To J. S. Henslow 18 May – 16 June 1832
Summary
His first letter to JSH since December. Recounts his seasickness, geologising and marine collecting at St Jago [Santiago, Cape Verde Is.]; his first tropical forest. Collecting small insects from the tropics. His Welsh trip with Sedgwick has been extremely valuable.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
Date: | 18 May & 16 June 1832 |
Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 12 DAR/1/1/12) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-171 |
From Catherine Darwin 8 January – 4 February 1832
Summary
News of family and friends, much of it about forthcoming marriages: Fanny Owen and R. M. Biddulph, Fanny Mackintosh and Hensleigh Wedgwood. Charlotte Wedgwood will write to him of her own engagement to Charles Langton.
Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 8 Jan – 4 Feb 1832 |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 83 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-154 |
To Caroline Darwin 24 October – 24 November [1832]
Summary
During the past two months CD has been lucky with fossil bones, and he is also finding new specimens of living animals.
He describes an ostrich hunt.
Has received several letters from home.
He enjoys Buenos Aires and admires the señoritas. Tierra del Fuego is next.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
Date: | 24 Oct & 24 Nov [1832] |
Classmark: | DAR 223: 15 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-188 |
From Catherine Darwin 14 October [1832]
Summary
Writes news of family, Maer, and Woodhouse. His father has sent for a banana tree
and plans to buy J. J. Audubon’s book [Birds of America (1827)].
Charles Langton has been given a living near Ludlow.
Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 14 Oct [1832] |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 86 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-187 |
From Caroline Darwin (with postscript by Marianne Parker) 12[–31] March [1832]
Summary
Describes the gathering at Maer and the events culminating in Charlotte Wedgwood’s marriage to Charles Langton.
Author: | Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12–[31] Mar [1832] |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 71 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-163 |
Matches: 2 hits
- … Maer— March 12 th | Monday. My dear Charles— Susan sent off her letter by the first …
- … 12 M r & M rs Langton drove off. I have not heard from Charlotte since she got to Ripley— the next day Cath & I came home, & I enjoy the quiet and repose very much— Fanny Owens marriage is put off for a few weeks—the next letter …
From Caroline Darwin 12–28 June [1832]
Summary
Brings CD up to date on family and many friends. Describes the wedding of Fanny Owen and R. M. Biddulph. Sedgwick called on return from Wales. W. D. Fox has been very ill.
Author: | Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12–28 June [1832] |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 72 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-173 |
From Charlotte Wedgwood 12 January – 1 February 1832
Summary
Writes about Hensleigh Wedgwood’s marriage to Frances Mackintosh and her own engagement to Charles Langton. Also gives news of other relatives and friends.
Author: | Charlotte Wedgwood; Charlotte Langton |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 and 29 Jan 1832 and 1 Feb 1832 |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 116 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-155 |
To Catherine Darwin May–June [1832]
Summary
Lists letters received and those sent; comments on family happenings.
The Beagle is back [from Bahia]; two sailors and "little [Charles] Musters" died of fever. In 14 days they sail for Montevideo, then to Rio Negro, then on to where no man is known to have been before.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
Date: | May–June [1832] |
Classmark: | DAR 223 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-169 |
From Susan Darwin 12 May [– 2 June] 1832
Summary
News from Maer and Shrewsbury of family, friends, and reports of reactions to CD’s first letters.
Sedgwick suggests he look for fossils in gravel banks of rivers.
Fanny Owen is married to R. M. Biddulph. Reform Bill prospects.
Author: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12 May [– 2 June] 1832 |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 96 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-170 |
From Caroline Darwin 12[–18] September 1832
Summary
News of the Darwin, Wedgwood, and Owen families, including a report on Frances Wedgwood’s death.
Author: | Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 12[–18] Sept 1832 |
Classmark: | DAR 204: 73 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-185 |
To R. W. Darwin 8 February – 1 March 1832
Summary
Writes with great happiness about the first part of the voyage, after his misery from seasickness passed. He finds himself well prepared, the ship quiet, comfortable, and compact; he has already a "rich harvest" and finds the natural history (especially geology) exceedingly interesting. The tropics are full of great beauty.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Robert Waring Darwin |
Date: | 8 & 26 Feb & 1 Mar [1832] |
Classmark: | DAR 223: 8 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-158 |
To R. W. Darwin 10 February 1832
Summary
Sends a short résumé of his trip on the chance that it will arrive in England earlier than longer letter [158] which he hopes to send by surer means.
He is "incessantly occupied by new and most interesting animals" and thinks he will be able to do some original work in natural history.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Robert Waring Darwin |
Date: | 10 Feb 1832 |
Classmark: | DAR 223 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-159 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … letter will be conveyed to Rio & from thence to Shrewsbury or to the fire. — We have had a most prosperous quick & pleasant voyage. — At first. —indeed till the Canary Islands. —I was unspeakably miserable from sea sickness & even now, a little motion makes me squeamish. — We did not stop at Madeira, owing to its blowing fresh, & at the Canary Islands, they wanted to put us in strict quarantine for 12 …
letter | (12) |
Darwin, C. R. | (5) |
Darwin, Caroline | (3) |
Wedgwood, Caroline | (3) |
Darwin, Catherine | (2) |
Langton, Catherine | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
Darwin, R. W. | (2) |
Darwin, Caroline | (1) |
Darwin, Catherine | (1) |
Henslow, J. S. | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
Darwin, Caroline | (4) |
Wedgwood, Caroline | (4) |
Darwin, Catherine | (3) |
Langton, Catherine | (3) |
Lost in translation: From Auguste Forel, 12 November 1874
Summary
You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections on your favourite topic—ants. If only you had paid attention when your mother tried to teach you English you might be able to read it. But you didn’t, and you…
Matches: 1 hits
- … You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections …
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: 1 hits
- … The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early …
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
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts of …
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
- … Towards the end of 1862, Darwin resolved to build a small hothouse at Down House, for …
1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…
Matches: 1 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
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: 1 hits
- … As the sheer volume of his correspondence indicates, 1862 was a particularly productive year for …
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: 1 hits
- … Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of …
Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers
Summary
In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began …
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: 1 hits
- … Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants …
German and Dutch photograph albums
Summary
Darwin Day 2018: To celebrate Darwin's 209th birthday, we present two lavishly produced albums of portrait photographs which Darwin received from continental admirers 141 years ago. These unusual gifts from Germany and the Netherlands are made…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In 1877, Charles Darwin was sent some unusual birthday presents: two lavishly …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 1 hits
- … I am merely slaving over the sickening work of preparing new Editions …
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … I think we have proved that the sleep of plants is to lessen injury to leaves from radiation …
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: 1 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
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: 1 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
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: 1 hits
- … In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 1 hits
- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little more I …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and …
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
- … Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have …
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: 1 hits
- … Species theory In November 1845, Charles Darwin wrote to his friend and confidant Joseph …
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: 1 hits
- … When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations …