From John Scott 21 July 1865
Summary
JS has now taken post of Curator of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta.
Wishes to vindicate himself of the charge that he pursued his experiments at Edinburgh to the detriment of his work.
Apologises for poor quality of his Verbascum paper, which was written from his notes during the passage to India [J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 36 (1865) pt 2: 145–74].
| Author: | John Scott |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 21 July 1865 |
| Classmark: | DAR 109: B120a–b |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4876 |
Matches: 9 hits
- … D. Hooker, 13 April [1864] and nn. 9 and 10, and letter from William Bennett, 29 April …
- … n. 4). CD’s annotations to Scott’s letter of 10 April 1865 indicate he had earlier asked …
- … Scott’s letter has not been found (see letter from John Scott, 10 April 1865 and n. …
- … not been found (see annotations to letter from John Scott, 10 April 1865 and n. 18). See …
- … This letter has not been found (see n. 10, below). Scott arrived in Calcutta on 21 …
- … in India (see letters from John Scott , 20 January 1865 and n. 7, and 10 April 1865 ). …
- … from J. D. Hooker, [10 March 1865] and nn. 4, 6, and 8, and letter to J. D. Hooker …
- … 10). Scott refers to the Sundarbans, the seaward fringe of the Ganges delta in India ( EB ). In his letter …
- … 10, 11, and 12. James McNab was curator of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and had been Scott’s immediate supervisor. McNab had found fault with Scott for spending too much time on his own experiments to the detriment of his regular duties (see Correspondence vol. 11, letters …
To J. D. Hooker [29 July 1865]
Summary
Was glad to read JDH’s article on glaciers of Yorkshire ["Moraines of the Tees Valley", Reader 6 (1865): 70].
Reader article [6 (1865): 61–2] about English and foreign men of science is unjust.
Lubbock is now lost to science.
B. Verlot’s pamphlet on variations of flowers [Sur la production et la fixation des variétés dans les plantes d’ornement (1865)] is very good.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [29 July 1865] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 273 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4874 |
From J. D. Hooker 13 July 1865
Summary
Studying moraines.
On Lubbock’s book [see 4860], and Lyell’s apology. Recapitulates whole affair.
W. E. H. Lecky [Rise of rationalism in Europe (1865)] and other reading.
Spencer’s observations are wrong on umbellifers, his reasoning partially right.
Natural History Review is all but defunct.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 July 1865 |
| Classmark: | DAR 102: 30–3 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4873 |
Matches: 9 hits
- … ibid. , p. 336). In the letter to Hooker of [10 July 1865] , CD made no mention of having …
- … Desmond 1994–7 , 1: 342–3). In his letter to Hooker of [10 July 1865] , CD had asked about …
- … See letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] and n. 14. The …
- … June [1865]. See letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] and …
- … miscarriage (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] and …
- … Tylor (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] and n. …
- … umbellules (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] and …
- … to the stem (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] and …
- … Review in the letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] , and …
To T. H. Huxley 12 July [1865]
Summary
Thanks THH for reading Pangenesis MS. Will read Buffon and Bonnet (as he does not want to republish their views) and will try to persuade himself not to publish.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Date: | 12 July [1865] |
| Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 219) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4870 |
From Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker [10 July 1865]
Summary
Health very bad. All scientific work stopped for 2½ months.
E. B. Tylor’s Early history of mankind [1865] impresses him.
Would like JDH’s opinion of last number of Spencer’s [Principles of] Biology [vol. 1 (1864)], especially on umbellifers. CD not satisfied with Spencer’s views on irregular flowers.
ED reports on CD’s health.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin; Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [10 July 1865] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 272 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4868 |
To William Bowman 30 July [1865?]
Summary
Thanks WB for his note, states that it will be taken care of on the publication of CD’s book [Variation].
Mentions loss of many months owing to illness.
Thanks WB for favour to CD’s son.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Bowman, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 30 July [1865?] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.301) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4878 |
From Asa Gray 24 July 1865
Summary
Is reading CD’s "Climbing plants".
The Civil War is ended; slavery is dead.
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 24 July 1865 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 148 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4877 |
To B. D. Walsh 9 July [1865]
Summary
Thanks BDW for his interesting letter [4839] and for the case of Panagaeus, a genus almost sacred to him since Cambridge days.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Benjamin Dann Walsh |
| Date: | 9 July [1865] |
| Classmark: | Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (Walsh 4) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4867 |
From W. E. Darwin [14 July 1865]
Summary
Wants to borrow money to buy stock in the bridge over the Itchen.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [14 July 1865] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 21) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4873F |
| letter | (9) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (4) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (2) |
| Bowman, William | (1) |
| Huxley, T. H. | (1) |
| Walsh, B. D. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (9) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (3) |
| Bowman, William | (1) |
| Darwin, Emma | (1) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (1) |
Reading my roommate’s illustrious ancestor: To T. H. Huxley, 10 June 1868
Summary
My roommate at Harvard College was Tom Baum, now a Hollywood screenwriter. Tom’s full name is Thomas Henle Baum, his middle name a reference to a German physician ancestor for whom the ‘Loop of Henle’ in the kidney had been named. Other than this iconic…
Matches: 1 hits
- … My roommate at Harvard College was Tom Baum, now a Hollywood screenwriter. Tom’s full name is …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
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 …
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 …
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: 1 hits
- … The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom , published on 10 November …
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, 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 …
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 …
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 …
Schools Gallery: Using Darwin’s letters in the classroom
Summary
English| History| Science English Pupils in Cumbria lead the way Year 9 English pupils at Ulverston Victoria High School spent several weeks studying Darwin’s letters, including comparing sections from Darwin’s ‘Voyage of the Beagle’ to letters…
Matches: 1 hits
- … English | History | Science English Pupils in Cumbria lead …
Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest
Summary
The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was …
Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 1 hits
- … On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher …
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: 1 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts of …
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…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Charles Darwin’s daughter Henrietta wrote the following journal entries in March and July 1871 in …
Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics
Summary
On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species , …
Was Darwin an ecologist?
Summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.
Matches: 1 hits
- … I gave two seeds to a confounded old cock, but his gizzard ground them up; at least I cd. not …
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: 1 hits
- … On 14 May 1856, Charles Darwin recorded in his journal that he ‘Began by Lyell’s advice writing …
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, 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 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 …
