To H. E. Strickland [19 February 1842]
Summary
CD saw Andrew Smith, who is interested in the subject [of zoological nomenclature], but CD thinks he differs from HES on some points. Sends Smith’s address.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Hugh Edwin Strickland |
| Date: | [19 Feb 1842] |
| Classmark: | Museum of Zoology Archives, University of Cambridge (Strickland Papers) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-620 |
To Susan Darwin [22 February 1842]
Summary
Comments on birth [of Catherine Elizabeth Sophia Wedgwood].
Plans to visit Shrewsbury.
Describes behaviour of William Darwin.
Discusses speculation losses of acquaintances, including T. Carlyle’s. Mentions his own loss on Journal of researches.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | [22 Feb 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 185: 10 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-621 |
To Emma Darwin [8 March 1842]
Summary
Family news from Shrewsbury.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Date: | [8 Mar 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.8: 18 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-622 |
To Emma Darwin [13 March 1842]
Summary
News of family and of his stay at Shrewsbury.
Calculates the newly instituted income tax will mean £30 per annum.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Date: | [13 Mar 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.8: 19 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-623 |
To W. D. Fox 23 March [1842]
Summary
Letter of condolence on the death of WDF’s wife [Harriet Fletcher Fox].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | 23 Mar [1842] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 57) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-624 |
To W. D. Fox [31 March 1842]
Summary
Second letter of condolence, following burial of Mrs Fox.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | [31 Mar 1842] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 56) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-625 |
To A. Y. Spearman 29 April 1842
Summary
The fourth number of part four is now published; the Smith, Elder & Co. account is presented.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Alexander Young Spearman, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 29 Apr 1842 |
| Classmark: | The National Archives (TNA) (T1/4723 paper 15949) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-625A |
To Emma Darwin [9 May 1842]
Summary
Is "stomachy and be-blue-devilled" because of costs of publishing [Zoology and Coral reefs]. Wonders how the remainder [of the Zoology and Geology of "Beagle"] can be published without taking £200 or £300 out of their personal funds.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Date: | [9 May 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.8: 20 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-626 |
To Leonard Jenyns [May–September 1842]
Summary
Glad to hear that LJ will repeat his notes to Gilbert White’s [Natural history of] Selborne [1843] in a separate work.
Critical of G. R. Gray’s attaching his own name to Furnarius cunicularius [in Birds, pp. 65–6]. Strickland’s nomenclature laws are needed to check egoism.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Leonard Jenyns; Leonard Blomefield |
| Date: | [May–Sept 1842] |
| Classmark: | Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-627 |
To Mary-Anne Herbert [5 May 1842]
Summary
Acknowledges Mrs H’s disappointing answer to his quest for a house in the country. Five miles from a railway station is "the length of my tether".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Mary Anne Johnes; Mary Anne Herbert |
| Date: | [5 May 1842] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-628 |
To Leonard Jenyns [9 May 1842]
Summary
Is sending fish skins and bottles off to Cambridge Philosophical Society.
Fish numbers [of Zoology], now finished, give CD satisfaction when he doubts whether he ought to have applied for Government money.
Wishes Thomas Bell would finish his part [Reptiles].
CD has just corrected last page of index of Coral reefs.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Leonard Jenyns; Leonard Blomefield |
| Date: | [9 May 1842] |
| Classmark: | Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-629 |
To Smith, Elder & Co. [17 May 1842]
Summary
Gives instructions for sending out copies of Coral reefs to various journals. Discusses the complimentary copies which have already been sent out.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Smith, Elder & Co |
| Date: | [17 May 1842] |
| Classmark: | Christie’s (dealers) (7 December 1988); Gerard A. J. Stodolski (dealer) (April 2014) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-629A |
To H. E. Strickland 31 May [1842]
Summary
Comments on HES’s Report ["Report of a committee … (on) nomenclature of zoology", Rep. BAAS 12 (1842): 105–21]. Suggests limit be put to changing names that are only partially erroneous to prevent those who detect the error from coining new names and attaching their own. HES’s rule for "authority for a species" is difficult, though on the whole best. Suggests stating it boldly to prevent appropriation of species names by "tacker[s] of two old names together".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Hugh Edwin Strickland |
| Date: | 31 May [1842] |
| Classmark: | Museum of Zoology Archives, University of Cambridge (Strickland Papers) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-630 |
To W. H. Fitton 23 June 1842
Summary
[Excerpt copied from a letter CD wrote to WHF.]
CD’s gratefulness to William Buckland for his guidance on the glaciated terrain of N. Wales. "I am also convinced that the valleys of Glen Roy … have been occupied by arms of the Sea, & very likely, (for on that point I cannot of course doubt Agassiz & Buckland) by glaciers also."
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Henry Fitton |
| Date: | 23 June 1842 |
| Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (Louis Agassiz correspondence and other papers, MS Am 1419: 239) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-632 |
To Catherine Darwin [16 September 1842]
Summary
Emma and Doddy [W. E. Darwin] like Down. CD has met, and plans to employ, the local surgeon. "I feel sure I shall become deeply attached to Down, with a few improvements".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
| Date: | [16 Sept 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 153: 6 (EH 88202298) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-633 |
To Susan Darwin [late July–August 1842]
Summary
Has made an offer for house at Down, renting having been refused. Discusses price, risks involved, and Edward Cresy’s advice.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | [late July–Aug 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 92: A16–17 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-634 |
From John Provis 14 July 1842
Summary
Discusses elevations along Holyhead Road [Anglesey].
| Author: | John Provis |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 July 1842 |
| Classmark: | DAR 27.1: B23 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-635 |
From John Provis 20 July 1842
Summary
Location of village of Bethesda [NW Wales].
| Author: | John Provis |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 July 1842 |
| Classmark: | DAR 27.1: B24 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-636 |
To Catherine Darwin [24 July 1842]
Summary
Describes the village of Down and the house they are thinking of buying.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
| Date: | [24 July 1842] |
| Classmark: | DAR 153: 7 (EH 88202299) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-637 |
To A. Y. Spearman 5 August 1842
Summary
The Smith, Elder & Co. account for the first number of part five of the Zoology, now published, is presented.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Alexander Young Spearman, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 5 Aug 1842 |
| Classmark: | The National Archives (TNA) (T1/4723 paper 15949) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-637A |
| letter | (57) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (50) |
| Provis, John | (2) |
| Becher, A. B. | (1) |
| Blunt, Thomas | (1) |
| Falconer, Hugh | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
| Baxter, W. W. | (5) |
| Baxter, William | (5) |
| Lyell, Charles | (4) |
| Strickland, H. E. | (4) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (57) |
| Baxter, W. W. | (5) |
| Baxter, William | (5) |
| Lyell, Charles | (4) |
| Strickland, H. E. | (4) |
Darwin and Down
Summary
Charles and Emma Darwin, with their first two children, settled at Down House in the village of Down (later ‘Downe’) in Kent, as a young family in 1842. The house came with eighteen acres of land, and a fifteen acre meadow. The village combined the…
Darwin and Fatherhood
Summary
Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten children. It is often assumed that Darwin was an exceptional Victorian father. But how extraordinary was he? The Correspondence Project allows an unusually…
Darwin & Glen Roy
Summary
Although Darwin was best known for his geological work in South America and other remote Beagle destinations, he made one noteworthy attempt to explain a puzzling feature of British geology. In 1838, two years after returning from the voyage, he travelled…
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: 1 hits
- … heading in the earliest outline of his theory written in 1842 , and, as he told Asa Gray in …
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…
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: 30 hits
- … Illustrations of the Domestic animals of Gt. Britain [D. Low 1842].— 23 must be read carefully. …
- … Erasmus—— Lavater. Life & Correspondence [?Heisch 1842] Coleridge. Literary …
- … Cicero [Middleton 1741] W. Meister’s Life [Goethe 1842].— Malcolm’s History of Persia …
- … [DAR *119: 15] Zanoni by Bulwer [Bulwer-Lytton 1842]. Life of D. of Marlborough [A. …
- … organs read A. Alison on Population. 2 vols. Feb. 1842 [A. Alison 1840].— Youatt in …
- … 1836]: worth looking at. Low has probably told all [D. Low 1842] Madras Journal [ Madras …
- … Soc. appears to be good Papers on Sewalik Fossils in 1842 [Cautley 1840 and Cautley and Falconer …
- … Read “Bronn’s Geschicte der Natur.” [Bronn 1842–3] Kingdons translat …
- … Jussieus introduct to Bot. price 6 s [Jussieu 1842] [DAR *119: 20v.] …
- … Cerealia [Loiseleur Deslongchamps 1842–3] Phytologist [ …
- … (List from Muller & Bronn [Müller 1837–42 and Bronn 1842–3] in this Book) 52 Royle …
- … . Smollets William & Mary. & Anne [Smollett 1805].— 1842 Jan 10 M rs …
- … —— 17 th Laing notes of a Traveller 1 vol [Laing 1842] —— Finished Wordsworth 6 vols. …
- … such instincts .— [DAR 119: 12b] 1842 March. 26 th Holcroft’s Memoirs …
- … [Hyde 1704] Feb. Vol. of Madame D’Arblay [Burney 1842–6] Mar 1. Lieut. Eyres Narrative …
- … nothing —— Doubleday on Population [Doubleday 1842] —— Ramond’s voyage in Pyrenees …
- … 1774] —— F. Bremer’s little novels [Bremer 1842, 1843b, 1844a, 1844c] March 7 th M …
- … 1839] 14 th Arnolds lectures on History [Arnold 1842] —— History of Civilization by …
- … very poor Oct 1 Owen on Mylodon Robustus [R. Owen 1842]. References at end. 7 th . …
- … June 8 th Wilson Voyage Round Scotland [J. Wilson 1842] (poor) M. Gerard sur l’Espece …
- … [Chambers 1845] —— Bronn’s Gesickte [Bronn 1842–3] 2 d . Vol [DAR 119: 16b] …
- … [M. G. Lewis 1834] Nov 7. Life of Lavater [?Heisch 1842] —— 25. M rs . Meredith. N.S …
- … April VI & VII. vol. of Madame d’Arblay [Burney 1842–6]. —— 15 th . Phillip’s life of W …
- … —— Jussieu. Cours Elementaire Botanique [Jussieu 1842] —— Transactions of Amer. Philosoph Soc …
- … des Naturalistes de Moscou ]. Vols for 1833, 1837, 1838, 1842, 43, 44—not all these latter vols: …
- … 17 th Thompson’s Birds of Ireland [W. Thompson 1842] Part I. Sept. 17. Sir J. Ross. Voyage …
- … Nov. 15 th Wilson Voyage. Scotland [J. Wilson 1842] —— Southey. Book of the Church [R. W. …
- … Keppell. 1853 [Keppel 1853] Dickens America [Dickens 1842] Thackerays Lectures on …
- … et exp. pages 248. 8 vo [Loiseleur Deslongchamps 1842–3] Linn. Soc.? must be read.— not in Royal. …
- … of Indies [Acosta 1604].— Report, Brit. Assoc. 1842 . Richardson N.Z. Fish [J. Richardson …
3.1 Antoine Claudet, daguerreotype
Summary
< Back to Introduction This daguerreotype of Darwin with his firstborn child, William, was, according to a label on the glass, taken on 23 August 1842, just before the family moved from London to Down. It is generally attributed to the French…
Matches: 4 hits
- … was, according to a label on the glass, taken on 23 August 1842, just before the family moved from …
- … daguerreotype of the Darwins. Darwin’s account book for 1842 records the purchase of a daguerreotype …
- … this information does not tally with the dating: in August 1842, William would have been only two …
- … Claudet date of creation 23 August 1842 computer-readable date 1842-08-23 …
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: 7 hits
- … their first child, William Erasmus, was born. In September 1842, the family, now increased by a …
- … and explore new avenues of thought, and by the summer of 1842 he felt that his research had …
- … of species was published, but the general outline of 1842 is, to a surprising degree, present in …
- … far from their original locations. The following year, 1842, having heard of evidence of glaciation …
- … research required. The trip to North Wales in June 1842 was his last field trip: thereafter his …
- … stays at Shrewsbury and Maer during the summers of 1841 and 1842 show that he was making botanical …
- … obvious relevance to the theory of descent (Pencil sketch of 1842, in Foundations , p. 74). …
Darwin’s Photographic Portraits
Summary
Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of photography for the study of Expression and Emotions in Man and Animal, but can be witnessed in his many photographic portraits and in the extensive portrait correspondence that…
Darwin’s observations on his children
Summary
Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children, began the research that culminated in his book The Expression of the emotions in man and animals, published in 1872, and his article ‘A biographical sketch of an infant’, published in Mind…
Matches: 14 hits
- … his mouth to do so.—[35] 25v. Feb. 20 th . 1842. Anny (, same age) has learned to shake …
- … 28v. [39] Anny was to day March 1 st 1842 rather amused, at a wafer sticking first to one hand …
- … case of my watch.— 29v. March 1 st 1842— Anny says Papa pretty clearly—[40] A few days …
- … pretty & Papa for a week past perfectly clear Feb 1842 I have long observed that the …
- … for their feelings— 31 [42] In Jan ry . 1842 it was first perceived that Willy began to …
- … “bub my crumps” & 31v. March 29 th . 1842.— I have some months remarked how much …
- … gabble nonsense words,— 33 March 20: th .— 1842 Doddy is a great adept at throwing …
- … the eyes & is a full face.— 36 March 26 th 1842 2 years & 3 mth— Doddy was …
- … not the “beast in house”.— 37v. [50] May 1. 1842. 14 months old It is curious to see how …
- … down the corners of his mouth[51] June 1 st . 1842 Observed the first day I put on a new …
- … stuck to it, “no Doddy did not”. Aug 26 th .. 1842 About a fortnight ago, I met Willy …
- … at Upper Gower Street between 12 February and 16 March 1842. [43] Stammering ran in the …
- … [51] Emma Darwin and the children went to Maer on 3 May 1842; CD joined them on 18 May (Emma Darwin …
- … of bees in pollination, made in the summers between 1840 and 1842, are in DAR 46.2 and DAR 205.5: 53 …
Species theory outlined
Summary
Darwin writes a 32-page outline of his ideas on species change, known as 'the pencil sketch'
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin writes a 32-page outline of his ideas on species change, known as 'the pencil sketch' …
Bibliography of Darwin’s geological publications
Summary
This list includes papers read by Darwin to the Geological Society of London, his books on the geology of the Beagle voyage, and other publications on geological topics. Author-date citations refer to entries in the Darwin Correspondence Project’s…
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, …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
Here is a list of people that appeared in the photograph album Darwin received for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from scientific admirers in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Hester Loeff for identifying and researching them. No. …
Matches: 5 hits
Living and fossil cirripedia
Summary
Darwin published four volumes on barnacles, the crustacean sub-class Cirripedia, between 1851 and 1854, two on living species and two on fossil species. Written for a specialist audience, they are among the most challenging and least read of Darwin’s works…
Matches: 1 hits
- … had also completed two outlines of his ‘species theory’ (1842 Pencil sketch and 1844 Essay). …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … obst. doct. 35 Den Haag 20 December 1842 Rotterdam 23 …
Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … should be denied him. After prolonged illnesses in 1841 and 1842, years poorly represented in the …
Before Origin: the ‘big book’
Summary
Darwin began ‘sorting notes for Species Theory’ on 9 September 1854, the very day he concluded his eight-year study of barnacles (Darwin's Journal). He had long considered the question of species. In 1842, he outlined a theory of transmutation in a…
Hensleigh Wedgwood
Summary
Hensleigh Wedgwood, Emma Darwin’s brother and Charles’s cousin, was a philologist, barrister and original member of the Philological Society, which had been created in 1842. In 1857, while Wedgwood was preparing a dictionary of English etymology, he wrote…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of the Philological Society, which had been created in 1842. In 1857, while Wedgwood was preparing a …
Darwin and working from home
Summary
Ever wondered how Darwin worked? As part of our For the Curious series of simple interactives, ‘Darwin working from home’ lets you explore objects from Darwin’s study and garden at Down House to learn how he worked and what he had to say about it. And not…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin moved into Down House in Kent on 17 th September 1842 and remained there for the rest of …
