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Controversy
Summary
The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…
Matches: 9 hits
- … engaged with critics publically. Letters exchanged with Adam Sedgwick, professor of geology at …
- … Darwin’s conclusion is diametrically opposed to that which Sedgwick has often advocated, but he …
- … friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to Sedgwick, Adam, 26 Nov [1859] Darwin says …
- … Letter 6024 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., 19 Mar 1868 Wallace writes to Darwin with a …
- … Letter 6033 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. R., [21 Mar 1868] Darwin lets Wallace know he has …
- … Letter 6045 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., 24 Mar [1868] Wallace returns George Darwin’s …
- … Letter 6058 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. R., 27 Mar [1868] Darwin writes to Wallace saying …
- … Letter 6095 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. R., 6 Apr [1868] Darwin writes to Wallace on the …
- … Letter 6104 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., 8 [Apr] 1868 Wallace says if Darwin is not …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 27 hits
- … On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, ‘If …
- … The quantity of his correspondence increased dramatically in 1868; the increase was due largely to …
- … and his immediate circle of friends and relations. In July 1868 Darwin was still anticipating that …
- … and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ). My book is horribly …
- … as early as 1865, the two-volume work appeared in January 1868. A final delay caused by the indexing …
- … look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). Darwin sympathised, replying on …
- … fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). But such worries were laid to …
- … was clearly impressed by Lewes’s reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from …
- … not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ). Wallace commiserated: ‘I am …
- … to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] ). The review was in fact by John …
- … a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] ). I am bothered with …
- … Yorkshire, wrote of the colour of duck claws on 17 April 1868 . The letter was addressed to ‘the …
- … Commons than any assembly in the world’ (from ?, 6 April 1868). On 21 May , Darwin complained to …
- … breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous zeal’, and offered …
- … changes in the canary (letters from J. J. Weir, [26] March 1868 and 3 June 1868 ). ‘It was …
- … clear that I have none’ ( letter to J. J. Weir, 30 May [1868] ). Sexual selection …
- … ratios was scanty, and he spent much of the first half of 1868 collecting facts on this question, …
- … may be gained’ ( letter to H. T. Stainton, 21 February [1868] ). From the beginning, Darwin had …
- … males getting wives’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 25 February [1868] ). Yet a number of Darwin’s …
- … the American entomologist Benjamin Dann Walsh on 25 March 1868 . Wallace maintained that males …
- … entomologists ( letter from Roland Trimen, 20 February 1868 , and letter from Robert MacLachlan, …
- … in attracting females. J. J. Weir reported on 14 April 1868 that a bullfinch had piped a German …
- … odour sexual!’ ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] ). Francis sought additional advice …
- … to his mother Emma in a letter dated [after 16 October 1868] : ‘I had a long work with Crotch to …
- … in the dyed hen ( letter from Harrison Weir, 28 March 1868 ). Writing on the same day, Edward …
- … of Species”’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 4 October 1868 ). Heaven protect my stomach …
- … clergymen, statesmen, poets, and men of science, including Adam Sedgwick, John Stevens Henslow, and …
Darwin’s introduction to geology
Summary
Darwin collected minerals as a child and was introduced to the science of geology at the University of Edinburgh, but he only became actively interested in the subject as he was completing his degree at Cambridge.
Matches: 5 hits
- … apprenticed himself to the Cambridge professor of geology, Adam Sedgwick, who had invited the young …
- … geologist and for the invention of geological hypotheses. Sedgwick gave this enthusiasm direction …
- … ‘I would not give up for any consideration.’ Sedgwick met up with his protégé at the Darwin …
- … 5 and 11 August. Although field notes by both Darwin and Sedgwick have survived, the exact sequence …
- … by historians. On 12 August, Darwin may have accompanied Sedgwick to the island of Anglesey, where …
Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions
Summary
Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...
Matches: 1 hits
- … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 4 hits
- … in his two-volume work on Variation published in 1868 but occupies only a few pages in Origin …
- … he felt at the severity of some of the attacks. Adam Sedgwick’s negative response to Origin …
- … abandoned the ‘true method of induction’ ( letter from Adam Sedgwick, 24 November 1859 ). Equally …
- … of facts, as the theory seems to me to do.’ ( letter to Adam Sedgwick, 26 November [1859] ). …
Dramatisation script
Summary
Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007
Matches: 12 hits
- … Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring Gray Louis Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, etc… The punctuation has been …
- … Gray, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Hugh Falconer, Louis Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart …
- … to arrive at the truth. 68 My dear Professor Sedgwick… Darwin’s old tutor, …
- … fade. GRAY PAYS DARWIN A VISIT AT DOWN: 1868 In which Gray announces his …
- … apart theologically. GRAY: 175 Summer. 1868. The gist of my present note is to …
- … 189 [Jane Gray. Letter to her sister. Fall, 1868.] Mr Darwin [is].. fascinating… [he has] the …
- … THE OLDER ONE GETS THE MORE THERE IS TO DO: 1868-1876 In which the friends consider the …
- … TO L AGASSIZ, 11 NOV 1859 68 C DARWIN TO A SEDGWICK, 11 NOVEMBER 1859 69 …
- … 24 JULY 1865 175 A GRAY TO RW CHURCH, 22 JUNE 1868 176 TO A GRAY 15 AUGUST …
- … TO A GRAY 15 APRIL 1867 180 TO A GRAY 8 MAY 1868 181 FROM A GRAY 25 MAY …
- … TIME 189 JANE LORING GRAY, LETTER TO HER SISTER, 1868 or 1869 190 C DARWIN …
- … A GRAY 9 AUGUST 1876 194 FROM A GRAY 25 MAY 1868 195 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER …
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: 7 hits
- … Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 May [1868] Darwin writes to Gray about his review …
- … intervention to bring change. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, C. R., 24 Nov …
- … 6223 — Horsman, S. J. H. to Darwin, C. R., 2 June [1868] Horsman attempts to convince Darwin …
- … Letter 6241 — Innes, J. B. to Darwin, C. R., 13 June 1868 J. B. Innes, vicar of Down writes …
- … Letter 6486 — Darwin, C. R. to Innes, J. B., 1 Dec 1868 Darwin writes to J. B. Innes, vicar …
- … Letter 6492 — Innes, J. B. to Darwin, C. R., 4 Dec 1868 J. B. Innes, vicar of Down provides …
- … Letter 6501 — Innes, J. B. to Darwin, C. R., 12 Dec 1868 J. B. Innes, vicar of Down is …
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,…
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…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Darwin reckoned that he had started writing on 4 February 1868, only five days after the publication …
- … the folded margin. Darwin, who had posed for the sculptor in 1868, an experience he described as …
- … vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] ; this volume, letter to Thomas Woolner, 10 …
- … the Woodwardian Museum with his former professor of geology, Adam Sedgwick. ‘He utterly prostrated …
- … old man, living in cheerless solitude!’ ( letter from Adam Sedgwick, 30 May 1870 ). Family …
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: 3 hits
The writing of "Origin"
Summary
From a quiet rural existence at Down in Kent, filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on the transmutation of species, Darwin was jolted into action in 1858 by the arrival of an unexpected letter (no longer extant) from Alfred Russel Wallace outlining a…
Matches: 4 hits
- … in his two-volume work on Variation published in 1868 but occupies only a few pages in Origin. His …
- … he felt at the severity of some of the attacks. Adam Sedgwick’s negative response to Origin …
- … abandoned the ‘true method of induction’ (letter from Adam Sedgwick, 24 November 1859 ). Equally …
- … of facts, as the theory seems to me to do.’ (letter to Adam Sedgwick, 26 November [1859] ). …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 9 hits
- … immortality of Soul. amongst Ancients [Toland 1704] Adam Smith Moral Sentiments [A. Smith …
- … 1851]. Packard. A Guide to the Study of Insects 1868. U. States [Packard 1868–9] (an …
- … ] 12. Sedgwicks Discourse on Study of Univers [Sedgwick 1850] 28 Steenstrup on …
- … [R. H. Dana [1840] (good) Bertrams [Trollope 1859] & Adam Bede [Eliot 1859] (excellent) …
- … Eliot, George, pseud . (Marian Evans Cross). 1859. Adam Bede . 3 vols. Edinburgh. [Other …
- … 2 vols. London. 119: 5a Packard, Alpheus Spring. 1868–9. Guide to the study of …
- … . London. [Darwin Pamphlet Collection.] 119: 1a Sedgwick, Adam. 1850. A discourse on …
- … and conduct. London. 128: 27 Smith, Adam. 1759. The theory of moral sentiments. …
- … 7 vols. (Vol. 7: Account of the life and writings of Adam Smith … Account of the life 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…
