From Asa Gray 18 May 1862
Summary
Has received first sheets of Orchids and is very impressed. "What a skill & genius you have for these researches."
Details of U. S. orchids.
Author: | Asa Gray |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 18 May 1862 |
Classmark: | DAR 165: 109 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3559 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Correspondence vol. 9, letters to Asa Gray , 12 March [1861] , 5 June [1861] , and 21 …
To J. D. Hooker 11 June [1862]
Summary
Sorry to hear of Mrs Hooker’s health and domestic problems. Wishes natural selection had produced neuters who would not flirt or marry.
Will be eager to hear Cameroon results.
Wishes JDH would discuss the "mundane glacial period". Still believes it will be "the turning point of all recent geographical distribution".
Pollen placed for 65 hours on apparent (CD still thinks real) stigma of Leschenaultia has not protruded a vestige of a tube.
"Oliver the omniscient" has produced an article in Botanische Zeitung with accurate account of all CD saw in Viola.
Asa Gray’s "red-hot" praise of Orchids [Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 34 (1862): 138–51].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 11 June [1862] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 155 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3597 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Horace Darwin were in Southampton from 3 to 12 June 1862 ( Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242); …
To Daniel Oliver 15 April [1862]
Summary
Encourages DO to publish his paper and put his name to it. [Paper apparently not published.] Concurs with his views on primordial nature of hermaphroditism.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
Date: | 15 Apr [1862] |
Classmark: | DAR 261.10: 45 (EH 88206028) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4097 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … April 1862 , and letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] . See letter from Daniel Oliver, …
From J. D. Hooker [27 or 28 December 1862]
Summary
Hostile to Spencer’s application of natural selection to society.
JDH on J. E. Gray’s views on collecting.
JDH collecting Wedgwood ware.
Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [27 or 28] Dec 1862 |
Classmark: | DAR 101: 93–5 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3891 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … vol. 7, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [October 1858] ). Hooker refers to his whimsical …
To Asa Gray 9 August [1862]
Summary
Believes Lythrum is trimorphic. Asks AG for seeds of plants he suspects are polymorphic.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 9 Aug [1862] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (71) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3685 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … see also this volume, letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ). CD had told Gray of his …
To Asa Gray 23[–4] July [1862]
Summary
AG’s orchid observations are admirable.
Owen has lectured on birds’ descending from one form.
French criticism of CD’s Primula paper.
Only AG has seen that Orchids was "a ""flank movement"" on the enemy".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 23[–4] July [1862] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (76) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3662 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin had been sent home from school on 12 June 1862 suffering from scarlet fever; his …
To W. E. Darwin 4 [July 1862]
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Date: | 4 [July 1862] |
Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 100 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3641 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Darwin became ill with scarlet fever on 12 June 1862 ( Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)). …
To Asa Gray 1 July [1862]
Summary
Thanks for notes on Cypripedium and Platanthera hookeri, which is really beautiful and quite a new case.
His son, George, has been observing the insect fertilisation of orchids.
CD has been crossing peloric flowers of Pelargonium, but doubts he will get good results with respect to sterility of hybrids.
Rhexia glandulosa does not appear to be dimorphic. Lythrum is trimorphic.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 1 July [1862] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (69) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3634 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … experimental notes in DAR 51 (ser. 2): 4–9, 12–13; see also letter to Daniel Oliver, 8 …
To Charles Kingsley 6 February [1862]
Summary
Comments on CK’s letter [3426].
Identifies species of pigeon shot by party.
On CK’s "grand and awful" notion of genealogy of man, CD recalls how revolting was the thought that his ancestors must have been like the Fuegians. His present belief that they were hairy beasts is less revolting.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Kingsley |
Date: | 6 Feb [1862] |
Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection); 19th Century Shop (dealer) (March 2014) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3439 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, 30 March – 12 April 1833 , and letter to J. S. Henslow, …
To J. D. Hooker 27 [October 1862]
Summary
Masdevallia turns out to be nothing wonderful, "I was merely stupid about it."
Asks for plants for experiments.
Hedysarum and Oxalis sensitiva seeds.
Asks whether Oliver knows of experiments on absorption of poisons by roots.
CD finds he cannot publish this year on Lythrum salicaria; he must make 126 additional crosses!
Asks for odd variations of common potato; he wants to grow a few plants of every variety.
Variation is crawling.
Has had some bad attacks lately.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 27 [Oct 1862] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 167 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3784 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Daniel Oliver, 13 October [1862] and n. 12. CD had carried out ninety-four crosses with …
To J. D. Hooker 22 [August 1862]
Summary
Lythrum. Wants to examine fresh flowers of Lythraceae. Lythrum salicaria has interested him very much.
Microscopes.
Asks whether JDH can think of plants that have different coloured anthers or pollen in same flowers (as in Melastoma) or on same and in different plants as in Lythrum. Would be a safe guide to dimorphism.
Observation of action of pollen in Linum grandiflorum.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 22 [Aug 1862] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 162 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3696 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … J. D. Hooker, 20 August 1862 and n. 12. See letter from J. D. Hooker, 20 August …
From Asa Gray 22 September 1862
Summary
Last chapter of Orchids opens up a "knotty sort of question about accident or design".
Changes in orchid flowers as they age.
Thinks CD may find trimorphism in Nesaea verticillata.
Author: | Asa Gray |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 22 Sept 1862 |
Classmark: | DAR 165: 118, 119 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3736 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 90, though I never saw the latter, nor the 12, 20 & 24 on envelopes. (the 24 ct per se he …
To Asa Gray 16 October [1862]
Summary
Lythrum salicaria is coming out clear.
Would be glad of Nesaea seed.
Is disappointed with Melastoma, but is sure there is something curious to be made out.
His experiments with poisons on Drosera lead him to conclude that it possesses something analogous to nervous matter.
Comments on natural hybrids of Verbascum.
Deplores the Civil War and the feelings it has fostered in Britain.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 16 Oct [1862] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (81) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3766 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1862] , and letter from J. D. Hooker, [12 October 1862] . See letter from Asa Gray, 22 …
To J. D. Hooker 4 November [1862]
Summary
Cannot see how J. W. Dawson can accuse JDH of asserting a subsidence of Arctic America. Much of evidence for subsidence during glacial period will prove false as it largely rests on ice action which is more and more viewed as subaerial.
Dawson is biased against Darwinism.
Suggests Greenland may have been repopulated after glacial period extinguished flora, by migration in sea-currents.
Max Müller’s view of origin of language is weakest part of his book [see 3752].
Would like to examine the rare Cypripedium hirsutissimum.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Date: | 4 Nov [1862] |
Classmark: | DAR 115: 168 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3795 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of cultivated plants’ ( Variation 1: 306–12). CD countered the arguments of some botanists …
To Asa Gray [3–]4 September [1862]
Summary
Glad AG will publish some separate notes on orchids ["Fertilization of orchids through the agency of insects", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 34 (1862): 420–9].
Trimorphism in Lythrum.
Bee behaviour.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | [3–]4 Sept [1862] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (68) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3710 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of flower wrong: the so called calyx, with its 12 bundles of spiral vessels, appears to …
From C. W. Crocker 24 November 1862
Summary
Answers on Begonia.
Snapdragon crossing experiments.
Thanks for offer of plants.
Author: | Charles William Crocker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 24 Nov 1862 |
Classmark: | DAR 161.2: 259 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3824 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … purposes (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] , and letter to John Scott, 19 …
From J. D. Hooker 20 September 1862
Summary
Asks his opinion of A. C. Ramsay’s glacial lake theory. Encloses Julius Haast’s communication on glacial phenomena.
Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 20 Sept 1862 |
Classmark: | DAR 101: 58, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Director’s Correspondence 174 (New Zealand letters, 1854–1900): 273) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3731 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … flora (see J. D. Hooker 1864–7 , p. 12*). See also H. F. von Haast 1948 , pp. 247– …
To Asa Gray 26[–7] November [1862]
Summary
Discusses AG’s article ["Dimorphism", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 34 (1862): 419–20]. Does not like the terms "dioecio-dimorphism" or "precocious fertilisation". Discusses the separation of sexes in plants; cannot doubt that hermaphroditism is the aboriginal state.
Discusses AG’s observations on orchids and his review of Orchids [Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 34 (1862): 138–51].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 26[–7] Nov [1862] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (50) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3830 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 1862] . See also letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] . CD’s notes of his observations …
letter | (178) |
Darwin, C. R. | (89) |
Hooker, J. D. | (19) |
Darwin, W. E. | (8) |
Gray, Asa | (8) |
Oliver, Daniel | (4) |
Darwin, C. R. | (87) |
Hooker, J. D. | (20) |
Gray, Asa | (10) |
Darwin, W. E. | (9) |
Oliver, Daniel | (7) |
Darwin, C. R. | (176) |
Hooker, J. D. | (39) |
Gray, Asa | (18) |
Darwin, W. E. | (17) |
Oliver, Daniel | (11) |
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…