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To J. S. Henslow 18 July 1833
Summary
Fears JSH will think his collections scanty. Makes it a constant rule to prefer obscure and diminutive tribes of animals.
Now has a servant whom he has taught to skin birds, etc.
Lists four barrels of specimens he is sending.
Gives future route. He looks forward to the western coast of South America.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 18 July 1833 |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 18 DAR/1/1/18) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-210 |
From Susan Darwin 22–31 July 1833
Summary
News of family and friends after skipping June letter: Osmaston and the Foxes, five weeks in London, the Langtons in Shropshire, Fanny Biddulph and daughter, R. W. Darwin, and Charles Hughes.
| Author: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 22 & 31 July 1833 |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 100 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-211 |
Author
| Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (1) |
Addressee
| Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (1) |
Correspondent
| Darwin, C. R. | (2) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (1) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (1) |
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94 Items
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: 27 hits
- … 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] …
- … 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] …
- … better, attributing the improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] …
- … he was ‘able to write about an hour on most days’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 22 December [1865] ). …
- … to his publisher, John Murray, ‘Of present book I have 7 chapters ready for press & all others …
- … my book will be ready for the press in the autumn’ ( letter to John Murray, 4 April [1865] ). In …
- … however, ‘I am never idle when I can do anything’ ( letter to John Murray, 2 June [1865] ). It was …
- … might be more willing to bear the expense of the woodcuts ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865 …
- … & I loathe the whole subject like tartar emetic’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 January [1865] ) …
- … you will be an unnatural parent, for it is your child’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 19 April 1865 ; …
- … needed for references, probably from the Linnean Society ( letter to [Richard Kippist], 4 June …
- … in or before November 1864 ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to Ernst Haeckel, 21 November [1864 …
- … 1865 that he had just finished hearing it read aloud ( letter to Fritz Müller, 10 August [1865] ). …
- … Linnean Society for publication in Müller’s name ( see letter from Fritz Müller, [12 and 31 August, …
- … so weak that I am not able to do any scientific work’ ( letter to Fritz Müller, 20 September [1865] …
- … coloured varieties (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to John Scott, 19 November [1862] ). …
- … and Darwin summarised them in Variation 2: 106–7, concluding, ‘it follows from Mr. Scott’s …
- … of real improvement in health’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). All the children …
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: 26 hits
- … Hooker, ‘or as far as I know any scientific man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December [1878] ). …
- … in the shape of an arch ( Movement in plants , pp. 96–7). As usual, staff at the Royal Botanical …
- … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
- … when he finds out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] …
- … Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). …
- … accursed German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June …
- … have nobody to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] …
- … but it is horrid not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). …
- … determine whether they had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 …
- … ‘There is one machine we must have’, Francis wrote ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 17 July …
- … ‘He seems to me to jump to conclusions rather’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [before 3 August 1878] …
- … the pot-plant every day & never the bedded out one’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 7 July …
- … ‘I have borrowed Cieselski & read him,’ he reported ( letter from Francis Darwin, [22 June 1878 …
- … books & red-wine which is here the cure for all evils’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [24 and 25 …
- … are here & all adoring Bernard’, he wrote to Francis on 7 July . ‘Bernard is very sweet & …
- … in a booboo, whereas I ought to have said a gee-gee’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 17 July [1878] ). …
- … close down on the object, but he will always do so’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 August [1878] ). …
- … idiot, a deaf-mute, a monkey & a baby in your house!’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 2 September …
- … that I want to play the part of a thieving wasp’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 21 June 1878 ). …
- … than zoology, where his work had been more controversial ( letter from J.-B. Dumas and Joseph …
- … me Dr Darwin, the title seems to me quite ridiculous’ ( letter to John Price, 2 April [1878] ). …
- … to refuse,’ he wrote to William Spottiswoode on 7 July . Pinker later made a statue of Darwin for …
- … of the “imperfection of the Geological Record”’ ( letter from Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár, 28 …
- … science our atlas would not have come together’ ( letter from Arnold Dodel-Port, 18 June 1878 ). …
- … generations’ ( enclosure to letter to T. H. Farrer, 7 March 1878 ). In the end, the attempt to …
- … from a person unknown to him. The benefactor wrote on 7 December : ‘I consider that you, more …
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: 18 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 …
- … Darwin, W.E. [7? April 1868] Southampton, England …
- … Gaika, Christian 7 July 1867 Bedford [Cape of Good …
- … 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 …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 7 Sept 1872 11 St Mary Abbot' …
- … W., London, England enclosed in letter from W. W. Reade Hottentots …
- … England (about Australia) encloses letter from Austrialian friend, letter not …
- … forwarded by Smyth; Wilson sent letter to Ferdinand von Mueller Victoria Aborigines …
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: 20 hits
- … species such as the mammoth ( Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 4 May [1860] and n. …
- … Galton. In February 1863, Lubbock received a letter from Lyell, evidently in response …
- … taking a clear position on the transmutation of species. 7 Later, he wrote to Lyell himself, …
- … 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 …
- … 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 …
- … in the dispute. When Hooker pressed him for an opinion ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 July 1865 ), …
- … with Huxley in June and July and had seen Huxley’s letter to Hooker about the affair, 24 he …
- … reluctantly agreed to delete his own note. In his last letter to Huxley dealing with the affair, he …
- … 30 However, two weeks later, in his last letter to Hooker on the matter, Lubbock’s tone was …
- … analysis of the situation was succinct. In his letter to Hooker of [4 June 1865] he warned that …
- … third edition of Antiquity of man (C. Lyell 1863c; see letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 June 1865 …
- … written in Swedish, he gave me an abstract for my use, in a letter dated December 1859. He referred …
- … 1983, Stocking 1987, and Van Riper 1993. 2. Letter from Charles Lyell to John Lubbock, 20 …
- … 1863a are discussed in Bynum 1984, pp. 154–9. 7. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter …
- … 1973. 8. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] and …
- … 14, doc. 183–4). 15. Letter from T. H. Huxley, 7 March 1865, in BL MSS ADD 49641. …
Darwin on marriage
Summary
On 11 November 1838 Darwin wrote in his journal ‘The day of days!’. He had proposed to his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, and been accepted; they were married on 29 January 1839. Darwin appears to have written these two notes weighing up the pros and cons of…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Darwin and his correspondents. First note [after 7 April 1838][1] Work finished …
- … near Regents Park—keep horse—take Summer tours Collect[7] specimens some line of Zoolog: …
- … note was written in pencil on the three blank pages of the letter from Leonard Horner, 7 April [1838 …
- … definite prospect in mind at the time of writing, but in a letter to Charles Lyell, [12 November …
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: 24 hits
- … 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 …
- … 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] …
- … than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
- … from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
- … 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 …
- … book he wished his one-time mentor had not said a word ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February …
- … I respect you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … against stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). …
- … thinking, while Huxley’s book would scare them off ( see letter from Asa Gray, 20 April 1863 ). In …
- … change of species by descent put him ‘into despair’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). In the …
- … disaffected towards Lyell and his book. In a February letter to the Athenæum , a weekly review of …
- … find great difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
- … of so much of Lyell’s book being written by others’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
- … is wretched to see men fighting so for a little fame’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). …
- … overt act, and I shall watch for a fitting opportunity’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] …
- … God demented Owen, as a punishment for his crimes… ?’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January [1863] …
- … Darwin’, a transitional form between reptiles and birds ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January …
- … the public in this way ( see letter from J. D. Hooker, [7 May 1863] , and Appendix VII). He also …
- … [1863] , and letter from Julius von Haast, 21 July [–7? August] 1863 ). Darwin was subsequently …
- … paper with satisfaction ( see letter to John Scott, 7 November [1863] ). Scott had referred …
- … he could send him to the war ( see letter from Asa Gray, 7 July 1863 ). Darwin shared this letter …
British Association meeting 1860
Summary
Several letters refer to events at the British Association for the Advancement of Science held in Oxford, 26 June – 3 July 1860. Darwin had planned to attend the meeting but in the end was unable to. The most famous incident of the meeting was the verbal…
Matches: 4 hits
- … treatment for a stomach that had “utterly broken down” (letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [June 1860] ) …
- … and Thomas Henry Huxley that occurred during the Saturday, 7 July, meeting of Section D (zoology and …
- … preceded by their precise attribution. Athenæum , 7 July 1860, p. 19: Introduction to the …
- … uncommonly lively during the week. Athenæum , 7 July 1860, pp. 25–6: Thursday session of …
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: 26 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., …
- … 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 …
- … on his summer holiday in Margate. Letter 7433 - Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [9 …
- … Letter 1836 - Berkeley, M. J. to Darwin, [7 March 1856] Clergyman and botanist …
- … Letter 4233 - Tegetmeier, W. B. to Darwin, [29 June - 7 July 1863] Tegetmeier updates …
- … & corrections” of Variation . Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 …
- … as well as her help with tone and style. Letter 7123 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., …
- … and her transpositions “most just”. Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 …
- … over which she “took so much trouble”. Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., …
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Matches: 6 hits
- … Fordingbridge ( Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7). The missions were organised by …
- … from F. J. Wedgwood to H. E. and C. R. Darwin, [1867–72], letter nos. 7058–62). She had …
- … priests ending with a mission meeting in the schoolroom at 7.30 where there was most of the …
- … the question was the certainty of results. 7 Then I emboldened myself to discover m. of …
- … when I feel my day made bright & happy by one short letter. I want him to take me in his arms …
- … in the Hampshire Advertiser , 21 January 1871, p. 7. 4 Probably John Bourdieu …
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 …
- … meet the local celebrity, John Ruskin. Marshall wrote on 7 September that Ruskin, the day after …
- … dogma’, Mary Jung, a young Austrian woman, wrote on 7 January . ‘When my reason agrees with your …
- … be an atheist, Darwin told the clergyman John Fordyce on 7 May , ‘It seems to me absurd to doubt …
- … work in such an outstanding way’, Würtenberger wrote on 7 February , after receiving £100 from …
Frank Chance
Summary
The Darwin archive not only contains letters, manuscript material, photographs, books and articles but also all sorts of small, dry specimens, mostly enclosed with letters. Many of these enclosures have become separated from the letters or lost altogether,…
Matches: 6 hits
- … pigeon-fancier W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 April [1871] . In his letter Chance is responding to the …
- … from my hair & another from my beard & whiskers. (Letter from Frank Chance, [before …
- … was given to personal adornments’), CD annotated the letter with what was probably a draft of the …
- … hair could not be found. However, while footnoting a second letter from Chance in 1873, a discovery …
- … in the winter but has actually turned \quite white\ (Letter from Frank Chance, 31 July–7 …
- … case that CD had observed on 13 May 1871. William’s letter of 5 June 1871 reported the forest …
'An Appeal' against animal cruelty
Summary
The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…
Matches: 17 hits
- … was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 …
- … of the pamphlet in August and September 1863 (see letter from G. B. Sowerby Jr to Emma Darwin, 22 …
- … 1863, pp. 821–2, under the title `Vermin and traps' ( Letter no. 4282). The wording of the …
- … and to 'a good many persons Squires Ladies & MPs' (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D …
- … more success with the campaign than she expected (see the letter from Emma Darwin to William Erasmus …
- … s. 6 d. for distributing the 'cruelty pamphlet', and letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. …
- … single design fitted the requirements (Moss 1961, pp. 146–7). During the early 1870s the RSPCA …
- … the campaign had little direct effect (Moss 1961, pp. 146–7, Emma Darwin 2: 200). …
- … involved no more cruelty than the possible alternatives (see letter from E. L. Darwin, 7 September …
- … his sisters during his boyhood ( Autobiography , pp. 26–7). As an adult, he took pains to prevent …
- … to the RSPCA in 1852 for working horses with sore necks (see letter from Emma Darwin to William …
- … threatened to report a similar case of cruelty in 1866 (see letter to [Local landowner], [1866], …
- … as a young naturalist ( Autobiography , pp. 44, 54–5, 78, and Correspondence vol. 2, letter to …
- … and family who enjoyed the sport (see Autobiography , pp. 78–9, Correspondence vol. 7, letter …
- … categories of wild birds by sportsmen (Sheail 1976, pp. 22–7, Allen 1994, p. 177), and which some …
- … pp. 60–2, 124–128, Worster 1985, pp. 179–80, 184–7). An appeal It is a …
- … A. B., 6 Mr. Strong, Printer, Bromley, Kent. 7 or to Mrs C. Darwin | Downbar …
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,…
Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 6 hits
- … Darwin began the ice treatment on 20 May 1865. In his letter to Chapman of 7 June 1865, he reported …
- … week of July, he had evidently given up the treatment (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. …
- … gout’ by Henry Holland in 1849 ( Correspondence vol. 4, letter to W. D. Fox, 6 February [1849]). …
- … by William Brinton, William Jenner, and George Busk (see letter to J. D. Hooker, [7 January 1865], …
- … 11, Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December [1863]). In his letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 [November 1863] …
- … with dietary restrictions (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 April [1864], …
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: 23 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 …
- … 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 …
- … 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 ). …
- … false, scurrilous accusation of [a] lying scoundrel’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). …
- … as father and son agonised over the wording of both the letter to the editor and the letter to …
- … & it had been refused’ ( letter from G. H. Darwin, [6 or 7 August 1874] ). When the letter was …
- … from the moment of being hatched ( letter to Nature , 7 and 11 May [1874] ; Spalding 1872a). …
- … from his sons George and Francis ( letter to Anton Dohrn, 7 March 1874 ). Dohrn replied …
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: 29 hits
- … in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
- … memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
- … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
- … 31 January [1881] and 19 February [1881] ). On 7 March , Darwin sent his discussion of the …
- … the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
- … whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
- … about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
- … for more suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March …
- … supposed he would feel ‘less sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The …
- … dead a work falls at this late period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). …
- … conversation with you’, a Swedish teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), …
- … add, however little, to the general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). …
- … regular ‘bread-winners’ ( Correspondence vol. 30, letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … any future publication & to acknowledge any criticism’ ( letter to C. G. Semper, 19 July 1881 …
- … view of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). …
- … the kindly protection of the high priests of science’ ( letter from Francisco de Arruda Furtado, 29 …
- … Nature , which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In …
- … minds, without being in the least conscious of it’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 5 May 1881 ). …
- … this produced about the year 1840(?) on all our minds’ ( letter to John Lubbock, [18 September 1881 …
- … big one’ and had ‘gone much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling …
- … than for originality’, and telling Hooker, ‘Your long letter has stirred many pleasant memories of …
- … poured in so atrocious a manner on all physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 April 1881 ). …
- … George Jesse and Frances Power Cobbe. Jesse, in a private letter, stated that Darwin must not have …
- … Royal Commission for the regulation of vivisection, and a letter from Cobbe in The Times made …
- … Cobbe’s claims. To Darwin’s relief, a second letter from Cobbe, published on 23 April, was answered …
- … April , Darwin asked, ‘did you notice how in her second letter she altered what she quoted from her …
- … judge this seems true’, Darwin reported to Romanes on 7 August . Family joys An …
- … 1881 ). The publication date was 10 October, but by 7 October Darwin learned that 1200 copies …
- … in 1881, the year ended with the happy news of a birth. On 7 December, Charles and Emma Darwin’s …
Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms
Summary
‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…
Matches: 23 hits
- … my grandfather’s character is of much value to me’ ( letter to C. H. Tindal, 5 January 1880 ). …
- … have influenced the whole Kingdom, & even the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 …
- … delighted to find an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and …
- … much powder & shot’ ( Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 , and …
- … modified; but now I much regret that I did not do so’ ( letter to Samuel Butler, 3 January 1880 ). …
- … and ‘decided on laying the matter before the public’ ( letter from Samuel Butler, 21 January 1880 …
- … and uncertain about what to do. He drafted two versions of a letter to the Athen æum , sending …
- … in which he will have the last word’, she warned ( letter from H. E. Litchfield, [1 February 1880] …
- … who will fight to the end’, added her husband Richard ( letter from R. B. Litchfield, 1 February …
- … him & given him Darwinophobia? It is a horrid disease’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 February …
- … squashing the ‘mosquito inflated to an elephant’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 9 December 1880 ). …
- … inches of soil as a protection against enemies.’ ‘Your letter … made me open my eyes’, Gray replied …
- … his original description. Darwin was puzzled: ‘If my letter opened your eyes, yours has opened mine …
- … to the same species, should behave so differently.’ ( Letter to Asa Gray, 17 February 1880 .) But …
- … of the plant in its native habitat. He forwarded a letter from a botanist and schoolteacher in …
- … ‘Where is the profit for Author or publisher?’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 20 July 1880 ). ‘I must …
- … money by science, I must now lose some for science’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 21 July 1880 ). The …
- … without any corresponding structural differentiations’ ( letter from F. M. Balfour, [22 November …
- … In former years I was, also, rarely fit to see anybody’ ( letter to S. H. Haliburton, 13 December …
- … he pretended, ‘but the subject has amused me’ ( letter to W. C. McIntosh, 18 June 1880 ). Members …
- … back. Then we saw a steam tram—imagine my excitement’ ( letter from Horace Darwin to Emma Darwin, …
- … study to public-school pupils ( letter to Francis Galton, 7 April 1880 , and letter from Francis …
- … B. Buckley, 31 October [1880] ). Buckley reported back on 7 November : ‘At first he hesitated …
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: 29 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 …
- … know not in the least , whether the Book will sell’ ( letter to John Murray, 9 [February 1862] …
- … govern the structure of almost every flower’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 8 June [1862] ). …
- … so doubtful about anything I published’, he told Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 [May 1862] ). …
- … May, and George Bentham pronounced it ‘most valuable’ (letter from George Bentham, 15 May 1862). …
- … in writing the book, it was, after all, ‘a success’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 [June 1862] ). …
- … power of natural selection. He made the point to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 March [1862] …
- … the truth of natural selection through the back door ( letter to Asa Gray, 23[–4] July [1862] ). …
- … the distant events to life ( see letter to Asa Gray, 26[–7] November [1862] ). When Darwin …
- … than almost anywhere else’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 March [1862] ). he is so …
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: 18 hits
- … On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & that will do me some good, if I …
- … ‘Without cutting him direct’, he advised Darwin on 7 January , ‘I should avoid him, & if he …
- … to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
- … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
- … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
- … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
- … can make several parts clearer,’ Darwin reiterated on 7 November , ‘I believe (though I hope I am …
- … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
- … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
- … signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
- … ancestry. ‘You know better than anybody’, he wrote on 7 January , ‘how infinitely great is the …
- … the Duke of Wellington on art (Max Müller 1875, pp. 305–7). The debate between Max Müller and …
- … both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
- … her presentation copy of Insectivorous plants ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 15 July [1875] ). Such …
- … of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). …
- … and had agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 …
- … lay of hair in eyelashes and on arms, a typically lengthy letter full of personal observations, …
- … examination it was pronounced to be of a ‘high type’ ( letter from Woodward Emery, 17 September …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 29 hits
- … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
- … of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
- … book would take the form of a ‘short essay’ on man ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 3 July 1868 ). But …
- … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
- … would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from Dallas to …
- … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
- … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
- … Darwin was clearly impressed by Lewes’s reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter …
- … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
- … ignorant article… . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] …
- … ‘he is a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] …
- … wrote of the colour of duck claws on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the Rev d C. …
- … proved very fruitful. On 1 May , Darwin received a letter from George Cupples, who was encouraged …
- … with the enthusiastic breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous …
- … of science On 27 February , Darwin sent a letter of thanks to the naturalist and …
- … he later added, ‘for it is clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). …
- … to various classes, a dim ray of light may be gained’ ( letter to H. T. Stainton, 21 February [1868 …
- … as well as of ‘victorious males getting wives’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 25 February [1868] ). …
- … of females was remarked upon by other entomologists ( letter from Roland Trimen, 20 February 1868 …
- … and Coleoptera on 9 September . Darwin annotated a letter sent on 3 April by Henry Doubleday …
- … for as sure as life he wd find the odour sexual!’ ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] …
- … George Robert Crotch, writing to his mother Emma in a letter dated [after 16 October 1868] : ‘I …
- … box of preparations to papa … I will write a less beetley letter soon.’ Other relations …
- … present had taken no particular interest in the dyed hen ( letter from Harrison Weir, 28 March 1868 …
- … in the great question of the “Origin of Species”’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 4 October 1868 ). …
- … weapon in the hands of the enemies of Nat. Selection’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 8 [April] 1868 …
- … A correspondent of Hooker’s distributed it in Japan ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 5 September 1868 ) …
- … undergoing vaccination ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [7 April 1868] ). Francis was also drafted into …
- … desire to penetrate Truth’ ( letter from Ernest Faivre, 7 April 1868 ). Armand de Quatrefages, who …
