To Susan Darwin [6 September 1831]
Summary
Orders clothing, books, and other supplies for the voyage, to be sent to him in London.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | [6 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 223 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-119 |
To W. D. Fox 6 [September 1831]
Summary
Received offer of post as naturalist in the Beagle in the same mail as WDF’s last letter. Outlines details of prospective voyage. Not certain, but thinks he probably will go.
Expresses pleasure that all is well with their friendship, which he prizes.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | 6 [Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 43) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-120 |
To Charles Thomas Whitley [9 September 1831]
Summary
Mentions letters from Peacock and Henslow; tells of offer of a position on surveying voyage, his initial refusal, and eventual acceptance. Describes FitzRoy and course of voyage.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Thomas Whitley |
| Date: | [9 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.3) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-121 |
To Susan Darwin [9 September 1831]
Summary
Discusses help he is receiving in his preparations for the voyage from William Yarrell and others. He has ordered a case of pistols, a rifle, and a good telescope with compass. It is settled that he will go.
Describes the coronation of William IV.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | [9 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 223 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-122 |
To J. S. Henslow 9 [September 1831]
Summary
All is settled – nothing can now alter CD’s determination. Details of plan and arrangements. Beaufort believes CD’s collections should be presented to some public body. CD thinks a large central collection best for natural history. Is busy getting advice and information from Yarrell and Capt. P. P. King for the voyage.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 9 [Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 5 DAR/1/1/5) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-123 |
From John Coldstream 13 September 1831
Summary
Suggestions and information helpful to CD in preparation for Beagle voyage. David Brewster’s meteorological papers. Suggests an oyster-trawl for collecting marine animals. Recommends CD see R. E. Grant. For meteorological observations suggests F. W. Beechey’s Voyage to the Pacific [1831] and an interview with J. F. Daniell of King’s College.
| Author: | John Coldstream |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Sept 1831 |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 64 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-124 |
From Charles Whitley 13 September 1831
Summary
Congratulates CD on Beagle appointment as an "opportunity … of studying all the natural sciences at once, after your own taste".
| Author: | Charles Thomas Whitley |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Sept 1831 |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 69 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-125 |
To Susan Darwin [14 September 1831]
Summary
Pleasant three-day voyage to Plymouth has increased CD’s admiration for FitzRoy. Describes the Beagle as an excellent vessel, but the want of room is very bad. He likes the officers.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | [14 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 223 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-126 |
To Susan Darwin 17 [September 1831]
Summary
Plans to come to Shrewsbury.
Is pleased with cabin assignment on Beagle. Beagle will map the east side of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia and set longitude of many places.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | 17 [Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 223 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-127 |
To J. S. Henslow 17 [September 1831]
Summary
Plans to come to Cambridge to discuss Beagle voyage. Only difficulty is disposal of his collections. South Sea Islands now more probable.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 17 [Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 6 DAR/1/1/6) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-128 |
From Adam Sedgwick 18 September 1831
Summary
Is glad of CD’s appointment and hopes it will be a source of happiness and honour.
Answers a query about books.
Suggests CD go to Geological Society, present himself, as AS’s friend, to William Lonsdale and study the Society’s collection.
Tells CD of his work in Wales; includes a diagram and explanations.
Ramsay’s death a grievous loss.
| Author: | Adam Sedgwick |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 18 Sept 1831 |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 66 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-129 |
From Frederick Watkins [18 September 1831]
Summary
Rejoices in CD’s appointment and predicts he will rank with Candolle, Henslow, and Linnaeus.
Recounts their past pleasures and gives news of friends, who are scattering fast.
| Author: | Frederick Watkins |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [18 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 67 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-130 |
To Robert FitzRoy [19 September 1831]
Summary
Reports on errands he has done for RF. Has discussed with Beaufort the question of his having right to dispose of his collection.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert FitzRoy |
| Date: | [19 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 144: 112 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-131 |
To W. D. Fox 19 [September 1831]
Summary
Describes his appointment, the Beagle, his companions, and the objectives of the voyage. Gives his schedule before departure.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | 19 [Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 44) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-132 |
From Charlotte Wedgwood 22 September [1831]
Summary
Sends congratulations and good wishes; feels the Wedgwoods bear much responsibility, since he would not have accepted the Beagle appointment had he not been at Maer "that 1st. of September".
| Author: | Charlotte Wedgwood; Charlotte Langton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 22 Sept [1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 68 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-133 |
From Fanny Owen [22 September – 2 October 1831]
Summary
Sends him a purse, which she asks him to use in remembrance of her.
| Author: | Frances (Fanny) Mostyn Owen; Frances (Fanny) Myddelton Biddulph |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [22 Sept – 2 Oct 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 51 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-134 |
From Robert FitzRoy 23 September 1831
Summary
Regrets he cannot take Francis Owen on Beagle as midshipman. RF thinks CD had better be on the books [for victuals], but CD should do as he likes. Refitting progress is slow.
| Author: | Robert FitzRoy |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 23 Sept 1831 |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 105 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-135 |
To Charles Thomas Whitley 23 [September 1831]
Summary
Thanks CTW for his letter [125]. "I do not think I ever received a more kind letter than yours or one that gave me so much pleasure.— You ought to have in your mind, the prospect of leaving England for 3 or 4 years before you can understand how to enjoy such a letter from such a person as yourself—". Regarding the voyage, "all is finally settled, & I have sealed away about half a chance of life.— If one lived merely to see how long one could spin out life,—I should repent my choice.— As it is I do not.—"
Thanks CTW for four fungi which have arrived.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Thomas Whitley |
| Date: | 23 [Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | Linnean Society of London (Quentin Keynes collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-135A |
From Fanny Owen [26 September 1831]
Summary
Much disappointed that CD will leave home before she returns.
| Author: | Frances (Fanny) Mostyn Owen; Frances (Fanny) Myddelton Biddulph |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [26 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 52 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-136 |
From Sarah Owen [27–30 September 1831]
Summary
She encloses a pin with "genuine hair" and is flattered that it will go around the world with CD.
| Author: | Sarah Harriet Mostyn Owen; Sarah Harriet Williams; Sarah Harriet Haliburton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [27–30 Sept 1831] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 61 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-137 |
| letter | (68) |
| Beaufort, Francis | (1) |
| Coldstream, John | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (40) |
| Darwin, Caroline | (1) |
| Darwin, Catherine | (1) |
| Darwin, R. W. | (2) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (1) |
| FitzRoy, Robert | (1) |
| Haliburton, S. H. | (1) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (3) |
| Herbert, J. M. | (1) |
| Langton, Catherine | (1) |
| Langton, Charlotte | (1) |
| Matthew, Henry | (3) |
| Mostyn Owen, Fanny | (5) |
| Mostyn Owen, S. H. | (1) |
| Myddelton Biddulph, Fanny | (5) |
| Peacock, George | (2) |
| Sedgwick, Adam | (2) |
| Simpson, George | (1) |
| Watkins, Frederick | (1) |
| Wedgwood, Caroline | (1) |
| Wedgwood, Charlotte | (1) |
| Wedgwood, Josiah, II | (1) |
| Whitley, C. T. | (1) |
| Williams, S. H. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (23) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (13) |
| Fox, W. D. | (10) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (6) |
| FitzRoy, Robert | (4) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (63) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (16) |
| Fox, W. D. | (10) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (7) |
| FitzRoy, Robert | (5) |
Books on the Beagle
Summary
The Beagle was a sort of floating library. Find out what Darwin and his shipmates read here.
Matches: 14 hits
- … (2: 18). CD, in his letter to Henslow, 9 [September 1831] , discussing the preparations for the …
- … for Books.’ (Letter from Robert FitzRoy, 23 September 1831 ). On board, FitzRoy states, ‘Our …
- … Beering’s Strait . . . 1825, 26, 27, 28 . London, 1831. (DAR 31.1: 276v.; 33: 253v.). Darwin …
- … la Beche, Henry Thomas. A geological manual. London, 1831. (DAR 32.1: 53). Desaulses de …
- … of geometry. (Letter to J. S. Henslow, 30 October 1831). ‡ Falkner, Thomas. A description …
- … naturelle faites dans l’Amérique du Sud . . . 1830 et 1831. Annales des Sciences Naturelles 28 …
- … géologie et de climatologie asiatiques. 2 vols. Paris, 1831. (DAR 35.2: 401; Stoddart 1962, p. 22a …
- … from J. S. Henslow to CD ‘on his departure’, September 1831). Darwin Library–CUL ††. * …
- … London, n.d. [1802]. (Letter to Robert FitzRoy, [10 October 1831]). DAR 196.2 †. * Juan, …
- … vols. 5th ed. York, 1824. (Inscription: ‘Rob t . FitzRoy 1831’). Darwin Library–CUL †. § …
- … Spanish and English languages. 2 vols. 5th ed. London, 1831. Darwin Library–CUL, vol. 1 only.). …
- … ed. Cambridge, 1825. (Letter to J. S. Henslow, 30 October 1831). The volumes listed below, …
- … Viage) Spanish edition’ in Syms Covington, MS ‘Journal 1831–6’, p. 30; Mitchell Library, Sydney, N. …
- … Taxidermy.(Letter to Susan Darwin, [6 September 1831] ‘A little book, if I have got it in bedroom, …
The Voyage of the Beagle
Summary
It was a letter from his friend and former teacher, John Stevens Henslow, that brought the 22-year-old Charles Darwin news of the offer of a place on board the Admiralty surveying vessel HMS Beagle on a voyage to chart the coast of South America. During…
Matches: 3 hits
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … work in N. Wales since he and CD parted, 4 September 1831 Thomas Sutcliffe's map of …
Home learning: 7-11 years
Summary
Do try this at home! Support your children’s learning by downloading our free and fun activities for those aged between 7-11 and 11-14 years, using Darwin’s letters.
Matches: 1 hits
- … History’ ( Letter from J. S. Henslow, 24 August 1831 ) Encourage …
Capturing Darwin’s voice: audio of selected letters
Summary
On a sunny Wednesday in June 2011 in a makeshift recording studio somewhere in Cambridge, we were very pleased to welcome Terry Molloy back to the Darwin Correspondence Project for a special recording session. Terry, known for his portrayal of Davros in Dr…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The letters cover a long time span from one of 31 August 1831 to his father seeking permission …
Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants
Summary
Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…
Matches: 1 hits
- … vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, [28 April 1831] ), and when, on the Beagle , he heard …
Darwin & coral reefs
Summary
The central idea of Darwin's theory of coral reef formation, as it was later formulated, was that the islands were formed by the upward growth of coral as the Pacific Ocean floor gradually subsided. It overturned previous ideas and would in itself…
Matches: 1 hits
- … sure they will visit the South Sea Islands: [9 September 1831] . The first evidence of …
Natural Science and Femininity
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 109 - Wedgwood, J. to Darwin, R. W., [31 August 1831] Darwin’s uncle writes to …
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: 1 hits
- … letter from Francis Beaufort to Robert FitzRoy, 1 September [1831] ). By the time Darwin came to …
Darwin’s introduction to geology
Summary
Darwin collected minerals as a child and was introduced to the science of geology at the University of Edinburgh, but he only became actively interested in the subject as he was completing his degree at Cambridge.
Early Days
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment The young Charles Darwin From an early age, Darwin exhibited a keen interest in the natural world. His boyish fascination with naturalist pursuits deepened as he entered college and started to interact with…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 98 —Darwin to Caroline Darwin [28 Apr 1831] Writing to his sister Caroline, Darwin …
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: 31 hits
- … Library of useful knowledge Horse, cow, sheep [Youatt 1831, 1834, 1837]. Verey Philosophie d …
- … papers. read Audubons Ornithol: Biography [Audubon 1831–9]— 4 Vols. well worth reading …
- … 1828a]. quoted by D r Ryan on marriage [Ryan 1831] (read) Babbington on Flora of Channel …
- … &c. Also Encyclop. of Agriculture by Loudon [Loudon 1831]. Book I. ch. 7 & Book II. Ch. 8. …
- … of Authors in Loudon’s Encyclop. of Agriculture [Loudon 1831] Dieffenbach Travels into the …
- … end Herschel’s Introd to Nat. Philosophy [Herschel 1831] d[itt]o 2 d time of Reading 62 …
- … 1838] 14 Boswell’s life of Johnsons [Boswell 1831] 4 vols 25 Phillips Geology [J. …
- … ] to end of 1838. —— Youatt on the Horse [Youatt 1831] Library of Useful K. 1840 …
- … 1780] Johnson. Tour to Hebrides by Boswell [Boswell 1831] Philip Van Artevelde [H. …
- … H. Smith 1841] Dec. Encyclop. of Agriculture [Loudon 1831] (skimmed & abst) Jan 9 …
- … skimmed.— 8 th Cox’s Columbia River [Cox 1831] —— Anderson on Sheep [Pallas 1794]: …
- … Sept 3 d Brewster’s Life of Sir. I. Newton [Brewster 1831] —— 20 Franklins Narrative 1 st …
- … July 11. Pistor Das Ganze Taubenzucht [Pistor 1831]. —— 15 Die Enten & Gansezucht. Ulm. …
- … 1856] 30. Brehm Handbuch Vogel Deutschlands [Brehm 1831]. Sept 5 th Prosper Lucas l …
- … Dec. 29 th Audubons Ornithological Biography [Audubon 1831–9]— [DAR 128: 23] …
- … P. Mathhew on Naval Timber & Arboriculture [Matthew 1831] Bull. Bot. Soc. de France [ …
- … Feb. 23 Sir D. Brewsters life of Newton [Brewster 1831] March. 8 Houdins the conjurer Life …
- … London. 128: 3 Audubon, John James Laforest. 1831–9. Ornithological biography; or …
- … 2 vols. London. 119: 7a Boswell, James. 1831. The life of Samuel Johnson … …
- … Library.] *128: 177 Brehm, Christian Ludwig. 1831. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte …
- … the Swedish. London. 119: 13b Brewster, David. 1831. The life of Sir Isaac Newton . …
- … Cowper . 2 vols. London. 119: 15b Cox, Ross. 1831. Adventures on the Columbia River, …
- … and appendix: Proceedings of the second expedition, 1831–6, under the command of Captain …
- … 4v.; 119: 4a Herschel, John Frederick William. 1831. A preliminary discourse on the …
- … landscape gardening . London. 119: 12a ——. 1831. An encyclopædia of agriculture: …
- … Paris. 1816–45. *119: 13v. Matthew, Patrick. 1831. On naval timber and …
- … von Capitain W. Wendt, in den Jahren 1830, 1831 und 1832. 3 vols. (Vol. 1, bk 2: …
- … . 2 vols. Paris. *119: 1 Pistor, C. M. Wilhelm. 1831. Das Ganze der Feld- und …
- … . London. *128: 173; 128: 12 Ryan, Michael. 1831. Lectures on population, marriage and …
- … *119: 13v.; *128: 157; 128: 22 Youatt, William. 1831. The horse; with a treatise on …
- … Society of London . London. 1812–30. New series, 1831–48. [Abstract in DAR 74: 55–102.] *119: 4v. …
Scientific Networks
Summary
Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…
Charles Darwin: the Beagle letters
Summary
This volume contains the complete texts of all the letters that the young naturalist Charles Darwin wrote and received while sailing round the world on the surveying ship the Beaglebetween 1831 and 1836. They start with letters written as a new and…
Robert FitzRoy
Summary
Robert FitzRoy was captain of HMS Beagle when Darwin was aboard. From 1831 to 1836 the two men lived in the closest proximity, their relationship revealed by the letters they exchanged while Darwin left the ship to explore the countries visited during the…
Matches: 3 hits
Yokcushlu (Fuegia Basket)
Summary
Yokcushlu was one of the Alakaluf, or canoe people from the western part of Tierra del Fuego. She was one of the hostages seized by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, after the small boat used for surveying the narrow inlets of the coast of Tierra del…
Introduction to the Satire of FitzRoy's Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle
Summary
'a humble toadyish follower…': Not all pictures of Darwin during the Beagle voyage are flattering. Published here for the first time is a complete transcript of a satirical account of the Beagle’s brief visit in 1836 to the Cocos Keeling islands…
Matches: 4 hits
- … century, the circumnavigation of HMS Beagle in 1831 to 1836. Our other substantial accounts of …
- … little but Ross’ account of the situation from 1827 to 1831, it seems clear that the two men had …
- … reference to Hare’s ‘Seraglio.’ Leaving the field in 1831, Hare died in Bencoolen in Sumatra at the …
- … and Beagle , titled Proceedings of the Second Expedition 1831-1836 . It was accompanied by an …
Alexander Burns Usborne
Summary
Alexander Burns Usborne was born in Kendal, Westmorland, in 1808, the son of Alexander and Margaret Usborne; his father died in 1818 and in his will was described as the purser on HMS Hannibal. His son joined the navy in 1825 aged 16 as a second-class…
Matches: 1 hits
- … the navy in 1825 aged 16 as a second-class volunteer; by 1831 he was a master’s assistant. Later …
John Stevens Henslow
Summary
The letters Darwin exchanged with John Stevens Henslow, professor of Botany and Mineralogy at Cambridge University, were among the most significant of his life. It was a letter from Henslow that brought Darwin the invitation to sail round the world as…
Matches: 1 hits
- … from England upon a voyage around the World. 21st Sept. 1831'. For goodness sake …
Syms Covington
Summary
When Charles Darwin embarked on the Beagle voyage in 1831, Syms Covington was ‘fiddler & boy to Poop-cabin’. Covington kept an illustrated journal of his observations and experiences on the voyage, noting wildlife, landscapes, buildings and people and,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … When Charles Darwin embarked on the Beagle voyage in 1831, Syms Covington was ‘ fiddler & …
