To W. C. Williamson 12 February [1848]
Summary
CD cannot find the lagoon-island mud that WCW asked about, but he sends other geological specimens he hopes will be interesting.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Crawford Williamson |
| Date: | 12 Feb [1848] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1156 |
From Emily Catherine Darwin [12 November 1848]
Summary
Gives details of the illness of R. W. Darwin.
| Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [12 Nov 1848] |
| Classmark: | V&A / Wedgwood Collection (MS W/M 279) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1206 |
To Edward Cresy [5 or 12 July 1848]
Summary
Has written to William Buckland, recommending EC for position.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Edward Cresy, Jr |
| Date: | [5 or 12] July 1848 |
| Classmark: | DAR 143: 306 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1188 |
To John Phillips [12? March 1848]
Summary
Thanks JP for his note and reference. CD’s paper will not deal with the general question of erratics but only their transportal from a lower to a higher level ["The transportal of erratic boulders", Collected papers 1: 218–27]. His notion is that the boulders were transported by coast-ice, not drifting icebergs, and that during the period of transportal the land was subsiding. Can JP tell him whether the raised conglomerate boulders he observed were rounded or angular?
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Phillips |
| Date: | [12? Mar 1848] |
| Classmark: | Oxford University Museum of Natural History Archive Collections (John Phillips collection)) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1163 |
To William Hellier Baily 5 October 1848
Summary
Send thanks for informing him of barnacles and asks that they be sent, directed to him, to the Geological Society.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Hellier Baily |
| Date: | 5 Oct 1848 |
| Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (12 November 1963) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1201 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Sotheby’s (dealers) (12 November 1963) Charles Robert Darwin Down 5 Oct 1848 William …
To J. F. W. Herschel 11 May [1848]
Summary
Describes colour changes from blue to red in valves of operculum of the cirripede genus Ibla.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Frederick William Herschel, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 11 May [1848] |
| Classmark: | The Royal Society (HS6: 12) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1175 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … The Royal Society (HS6: 12) Charles Robert Darwin Down 11 May [1848] John Frederick …
To Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz 22 October 1848
Summary
Thanks LA and sends thanks to A. A. Gould for specimens. Describes principal findings of his research on cirripedes. Is obliged for information Joseph Leidy gave about cirripede eyes. Describes anatomical features and chief aspects of growth. Describes discovery of parasitic males and a species parasitic upon other cirripedes.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Jean Louis Rodolphe (Louis) Agassiz |
| Date: | 22 Oct 1848 |
| Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (MS Am 1419: 274) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1205 |
From J. D. Hooker 20 February – 16 [March] 1848
Summary
Though correspondence has never ebbed so low, CD is constantly in his thoughts.
Observations on cheetahs used as domesticated hunting animals.
Finds geographical barriers sometimes separate species, but also finds species that remain separate where there are no barriers to migration.
Colour "individuates" isolated animal species.
Plains and alpine animal distribution show altitude not strictly analogous to latitude.
Impact of timber cutting on climate has led to extinction of crocodiles.
Will discuss coal formation in letter to Edward Forbes.
CD often asked whether isolated mountains in southern latitudes had closely allied representatives of Arctic and north temperate plants; JDH has found a representative barberry.
Making for Darjeeling via Calcutta.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Feb – 16 [Mar] 1848 |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (India letters 1847–51: 52–4 JDH/1/10) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1158 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [11–12 July 1845] , for CD’s first enquiry about …
- … his Questions & experiments notebook, p. 12 ( Notebooks ). Walter Elliot , commissioner …
- … about India (see letters to J. F. Royle, [12 April – 17 May 1847] , [16 April – 21 May …
- … vol. 2, letter from J. D. Hooker, [12 December 1843 – 11 January 1844] ). Vallisneria , …
To William Crawford Williamson 31 January [1848]
Summary
Thanks WCW for his article ["Microscopical objects found in mud of Levant", Mem. Lit. & Philos. Soc. Manchester 2d ser. 8 (1848):1–128]. Comments on it; offers to send Ascension Island specimens. Urges WCW to re-examine coal-beds for Infusoria to determine whether intervening beds were deposited by sea-, brackish, or fresh water.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Crawford Williamson |
| Date: | 31 Jan [1848] |
| Classmark: | Kōbunzo (dealers) (Mr Sorimachi, bookseller, Tokyo) (no date) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1149 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Ehrenberg would examine coal for Infusoria (see letter to J. D. Hooker, [12 May 1847] ). …
To John Stevens Henslow [1 April 1848]
Summary
Thanks JSH for his address [Address delivered in the Ipswich Museum on 9th March 1848]. Questions a sentence which implies that only the practical use of a scientific discovery makes it worth while. The instinct for truth justifies science without any practical results. Cites his work on cirripedes.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | [1 Apr 1848] |
| Classmark: | DAR 93: A17 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1167 |
To John Innes [1848?]
Summary
Suggests various remedies for toothache.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Brodie Innes |
| Date: | [1848?] |
| Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1141 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Dental formulae. Pharmaceutical Historian 12: 7–8. Moore, James Richard. 1985. Darwin of …
From J. D. Hooker 24 July [1848]
Summary
Brian Hodgson reading CD’s Journal of researches with delight.
Forwarding breeding pamphlets.
JDH recommends P. S. Pallas on degeneration.
CD’s facts on sex in barnacles startling.
Hugh Falconer’s health.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 24 July [1848] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (India letters 1847–51: 94 JDH/1/10) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1193 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. …
To George Robert Waterhouse [6 February 1848]
Summary
Invites GRW to a dinner party with other scientists.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Robert Waterhouse |
| Date: | [6 Feb 1848] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.69) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1154 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … to a late dinner here on next Saturday (12 th ) & return on Monday Morning. Cannot you …
From William Buckland 15 July [1848]
Summary
Will forward recommendation of Edward Cresy to Edwin Chadwick, but thinks there will be no further need of engineers.
| Author: | William Buckland |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 July [1848] |
| Classmark: | DAR 143: 4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1190 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1952 ). See letter to Edward Cresy, [5 or 12 July 1848] . The typewritten copy reads ‘ …
From J. D. Hooker 13 October 1848
Summary
Hugh Falconer’s misbehaviour.
Waiting out rains at Brian Hodgson’s.
Will make botanical transverse section of Himalayas from plains to snow.
Arrangements to pass Sikkim Rajah’s territory.
No evidence of glacial or diluvial action in sub-Himalayan mountains. No evidence of detrital coal formation.
Hodgson’s replies to CD on introduced species and hybrids.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Oct 1848 |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (India letters 1847–51: 112–14 JDH/1/10) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1203 |
From Edmund Saul Dixon [September–October 1848]
Summary
He can distinguish varieties of guinea-fowl as soon as birds are hatched.
Behaviour of Malay hens.
| Author: | Edmund Saul (Eugene Sebastian Delamer) Dixon |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [Sept–Oct 1848] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.5: 214 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1621 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … ink 2.12 But a … very truly. 3.2] crossed pencil Top of second page : ‘12’ brown crayon …
To Augustus Addison Gould 3 September [1848]
Summary
Describes his research on cirripedes. Asks to borrow specimens. Comments on previous work on the subject.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Augustus Addison Gould |
| Date: | 3 Sept [1848] |
| Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (Augustus A. Gould papers, 1831–66 MS Am 1210: 224) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1200 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Augustus Addison. 1852–6. Mollusca & shells. Vol. 12 and atlas of United States Exploring …
To Andrew Crombie Ramsay 4 February [1848]
Summary
Invites him to dinner on Saturday the 12th. Charles and Mrs Lyell, Edward Forbes, Richard Owen, and Thomas Bell coming also.
"Will you bring your map of S. America … and we will have a talk over it."
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Andrew Crombie Ramsay |
| Date: | 4 Feb [1848] |
| Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine Archives |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1152 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … come here for a late dinner on Saturday the 12 th & stay till Monday morning. If you can …
From Catherine Darwin [13 November 1848]
Summary
Informs CD of the death of their father and the funeral arrangements.
| Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [13 Nov 1848] |
| Classmark: | V&A / Wedgwood Collection (MS W/M 279) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1207 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … continued lying down till about 1 2 past 12, or sooner, when his breathing compelled him …
To John Phillips 7 March [1848]
Summary
JP’s reference was clear, but seems to be different from the case cited by W. Hopkins about erratic conglomerate boulders. Asks for more details on the latter. CD does not think much of Hopkins’ paper ["Elevation and denudation of the district of the lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland", Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 4 (1848): 70–98].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Phillips |
| Date: | 7 Mar [1848] |
| Classmark: | Oxford University Museum of Natural History Archive Collections (John Phillips collection)) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1162 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Phillips 1835 . See letter to John Phillips, [12? March 1848] , in which CD stated he had …
| letter | (22) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (15) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| Darwin, Catherine | (2) |
| Langton, Catherine | (2) |
| Buckland, William | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (2) |
| Phillips, John | (2) |
| Williamson, W. C. | (2) |
| Agassiz, Louis | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (22) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (5) |
| Darwin, Catherine | (2) |
| Langton, Catherine | (2) |
| Phillips, John | (2) |
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
- … barely understand a word. Writing in French on 12 November 1874 to thank Darwin for the …
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: 9 hits
- … Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] and n. 13). Initially, …
- … Stove [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March …
- … of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , Calendar no. 6661) …
- … 100 yards’ to the greenhouses ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, [25 January …
- … in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February 1863 ). The second list is …
- … Anoectochilus argenteus 12 5 s . …
- … punctatum. 11. Mormodes aurantiaca 12. ‘Anoectochilus argenteus 5 s .’ deleted in …
- … Bolbophyllum barbigerum 12 major …
- … Ampelidae. 11. Alloplectus chrysanthus. 12. Bulbophyllum barbigerum. 13. …
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: 12 hits
- … Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 February was a cause for international …
- … and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of …
- … ). The botanist and schoolteacher Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and …
- … well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard …
- … ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little …
- … Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwin’s final task …
- … inn ‘ very comfortable’, but told Leonard Darwin on 12 August that there were ‘too many human …
- … not to have come up when the Darwins lunched with him on 12 August (Darwin’s ‘Journal’). Nor did …
- … the world. At the end of the year he was awarded a prize of 12,000 francs by the Turin Academy of …
- … which greatly pleased Darwin ( letter from Grant Allen, 12 February 1879 ). One of Allen’s targets …
- … engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin’s response not …
- … accurate in its treatment’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 November 1879 ). The comment that …
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: 11 hits
- … (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material was …
- … the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 …
- … was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though containing …
- … print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Darwin's …
- … Review & in the same type’ ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). George’s letter …
- … he finally wrote a polite, very formal letter to Mivart on 12 January 1875 , refusing to hold any …
- … & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ). More …
- … vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ), but to her …
- … mechanism that Darwin agreed with ( letter to F. J. Cohn, 12 October 1874 ). Darwin’s American …
- … bank with enormous tips to his ears ( letter from Asa Gray, 12 May 1874 ). The Manchester …
- … excellent, & as clear as light’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 12 August [1874] ). Hooker …
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, 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: 6 hits
- … made a small omission ’. Stephen’s reply on 12 January was flattering, reassuring, and …
- … books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 May he described …
- … Darwin had difficulty in obtaining mature plants. On 12 April, he reported to Müller , ‘I have …
- … to make me happy & contented,’ he told Wallace on 12 July , ‘but life has become very …
- … fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and 12 August 1881 ). Darwin may have …
- … else’s judgment on the subject ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 July 1881 ). However, some requests …
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: 3 hits
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: 6 hits
- … Hooker: ‘he is no common man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ). Two sexual …
- … of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ): ‘my notions on …
- … least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ), and experimenting to …
- … passed so miserable a nine months’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 12 September [1862] ). A family …
- … ‘Botany is a new subject to me’ ( letter to John Scott, 12 November [1862] ), but, impressed by …
- … into Tyndall’s ears’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10–12 November [1862] ). Another of Darwin’s …
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
- … their generous sympathy. ( Letter to A. A. van Bemmelen, 12 February 1877 ) View the …
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: 5 hits
- … than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt so angry …
- … from his family, he sent a curt note to Mivart on 12 January , breaking off all future …
- … of a bill that was presented to the House of Commons on 12 May, one week after a rival bill based on …
- … The author, Fritz Schultze, contacted Darwin himself on 12 June , describing the aims of his book …
- … scientific Socy. has done in my time,’ he told Hooker on 12 December . ‘I wish that I knew what …
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: 3 hits
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Rubiaceae with enclosures containing bud samples, 12 May 1878 G. H. Darwin's …
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…
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…
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…
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…
Cross and self fertilisation
Summary
The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…
Matches: 3 hits
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…
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 3 hits
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…
