From A. R. Wallace 24 February [1867]
Summary
Protective role of colours in caterpillars and butterflies. Sexual differences in colours of butterflies.
| Author: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 24 Feb [1867] |
| Classmark: | DAR 82: A19–21 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5416 |
| letter | (1) |
| Wallace, A. R. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
| Wallace, A. R. | (1) |
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
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- … The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the …
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…
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- … Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was …
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…
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- … Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's …
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…
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- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little more I …
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…
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- … The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom , published on 10 November …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
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- … The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the publication of his …
Francis Darwin
Summary
Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished scientist. He was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, initially studying mathematics, but then transferring to natural sciences. Francis completed…
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- … Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished …
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…
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- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and …
Darwin in public and private
Summary
Extracts from Darwin's published works, in particular Descent of man, and selected letters, explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual selection in humans, and both his publicly and privately expressed views on its practical implications…
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- … The following extracts and selected letters explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual …
Francis Galton
Summary
Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…
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- … Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin …
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…
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- … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was …
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…
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- … Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of …
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…
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- … Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants …
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…
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- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
Experimenting with emotions
Summary
Darwin’s interest in emotions can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the sounds and gestures of the peoples of Tierra del Fuego. On his return, he started recording observations in a set of notebooks, later labelled '…
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- … Darwin’s interest in emotions can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by …
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
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- … The power of movement in plants , published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical …
Bartholomew James Sulivan
Summary
On Christmas Day 1866, Bartholomew Sulivan sat down to write a typically long and chatty letter to his old friend, Charles Darwin, commiserating on shared ill-health, glorying in the achievements of their children, offering to collect plant specimens, and…
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- … On Christmas Day 1866, Bartholomew Sulivan sat down to write a typically long and chatty letter to …
Power of movement in plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Family experiments Darwin was an active and engaged father during his children's youth, involving them in his experiments and even occasionally using them as observational subjects. When his children…
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- … Sources | Discussion Questions | Experiment Family experiments Darwin …
3.9 Leonard Darwin, photo on horseback
Summary
< Back to Introduction It is so rare to encounter an image of Darwin in a specific locale that a family photograph of him riding his horse Tommy takes on a special interest. He is at the front of Down House, the door of which is open; it seems as…
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- … < Back to Introduction It is so rare to encounter an image of Darwin in a specific …
Darwin and the Church
Summary
The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…
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- … The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It …
