skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

Search: contains "letter 1881"

Darwin Correspondence Project
Search:
letter and 1881 in keywords disabled_by_default
1859 in date disabled_by_default
4 Items
Sorted by:  
Page: 1

To Charles Lyell   28 March [1859]

Summary

Has heard that CL has spoken to John Murray about publication [of Origin]. Encloses prospective title-page. Asks whether he ought to tell John Murray about unorthodoxy of the book.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
Date:  28 Mar [1859]
Classmark:  American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.163)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2437

Matches: 1 hit

  • … 1858 (see K.   M. Lyell ed. 1881, 2: 285–315). See letter to John Phillips, 8 February [ …

To Charles Lyell   22 [December 1859]

Summary

Comments on Hooker’s introductory essay [in Flora Tasmaniae].

Cites C. V. Naudin’s article ["Considérations philosophiques sur l’espèce et la variété", Rev. Hortic. 4th ser. 1 (1852): 102–9].

Mentions letter from William Jardine criticising discussion of the Galapagos in the Origin.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
Date:  22 [Dec 1859]
Classmark:  American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.186)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2593

Matches: 1 hit

  • 1881, 2: 327). Brown 1814 . Naudin 1852 . Hooker had also mentioned this work to CD (see preceding letter). …

From Charles Lyell to T. H. Huxley   17 June 1859

Summary

Extended discussion of their respective difficulties with the definition and status of species and with the extent to which the theory of transmutation may be applied.

Has rediscovered S. S. Haldeman’s 1844 paper defending the transmutation theory with great skill.

Asks for reference to Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s first enunciation of the progressive development and transmutation theory.

Author:  Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
Addressee:  Thomas Henry Huxley
Date:  17 June 1859
Classmark:  Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 6: 20)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2469A

Matches: 1 hit

  • 1881, 2: 83). Lyell refers to Alfred Russel Wallace’s two papers on the species question, Wallace 1855 and Darwin and Wallace 1858. Lyell published the ninth edition of his Principles of geology in 1853. For Lyell’s part in the reading of Darwin and Wallace 1858 at the Linnean Society , see letter

To Charles Lyell   11 October [1859]

Summary

CL’s comments on Origin. Mentions corrections to last chapter suggested by CL.

Comments on lack of peculiar bird species on Madeira and Bermuda. Emphasises importance of American types in Galapagos.

Denies necessity of continued creation of primitive "Monads".

Denies need for new powers and any principle of improvement.

Discusses gradations of intellectual powers.

Adaptive inferiority and extinction of groups of species and genera.

Asserts that climate is less important than the struggle with other organisms.

Suggests an experiment involving primroses and cowslips.

The chapter on hybridisation.

Rudimentary organs.

Gives opinion of Lamarck’s work.

Author:  Charles Robert Darwin
Addressee:  Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
Date:  11 Oct [1859]
Classmark:  American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.172)
Letter no:  DCP-LETT-2503

Matches: 1 hit

  • letter to J.  S. Henslow, 2 July [1855] . Charles James Fox Bunbury , the botanist, was Lyell’s brother-in- law. The Lyells were preparing to visit the Bunburys in Mildenhall, Suffolk (K.  M. Lyell ed. 1881, …
Document type
letter (4)
Addressee
Correspondent
Date
Search:
letter 1881 in keywords
53 Items
Page:  1 2 3  Next

Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers

Summary

In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began …

Volume 29 (1881) is published!

Summary

In October 1881, Darwin published his last book, The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. A slim volume on a subject that many people could understand and on which they had their own opinions, it went…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … From the start of 1881, Darwin had his demise on his mind. He increasingly relied on his son …

Intellectual capacities: From Caroline Kennard, 26 December 1881

Summary

We might assume that among female admirers of Darwin’s work, many would have been disappointed by his views on the comparative intellectual capacities of the sexes expressed in The Descent of Man (1872). This was certainly true of the American feminist…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … We might assume that among female admirers of Darwin’s work, many would have been disappointed by …

Terms of engagement: To Julius Wiesner, 25 October 1881

Summary

Thomas Huxley’s pugnacious public defence of evolution led to his nickname ‘Darwin’s bulldog’ and to a view of Darwin as an evader of controversy. Darwin firmly believed that controversy rarely did any good, but this did not mean that he avoided challenges…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Thomas Huxley’s pugnacious public defence of evolution led to his nickname ‘Darwin’s bulldog’ and …

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 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: 1 hits

  • … ‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury …

1.18 John Collier, oil in Linnean

Summary

< Back to Introduction By 1881 it was clear to Darwin’s intimates that he was increasingly frail, and that, as he approached death, he had finally escaped from religious controversy to become a heroic figure, loved and venerated for his achievements…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … < Back to Introduction By 1881 it was clear to Darwin’s intimates that he was …

Casting about: Darwin on worms

Summary

Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Earthworms featured in the news announcement in May 2014 that a citizen science project had …

Religion

Summary

Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Design | Personal Belief | Beauty | The Church Perhaps the most notorious …

Referencing women’s work

Summary

Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but …

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 …

John Murray

Summary

Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Darwin's most famous book  On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin)  was …

Diagrams and drawings in letters

Summary

Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have …

Darwin in letters, 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'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 …

Darwin as mentor

Summary

Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both …

3.20 Elliott and Fry, c.1880-1, verandah

Summary

< Back to Introduction In photographs of Darwin taken c.1880-1, the expression of energetic thought conveyed by photographs of earlier years gives way to the pathos of evident physical frailty. While Collier’s oil portrait of this time emphasises…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … < Back to Introduction In photographs of Darwin taken c.1880-1, the expression of …

Earthworms

Summary

As with many of Darwin’s research topics, his interest in worms spanned nearly his entire working life. Some of his earliest correspondence about earthworms was written and received in the 1830s, shortly after his return from his Beagle voyage, and his…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Sources | Discussion Questions | Experiment Earthworms and Wedgwood cousins …

Science: A Man’s World?

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Discussion Questions | Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth …

Animals, ethics, and the progress of science

Summary

Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…

Matches: 1 hits

  • … Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In …
Page:  1 2 3  Next