- … natural selection did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 …
- … of reasoning about global change. Darwin also knew that Lyell was a powerful potential ally. Indeed, …
- … plant species and varieties than from animal breeding. With Lyell also questioning how interbreeding …
- … considered it more a failure than a success ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 February [1860] ). …
- … naturalists because more accustomed to reasoning.’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 18 May 1860 ). …
- … perfected structure as the eye. As Darwin admitted to Lyell, Gray, and others, imagining how …
- … Certainly this was a major difficulty standing in the way of Lyell’s acceptance of the theory, as …
- … explicitly in Origin — only one sentence, he told Lyell, showed that he believed ‘man is in same …
- … of the scientifically literate clergymen Baden Powell and Charles Kingsley attested. Moreover, …
- … (like Lyell) to retract their support altogether (letters to Charles Lyell, 1 June [1860] and …
- … different opposers view the subject’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 15 February [1860] ); later he …
- … better fun observing is than writing.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 12 September [1860] ). Despite …
- … & not amuse myself with interludes.—’ (letters to Charles Lyell, 24 November [1860] , and to …
- … daughter Anne’s fatal illness never far from their minds, Charles and Emma did whatever they could …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 18 hits
- … he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This …
- … as he jokingly called it) to his views of close friends like Charles Lyell, Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … concepts of creation. ‘When I was in spirits’, he told Lyell at the end of 1859, ‘I sometimes …
- … has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
- … book’ on species. Begun in May 1856 at the urging of Lyell, the manuscript was already more than …
- … to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
- … his reason or his own opinion. Hewett Cottrell Watson and Charles Cardale Babington thought that in …
- … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
- … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
- … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
- … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
- … Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … Following Francis Darwin ( LL 2: 116–17) and relying on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors …
- … Then, on 18 June he forwarded Wallace’s paper to Lyell (Brooks 1984, pp. 262–3). It is of some …
- … with scarlet fever, currently sweeping through the village. Charles Waring Darwin’s condition …
- … work. Again, he called upon Lyell for advice ( letter to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] ). Lyell …
- … from the title of the forthcoming book ( letter to Charles Lyell, 30 March [1859] ). Darwin next …
- … on the origin of species and varieties’ (letters to Charles Lyell, 28 March [1859] , and to …
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 23 hits
- … On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that he ‘Began by Lyell’s advice writing …
- … by the preparation of this manuscript. Although advised by Lyell to publish only a brief outline …
- … material into such a small compass and soon abandoned Lyell’s idea in favour of a full-length work …
- … this process. Still prominent in his immediate circle were Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker, …
- … and other domesticated animals. As Darwin explained to Lyell, his studies, particularly those on …
- … the real structure of varieties’, he remarked to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 September [1856 …
- … ‘& I mean to make my Book as perfect as ever I can.’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 8 February [1857] …
- … plants, he asked Asa Gray, vary in the United States ( letter to Asa Gray, 2 May 1856 )? What …
- … plants pretty effectually’ complained Darwin in 1857 ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [2 May 1857] ). …
- … John Lubbock that his method of calculation was wrong ( letter to John Lubbock, 14 July [1857] ). …
- … ‘Darwin, an absolute & eternal hermaphrodite’ ( letter to to T. H. Huxley, 1 July [1856] ), …
- … which the bird had naturally eaten have grown well.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 December [1856] …
- … to William Erasmus Darwin, [26 February 1856] and to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ). …
- … 21 [July 1857] ). The problem of careers for his six boys (Charles Waring Darwin, the sixth and …
- … he wrote to Syms Covington in New South Wales ( letter to Syms Covington, 9 March 1856 ). …
- … his work on species and the preparation of his manuscript ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 1 May 1857 ) …
- … writing in part to establish his priority in this area, for Charles Lyell thought that Wallace’s …
- … All the available material seems to indicate that it was Lyell rather than Darwin who feared the …
- … Darwin’s manuscript on species was begun only after Lyell had urged him to publish a preliminary …
- … given on an occasion other than the one previously supposed. Charles and Mary Elizabeth Lyell …
- … a preliminary sketch was apparently first made in a letter written by Lyell from London on 1–2 May …
- … up to London to see Lyell to discuss it further ( letter to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ). It was …
- … not embrace the whole Lamarckian doctrine.’ ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1–2 May 1856, n. 7 ). The …
Natural Selection: the trouble with terminology Part I
Summary
Darwin encountered problems with the term ‘natural selection’ even before Origin appeared. Everyone from the Harvard botanist Asa Gray to his own publisher came up with objections. Broadly these divided into concerns either that its meaning simply wasn’t…
Matches: 6 hits
- … I think, would make confusion worse confounded ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell 6 …
- … of twenty years, Natural Selection . With that letter to Gray, Darwin enclosed a …
- … he had expected. ‘I am, also, sorry’ Darwin wrote to Charles Lyell, who had approached the …
- … I must be a very bad explainer. ( Charles Darwin to Charles Lyell, 6 June [1860]) …
- … Nevertheless, regret lingered, and he wrote in a later letter to Lyell: ' Talking of “Natural …
- … used natural preservation '. (There is now a hole in the letter where Darwin wrote ' …
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, 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: 19 hits
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … at Erasmus’s house. The event was led by the medium Charles E. Williams, and was attended by George …
- … 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 ). …
- … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
- … friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder …
- … to take so sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March …
- … at a much reduced price of nine shillings, in line with Charles Lyell’s Student’s elements of …
- … raising £860 ( Circular to John Lubbock, P. L. Sclater, Charles Lyell, W. B. Carpenter, and Michael …
- … Sharpe, 24 November [1874] ). He wrote in admiration of Charles Lyell’s plan to leave a bequest to …
- … of the English editions. Darwin’s French publisher, Charles Reinwald, engaged new translators to …
- … connotations of both Huxley’s and Tyndall’s addresses, Charles Lyell, who had spent his career …
- … may be fairly said to have had an ovation’ ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1 September 1874 ). …
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: 12 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 …
- … were separately created. Darwin writes to the geologist Charles Lyell about the views of the Harvard …
- … 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 …
New features for Charles Darwin's 208th birthday
Summary
The website has been updated with an interactive timeline (try it!) and enhanced secondary school resources for ages 11-14. What's more, the full texts of the letters for 1872 are now online for the first time, and a selection of Darwin's…
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 23 hits
- … In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
- … dispute between two of Darwin’s friends, John Lubbock and Charles Lyell . These events all inspired …
- … The death of Hugh Falconer Darwin’s first letter to Hooker of 1865 suggests that the family …
- … having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
- … his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium …
- … may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
- … always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
- … for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
- … gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … claimed, important for his enjoyment of life. He wrote to Charles Lyell on 22 January [1865] , …
- … ineffective, and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] …
- … of anything, & that almost exclusively bread & meat’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 August [1865] …
- … and those of Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, and Charles Bonnet; Darwin wrote back: ‘I do …
- … the Royal Society of Edinburgh criticising Origin . Like Charles Lyell, who wrote to Darwin on …
- … for existence (ibid., pp. 276–81). Darwin responded to Lyell’s account in some detail ( see letter …
- … the correspondence. At the end of May, the dispute between Charles Lyell and John Lubbock over …
- … human antiquity, adding a note to his preface asserting that Lyell in his Antiquity of man , …
- … Natural History Review . He also cited a statement by Lyell in Antiquity of man that the pages …
- … inadvertence’. Though Lubbock had raised the matter with Lyell before publishing, this statement, …
- … set up to support FitzRoy’s children ( see letter from Charles Shaw, 3 October 1865 ). …
- … are letters commenting on Origin , including two from Charles Lyell, who had been sent the proof …
Evolution: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860-1870
Summary
This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific colleagues around the world; letters by the critics who tried to stamp out his ideas, and by admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and …
- … to confide in his closest friends and associates by letter. The letters in this volume speak …
- … know you have been miserably uncomfortable. Emma to Charles Darwin, 1861. …
- … think about the derivation of Species … Darwin to Charles Lyell, 1863. …
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: 28 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 …
- … on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera . Letter 9426 - Story …
- … 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 …
- … to show in his museum in Canterbury, New Zealand. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to …
- … to be attracted to dark spots on the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. …
- … the black letters in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July …
- … the Isle of White. Letter 4433 - Wright, Charles to Gray, A., [20, 25, 26 March …
- … in the future. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] …
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Matches: 11 hits
- … up each edition to the existing standard of science’ ( to Charles Layton, 24 November [1869] ). …
- … expansion ‘in many places’ . Chief among these was Charles Lyell, instrumental in shaping both …
- … last one was a welcome endorsement from the religious author Charles Kingsley, a chaplain to the …
- … sufficiently acknowledged earlier work. According to a letter to Asa Gray he had yet to start …
- … Black Pigs in the Everglades delights me If Lyell was Darwin’s key correspondent for …
- … an animal’s colour and its immunity to poison (see letter from Jeffries Wyman, [ c . 15] …
- … hitherto slurred it over. In his Christmas Day letter to his old friend Joseph Hooker, …
- … (With a glossary of scientific terms??) by Charles Darwin F.R.S. …
- … many of his old friends and former correspondents, including Lyell ( now approached through his …
- … of population increase in elephants in response to a letter published in the Athenaeum by a …
- … ed. , pp. 450–61). Despite continuing scepticism from Charles Lyell, who was staying with the …
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: 16 hits
- … him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
- … of brotherly love and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. …
- … the nature of such influences as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his book “the law of higgledy-piggledy”. Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, …
- … his views now depends on men eminent in science. Letter 2767 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … prevail without such aggressive tactics. Letter 5500 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. …
- … reader to take the side of the attacked person. Letter 5533 — Haeckel, E. P. A. to …
- … of the matter, a vigorous attack is essential. Letter 5544 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, …
- … Darwin and his close friends, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Charles Lyell, show that Darwin, who had …
- … at the Linnean Society of London, and presided over by Lyell and Hooker, reveals much about the …
- … political, and religious differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 …
- … MS, but Darwin will offer to send it to journal. Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … wrote to him. Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 26 [June 1858] Darwin …
- … of case. Letter 2299 — Hooker, J. D. & Lyell, Charles to Linnean Society, 30 June …
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: 17 hits
- … by all the leading geologists of England—among them Charles Lyell, Sedgwick, and Buckland (see the …
- … of South America”, Darwin continued to defend his and Lyell’s theory that floating ice—rather than …
- … lists of Darwin’s plants (see D. M. Porter 1981). Charles Lyell In the extensive …
- … correspondent, both scientifically and personally, was Charles Lyell. The letters Darwin and Lyell …
- … had declared himself to be a ‘zealous disciple’ of Lyell, but his theory of coral reef formation, …
- … Their correspondence began in 1836 and from the start Lyell accepted Darwin on equal terms as a …
- … versions in Life and Letters , and from excerpts that Lyell made in his notebooks. Lyell’s …
- … portfolios together with parts of letters he had cut from Lyell’s originals for use in his work. …
- … The letters show that at least five of his friends—Lyell, Henslow, Jenyns, Waterhouse, and his …
- … of fact . . . on the origin & variation of species” ( Letter to J. S. Henslow, [November 1839] …
- … that he had a sound solution to what J. F. W. Herschel in a letter to Lyell had called the ‘mystery …
- … about searching for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838 …
- … just the same, though I know what I am looking for' ( Letter to G. R. Waterhouse, [26 July …
- … there were no doubts as to how one ought to act’ ( Letter from Emma Darwin, [ c. February 1839] …
- … In 1840 the illness was different. As he wrote to Charles Lyell, [19 February 1840] , “it is now …
- … for several months (See Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 , …
- … notebook). See also Allan 1977, pp. 128–30). The letter, on ‘Double flowers’ to the …
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
Matches: 24 hits
- … but really I do think you have a good right to be so’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 and] 20 …
- … species. Darwin attempted to dissuade him from this view ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 14 [January 1862 …
- … partially sterile together. He failed. Huxley replied ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 January 1862 …
- … and pronounced them ‘simply perfect’, but continued ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 18 December [1862] ) …
- … resigned to their difference of opinion, but complained ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 28 December [1862 …
- … letters, Darwin, impressed, gave him the commission ( see letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] …
- … protégé, telling Hooker: ‘he is no common man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ). …
- … Towards the end of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ): …
- … and added, ‘new cases are tumbling in almost daily’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 January [1862] ). In …
- … hopeful, became increasingly frustrated, telling Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 March [1862] ) …
- … on the problem: ‘the labour is great’, he told Gray ( letter to Asa Gray, 10–20 June [1862] ), ‘I …
- … resulted from his ‘ enormous labour over them’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 [October 1862] ; …
- … Oliver: ‘I can see at least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ), …
- … result once out of four or five sets of experiments’ ( letter to M. T. Masters, 24 July [1862] ). …
- … one species may be said to be generically distinct’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 14 July [1862] ). The …
- … and determined to publish on Linum ‘at once’ ( letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] ), …
- … d . like to make out this wonderfully complex case—’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 29 [July 1862] ). …
- … The case clearly excited Darwin, who exclaimed to Gray ( letter to Asa Gray, 9 August [1862] ), ‘I …
- … that the case warranted a paper for the Linnean Society ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 6 October [1862] …
- … that had given him ‘great pleasure to ride’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 January [1862] ). But he …
- … in the preparation of translations of his books. When Charles Edouard Brown-Séquard informed him …
- … also sent presentation copies of his botanical studies to Charles Naudin, a botanist at the Muséum d …
- … Darwin was glad that Glen Roy was ‘settled’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 22 August [1862] ), he …
- … palaeontologist who believes in immutability’, he told Lyell ( letter to Charles Lyell, 1 October …
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: 26 hits
- … proofs of Descent in December, he wrote to his friend Charles Lyell, ‘thank all the powers above …
- … anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
- … corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
- … who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
- … abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
- … thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
- … how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
- … in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
- … patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
- … muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
- … to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 …
- … . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
- … or crying badly; but I fear he will not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] …
- … Lucy Wedgwood, who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). …
- … is the inclination to finish my note on this subject’ ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). …
- … the previous year (see Correspondence vol. 17, letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). His …
- … (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …
- … towards each other, though in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). …
- … version of the theory of descent by natural selection in a letter to Darwin, prompting much anxiety …
- … But who is to criticise them? No one but yourself’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 20 May 1870 ). …
- … me to be able to say that I never write reviews’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] ). …
- … design. Darwin commented on Mivart’s essay in a letter to William Henry Flower: ‘I am glad …
- … time wd be wasted if I once began to answer objectors’ ( letter to W. H. Flower, 25 March [1870] ) …
- … laborious & valuable labours on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). …
- … Ape than such an Ape differs from a lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 …
- … in Paris. Quatrefages had just completed a book, Charles Darwin et ses précurseurs français …
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 24 hits
- … Species theory In November 1845, Charles Darwin wrote to his friend and confidant Joseph …
- … hurrah for my species-work’ ( Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [5 or 12 November …
- … activity. There are, for example, twenty lengthy letters to Charles Lyell from these years and a …
- … William Herschel, to write the chapter on geology ( letter to J. F. W. Herschel, 4 February [1848] …
- … by Darwin on the use of microscopes on board ship ( see letter to Richard Owen, [26 March 1848] ). …
- … carefully re-examined his own thesis in letters to Milne, Lyell, and Robert Chambers, and, in …
- … asked for it to be destroyed. Only the draft of Darwin’s letter remains ( letter to the Scotsman …
- … that his original fieldwork was ‘time thrown away’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8 [September 1847] ) …
- … formations. Darwin’s explanation, originally suggested by Lyell, was that the boulders were …
- … failed to convince other prominent geologists, among them Lyell, so Darwin was keenly interested in …
- … in the subject. The letters also reveal that Lyell sought Darwin’s advice in the preparation …
- … and Manual of elementary geology . In addition, Lyell asked for Darwin’s view of his major new …
- … or nearly so, or whether they had grown gradually, as Lyell maintained, from one envelope of lava …
- … critical point in the controversy, and the point on which Lyell at the time felt it necessary to …
- … volcanic islands that some craters could not be explained by Lyell’s view. Apparently convinced by …
- … that it would be a ‘thorn in the side of É de B.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 3 January 1850 ). …
- … marine invertebrates himself (see Correspondence vol. 2, letter to Leonard Jenyns, 10 April [1837]) …
- … opinion that such a monograph was a ‘desideratum’ ( letter to J. L. R. Agassiz, 22 October 1848 ), …
- … abortive stamens or pistils ( Correspondence vol. 2, letter from J. S. Henslow, 21 November …
- … care what you say, my species theory is all gospel.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 May 1848 ). …
- … sacrifice the rule of priority for the sake of expedience ( letter to H. E. Strickland, [4 February …
- … it as ‘the greatest curse to natural History’ ( letter to H. E. Strickland, 29 January [1849] ). …
- … Museum of Zoology, has been transcribed with Darwin’s letter to H. E. Strickland, 29 January [1849 …
- … remained unmarried. Each daughter was bequeathed £10,000, Charles was bequeathed £15,500, and his …
