To Hugh Falconer [1845?–7 or 1857–64]
Summary
Arranges a time for visiting HF.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Hugh Falconer |
| Date: | 1845-7 or 1857-64 |
| Classmark: | DAR 144: 21 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2305 |
From J. D. Hooker [28 April 1845]
Summary
First part of "Galapagos flora" ["Plants of the Galapagos Archipelago", Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 20 (1851): 163–233] finished but not printed.
Details of distribution of Galapagos flora. Peculiarity of island floras.
Leaves for Edinburgh on Wednesday.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [28 Apr 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 100: 48 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-862 |
To J. D. Hooker [10 February 1845]
Summary
Congratulates JDH and condoles with him on possible position at Edinburgh. Although CD will miss him bitterly, he encourages JDH to view it as a good opportunity.
Sorry to hear that Humboldt is failing.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [10 Feb 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 27 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-826 |
To J. D. Hooker [22 July – 19 August 1845]
Summary
Thanks for facts on solitary islands having several species of peculiar genera; "it knocks on the head some analogies of mine".
Has long been trying to discover in how many flowers crossing is probable, but finds it difficult to show "even a vague probability of this".
Will JDH proof-read Galapagos chapter of Journal of researches?
Gives information on his Galapagos collection; explains why it differs from others.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [22 July – 19 Aug 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 37 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-892 |
To C. G. Ehrenberg 29 October [1845]
Summary
Sends specimens. Asks for information about specimens from Rio Gallegos.
What does CGE mean by the term "Fluthgebiete"?
French translation gives impression that Ehrenberg attributes Pampas deposit to debacle.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg |
| Date: | 29 Oct [1845] |
| Classmark: | Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN/HBSB, N005 NL Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg Nr. 43) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-923 |
To J. D. Hooker [27 June 1845]
Summary
Busy correcting proofs. Thanks for JDH’s remarks; asks him to send any other corrections soon; goes to press with second part of Journal of researches in less than a week.
Urges collections of all kinds on any isolated islands.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [27 June 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 35 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-880 |
Matches: 2 hits
- … Henslow, [21 January 1838] . See letter to J. D. Hooker, [11–12 July 1845] , n. 8. C. …
- … 11. E. Forbes 1845 . CD’s discussion of Arctic–alpine distribution is in his essay of 1844 ( Foundations , pp. 162–8). Edinburgh, literally ‘old smokie’. John Coldstream , a friend of CD when he attended Edinburgh University (see Correspondence vol. 1). Dumont d’Urville [1841–54] and Webb and Berthelot 1836–50. For CD’s earlier attempts to borrow the latter work see Correspondence vol. 2, letter …
To J. S. Henslow 28 October [1845]
Summary
Comments on potato disease and its effects on the poor.
Describes visit to his Lincolnshire farm,
to York where he discussed hybrids with the Dean of Manchester [William Herbert],
his meeting with Charles Waterton, and his delight with Chatsworth.
Disappointed at Hooker’s failure to receive the Edinburgh chair; believes JDH will make a great botanist.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 28 Oct [1845] |
| Classmark: | Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology MSS 405 A. Gift of the Burndy Library) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-921 |
From J. D. Hooker 5 July 1845
Summary
Raises some points for revision of CD’s Journal of researches.
Southern island floras. "The more I ponder upon Insular Floras the less inclined I am to admit the mutation of species to any very great amount."
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 July 1845 |
| Classmark: | DAR 100: 51–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-887 |
From J. D. Hooker [late February 1845]
Summary
Previous letter [missing] on Edinburgh position was ill-tempered. Friends assure him that he ought to be thankful for opportunity to try for professorship.
Reports meeting with Humboldt in Paris.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [late Feb 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 100: 165–6 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-832 |
To Susan Darwin 3[–4] September 1845
Summary
"All about household and money matters." The family is now living on about £1000 per annum. Plans a new walk and additions to the house.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Susan Elizabeth Darwin |
| Date: | 3[–4] Sept 1845 |
| Classmark: | DAR 153: 109 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-913 |
From J. D. Hooker [after 12 July 1845]
Summary
Answers CD’s questions relating to the flora of the Galapagos. [See 889.]
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 12 July 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 100: 43–7 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-883 |
From B. J. Sulivan 4 July 1845
Summary
On marking and shipment of fossils.
Has met the artist, J. M. Rugendas.
Discusses British and French relations with Rosas government [of Argentina].
| Author: | Bartholomew James Sulivan |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 4 July 1845 |
| Classmark: | DAR 46.1: 87–8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-886 |
To Emma Darwin [3–4 February 1845]
Summary
News of the children and books he is reading.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Date: | [3–4 Feb 1845] |
| Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (28 March 1983) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-821 |
From G. R. Waterhouse [c. June 1845]
Summary
Notes on Galapagos Coleoptera.
| Author: | George Robert Waterhouse |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [c. June 1845] |
| Classmark: | DAR 46.2: B3–5 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-807 |
From Bartholomew James Sulivan 13 January – 12 February 1845
Summary
Describes stratification of cliffs on south shore of Rio Gallegos; fossils found at base of cliffs. Speculates about geological past of the area. Discusses climate of southern Patagonia; navigation problems at the mouth of Rio Gallegos.
Gives results of soundings taken between Falkland Islands and South American mainland. Describes geology of Falklands, especially the dikes found on many islands. Comments on climate of Falklands. Discusses horses and cattle, health of his children in the Falklands. Mentions volutes found in the Falklands.
Passes on report of FitzRoy’s policies as governor of New Zealand.
| Author: | Bartholomew James Sulivan |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Jan – 12 Feb 1845 |
| Classmark: | DAR 46.1: 75–86 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-730 |
| letter | (15) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (8) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (4) |
| Sulivan, B. J. | (2) |
| Waterhouse, G. R. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| Darwin, Emma | (1) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (1) |
| Ehrenberg, C. G. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (15) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (7) |
| Sulivan, B. J. | (2) |
| Darwin, Emma | (1) |
| Darwin, S. E. | (1) |
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 …
Origin: the lost changes for the second German edition
Summary
Darwin sent a list of changes made uniquely to the second German edition of Origin to its translator, Heinrich Georg Bronn. That lost list is recreated here.
Matches: 1 hits
- … In March 1862, Heinrich Georg Bronn wrote to Darwin stating his intention to prepare a second …
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, 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 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 …
Darwin's 1874 letters go online
Summary
The full transcripts and footnotes of over 600 letters to and from Charles Darwin in 1874 are published online for the first time. You can read about Darwin's life in 1874 through his letters and see a full list of the letters. The 1874 letters…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The full transcripts and footnotes of over 600 letters to and from Charles Darwin in 1874 …
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’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 …
Race, Civilization, and Progress
Summary
Darwin's first reflections on human progress were prompted by his experiences in the slave-owning colony of Brazil, and by his encounters with the Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego. Harsh conditions, privation, poor climate, bondage and servitude,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letters | Selected Readings Darwin's first reflections on human progress were …
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 …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 1 hits
- … I cannot bear to think of the future The year 1876 started out sedately enough with …
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … no little discovery of mine ever gave me so much pleasure as the making out the …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
Matches: 1 hits
- … On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July …
Charles Harrison Blackley
Summary
You may not have heard of Charles Harrison Blackley (1820–1900), but if you are one of the 15 million people in the UK who suffer from hay fever, you are indebted to him. For it was he who identified pollen as the cause of the allergy. Darwin was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … You may not have heard of Charles Harrison Blackley (1820–1900), but if you are one of the 15 …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's …
Dramatisation script
Summary
Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007
Matches: 1 hits
- … Re: Design – performance version – 25 March 2007 – 1 Re: Design – Adaptation of the …
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, 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 …
Darwin on race and gender
Summary
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In …
Darwin's bad days
Summary
Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and experimenting, even Darwin had some bad days. These times when nothing appeared to be going right are well illustrated by the following quotations from his letters:
Matches: 1 hits
- … Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and …
