Search: contains ""

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: 20 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 …
… in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
… of changing the races of man’ (Correspondence vol. 12, letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …
… and his immediate circle of friends and relations. In July 1868 Darwin was still anticipating that …
… as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
… as early as 1865, the two-volume work appeared in January 1868. A final delay caused by the indexing …
… would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from Dallas to …
… of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
… if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
… was clearly impressed by Lewes’s reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from …
… would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
… ignorant article… . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] …
… ‘he is a scamp & I begin to think a veritable ass’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 September [1868] …
… 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 …
… proved very fruitful. On 1 May , Darwin received a letter from George Cupples, who was encouraged …
… with the enthusiastic breeder, who apologised in a letter of 11–13 May 1868 for his ‘voluminuous …
… of science On 27 February , Darwin sent a letter of thanks to the naturalist and …
… changes in the canary (letters from J. J. Weir, [26] March 1868 and 3 June 1868 ). ‘It was …

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: 26 hits

… handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller, 22 February …
… in Ceylon, wrote the botanist George Thwaites on 22 July 1868 , “all endeavour to drill their …
… Scottish botanist John Scott wrote from Calcutta, 4 May 1868 : “Shame is … expressed by an …
… Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter dates to see the individual letters …
… Correspondent Letter date Location …
… Africa)? ] mentioned in JPM Weale letter, but Bowker's answers not found …
… Bulmer, J 13 Aug 1868 [Gipps Land, nr. Flemington? …
… Bunnett, Templeton 13 Aug 1868 Echuca, Australia …
… Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
… Square W London, England enclosed in a letter from Henry Maudsley …
… Darwin, W.E. [after 29 March 1868] Chester Place, …
… Darwin, W.E. [7? April 1868] Southampton, England …
… Darwin, W.E. [22? April 1868] Southampton, England …
… Forbes, David 26 March 1868 Boulton, England (about …
… South Africa possibly included in letter from Mansel Weale …
… Geach, F.F. April 1868 Johore, Malaysia …
… Glenie, S.O. 22 July 1868 Peradeniya, Ceylon …
… Egypt] possibly included in letter(s) from Asa Gray Nile …
… Lake Wellington, Australia letter to F.J.H. von Mueller nodding, …
… Hawkshaw, Cicely Mary (to ED) 9 Feb 1868 Liphook, …
… Hooker, J.D. 5 Sept 1868 Kew, London (about Nagasaki …
… Abbey Place, London, England letter to Emma Darwin baby expression …
… Penmaenmawr, Conway, Wales letter to Emma Darwin infant daughter …
… Square W, London, England Enclosed letter from Dr. C. Browne …
… W., London, England enclosed in letter from W. W. Reade Hottentots …
… England (about Australia) encloses letter from Austrialian friend, letter not …

6430_10256

Summary

From Sven Nilsson to J. D. Hookerf1 25 October 1868Lund (Suède)25 Okt. 1868.Monsieur le Professeur! J’ai écrit à deux de mes amis qui ont des connaissances personnelles à la Lapponie, pour avoir les…

Matches: 10 hits

… From Sven Nilsson to J. D. Hooker f1 25 October 1868 Lund (Suède) 25 Okt. 1868. …
… Footnotes f1 For a translation of this letter, see Correspondence vol. 16, Appendix I. …
… An English translation was never published. Earlier in 1868, Longman’s, Green, and Company had …
… of northern Europe during the Stone Age (Nilsson 1868); see letter to John Lubbock, 15 February …
… on Nilsson’s view in Lubbock’s introduction to Nilsson 1868, pp. xxxv–xxxvi. …
… From Sven Nilsson to J. D. Hooker f1 25 October 1868 Lund (Sweden) 25 Oct. 1868 …
… Footnotes f1 For a transcription of this letter in its original French, see part II: 811–2. …
… An English translation was never published. Earlier in 1868, Longman’s, Green, and Company had …
… of northern Europe during the Stone Age (Nilsson 1868); see letter to John Lubbock, 15 February …
… on Nilsson’s view in Lubbock’s introduction to Nilsson 1868, pp. xxxv–xxxvi. …

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: 29 hits

… Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
… silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
… observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
… to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
… be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
… Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
… Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
… expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
… is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
… of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, …
… briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
… expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
… birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to …
… of an angry pig and her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, …
… that she make observations of her pet cats. Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 …
… on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera . Letter 9426 - Story …
… without the birds attacking the buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to …
… and her father of plants and insects. Men: Letter 2221 - Blyth, E. to Darwin …
… specimens and bird observations from Calcutta. Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 …
… “enthusiasm and indomitable patience”. Letter 4242 - Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin …
… 6453 - Langton, E. to Wedgwood, S. E., [9 November 1868] Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, …
… - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 November 1868] Darwin’s nephews, Edmund …
… Letter 6139 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [22 April 1868] Doubleday responds to Darwin’s …
… Letter 6046 - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, [24 March 1868] John Weir describes experiments …
… Letter 6083 - Casparay, J. X. R. to Darwin, [2 April 1868] Casparay details his …
… Letter 6139 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [22 April 1868] Naturalist Henry Doubleday …
… Letter 6046 - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, [24 March 1868] John Weir describes experiments …
… Letter 6066 - Weir, H. W. to Darwin, [28 March 1868] Harrison Weir passes on …
… Letter 6081 - Darwin to Bowman, W., [2 April 1868] Darwin requests surgeon 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: 10 hits

… to produce capsules’ ( To Fritz Müller, 30 January [1868] ). Müller, in turn, sent seeds from his …
… 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
… produced by the former ( From Robert Caspary, 18 February 1868 ). Darwin eagerly requested seed …
… their power of growth’ ( To Robert Caspary, 25 February [1868] ). By this time he had already …
… (Variation 2: 128-9), which was published on 30 January 1868. In April 1868, Darwin informed …
… quite intelligible to me’ ( To George Bentham, 22 April 1868 ). A month later, he had another set …
… taken from the same plant!’ ( To J. D. Hooker, 21 May [1868] ) Pollen tubes, or rapidly elongating …
… he told Müller ( To Fritz Müller, 28 November 1868 ). In March 1869, Müller reported results of …
… [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
… A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …

5935_4582

Summary

From J. D. Hooker 26[–7] February 1868KewFeby 26th/68Dear Darwin I have been bursting with impatience to hear what you would say of the Athenæum Review & who wrote it— I could not conceive who…

Matches: 8 hits

… From J. D. Hooker 26[–7] February 1868 Kew Feby 26 th /68 Dear Darwin …
… Next morning — After rereading all this vaporous letter I shall try to answer your last page in a …
… some] ‘(5)’ added before blue crayon Top of letter : ‘London— Athen. Lewes’ f10 blue …
… of Variation in the Athenæum to Richard Owen (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 23 February [1868] …
… 1867) was reviewed in the Athenæum , 8 February 1868, pp. 217–18. f3 CD had discussed …
… f10 These annotations are for CD’s reply. See letter to J. D. Hooker, 28 February [1868] and nn. …
… Letter details From Hooker, J. D. To Darwin, C. R. …
… Tries to answer question on last page of CD’s letter anent sexuality. …

5873_1488

Summary

From B. J. Sulivan 13 February [1868]f1 Bournemouth Feby. 13. My dear Darwin As Mr Stirling has sent me the recpt. you may as well have it with the Photo of the four Fuegian boys which he wishes me to send you in case you have not seen it. He…

Matches: 3 hits

… From B. J. Sulivan 13 February [1868] f1 Bournemouth Feby. 13. My dear …
… boys were returned in 1867. See Correspondence vol. 14, letter from B. J. Sulivan, 25 December …
… had resided in the Falklands from 1848 to 1851. Letter details From …

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: 30 hits

… Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
… Tollet for proofreading and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. …
… her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
… from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
… he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
… in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
… he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
… so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
… which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
… Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
… of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
… the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
… Darwin assumes that 'A. B. Blackwell' is a man. Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to …
… him to the psychology of Herbert Spencer. Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin …
… his statements on a lack of reasoning in animals. Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to …
… during a visit to an asylum with her father. Letter 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
… on any comments that she feels might be suitable. Letter 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to …
… and beauty in the process of sexual selection. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
… of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8778 - Forster, L. M . to Darwin, H. …
… and the showing of teeth in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to …
… and hopes Darwin will complete her questionnaire. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. …
… of questions which she hopes aren’t too silly. Letter 10415 - Darwin to Herrick, S. …
… and is pleased that his work has interested her. Letter 10508 - Treat, M. to Darwin …
… Letter 5861 - Blyth, E. to Darwin, [11 February 1868] Zoologist Edward Blyth sends …
… Letter 5928 - Gray, A. to Darwin, [25 February 1868] American naturalist Asa Gray …
… Letter 6040 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, [23 March 1868] Haeckel informs Darwin …
… Letter 6110 - Samuelson, J. to Darwin, [10 April 1868] James Samuel, editor of …
… Letter 6126 - Binstead, C. H. to Darwin, [17 April 1868] Charles Binstead, “an …
… Letter 6237 - Bullar, R. to Darwin, [9 June 1868] Rosa Bullar reports a case of a …
… Letter 6335 - Innes, J. B. to Darwin, [31 August 1868] John Innes reports that he has …

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: 23 hits

… of departure reviews of Origin . The second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. Wallace to …
… everything is the result of “brute force”. Letter 2855 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 3 …
… nature, as he is in a “muddle” on this issue. Letter 3256 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
… shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. Letter 3342 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
… He asks Gray some questions about design. Letter 6167 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 8 …
… of my precipice”. Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
… of variations. Darwin and Graham Letter 13230 — Darwin, C. R. to Graham, …
… of people, including members of his own family. Letter 441 — Wedgwood, Emma to Darwin, …
… about his “honest & conscientious doubts”. Letter 471 — Darwin, Emma to Darwin, C. …
… there is a danger in giving up revelation”. Letter 2534 — Kingsley, Charles to Darwin, …
… need of an act of intervention to bring change. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
… with that knowledge which only He can give me.” Letter 5303 — Boole, M. E. to Darwin, C …
… that his theory be compatible with her faith. Letter 5307 — Darwin, C. R. to Boole, M. …
… and science should each run its own course. Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E. …
… “with qualifications”, if he wishes. Letter 8837 — Darwin, C. R. to Doedes, N. D., 2 …
… man’s intellect, “but man can do his duty”. Letter 12041 — Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, …
… most correct description of my state of mind”. Letter 12757 — Darwin, C. R. to Aveling, …
… as examples to illustrate his ideas on beauty. Letter 4752 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
… 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 …

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: 21 hits

… his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
… 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my …
… be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
… on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
… a brace of letters 25 I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
… might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
… Atlantic. HOOKER: 28 Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
… notions of natural Selection and would see whether it or my letter bears any date, I should be very …
… 55 My good dear friend, forgive me. This is a trumpery letter influenced by trumpery feelings. …
… do a good deal to secure it. Darwin passes Gray’s letter to Hooker with a cringe. …
… full relief from all anxiety. Darwin shows Gray’s letter to Hooker. DARWIN: …
… 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 …
… back. JANE GRAY: 189 [Jane Gray. Letter to her sister. Fall, 1868.] Mr Darwin …
… THE OLDER ONE GETS THE MORE THERE IS TO DO: 1868-1876 In which the friends consider the …
… DARWIN: 192 My dear Gray. When I look over your letter[s] … and see all the things you …
… me, and yet was most anxious till two days ago, when I got a letter from him in excellent spirits. …
… 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 …
… TO GRAY AT THIS TIME 189 JANE LORING GRAY, LETTER TO HER SISTER, 1868 or 1869 …
… A GRAY 9 AUGUST 1876 194 FROM A GRAY 25 MAY 1868 195 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER …

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…

Matches: 26 hits

… & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
… Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
… made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
… than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
… is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
… tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
… a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
… data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
… I d have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
… completed revisions of the ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was …
… him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
… with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
… doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
… weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
… with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
… in an additional & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 …
… orang-utan, and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ) …
… does himself an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
… geological structures of the South American cordillera ( letter to Charles Lyell, 20 May 1869 ), …
… of the same species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February …
… role of earthworms in the formation of the soil ( letter to Gardeners’ Chronicle , 9 May [1869] …
… sundew), a genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March …
… on the German translation of Variation (Carus trans. 1868). The French translation proved …
… for either the fourth or the fifth English editions ( see letter from Victor Masson, 29 September …
… the French edition of Variation (Moulinié trans. 1868), and CD now extended his permission for …
… Scientific Opinion , launched towards the end of 1868, was one of several periodicals begun in …

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: 22 hits

… him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, C. R. to …
… of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
… of brotherly love and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to …
… classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. …
… the nature of such influences as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
… his book “the law of higgledy-piggledy”. Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, …
… his views now depends on men eminent in science. Letter 2767 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
… prevail without such aggressive tactics. Letter 5500 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. …
… reader to take the side of the attacked person. Letter 5533 — Haeckel, E. P. A. to …
… of the matter, a vigorous attack is essential. Letter 5544 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, …
… political, and religious differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 …
… MS, but Darwin will offer to send it to journal. Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
… his views from anything Darwin wrote to him. Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
… he does not feel this alters the justice of case. Letter 2299 — Hooker, J. D. & …
… reasons for arranging the joint presentation. Letter 2306 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
… is now planning a 30-page abstract for a journal. Letter 2337 — Wallace, A. R. to …
… paper public unaccompanied by his own views. Letter 6024 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
… of minute variations and sexual selection. Letter 6033 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, …
… George Darwin’s notes on Wallace’s argument. Letter 6045 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
… and form new species without being isolated. Letter 6058 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. …
… relating to sterility that they will never agree. Letter 6095 — Darwin, C. R. to …
… cannot be increased through natural selection. Letter 6104 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …

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: 29 hits

… Darwin reckoned that he had started writing on 4 February 1868, only five days after the publication …
… shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
… anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
… corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
… who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
… abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
… thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
… how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
… the folded margin. Darwin, who had posed for the sculptor in 1868, an experience he described as …
… in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
… patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
… muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
… to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 …
… . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
… or crying badly; but I fear he will not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] …
… Lucy Wedgwood, who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). …
… is the inclination to finish my note on this subject’ ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). …
… the previous year (see Correspondence vol. 17, letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). His …
… (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). …
… towards each other, though in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). …
… version of the theory of descent by natural selection in a letter to Darwin, prompting much anxiety …
… But who is to criticise them? No one but yourself’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 20 May 1870 ). …
… me to be able to say that I never write reviews’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] ). …
… design. Darwin commented on Mivart’s essay in a letter to William Henry Flower: ‘I am glad …
… time wd be wasted if I once began to answer objectors’ ( letter to W. H. Flower, 25 March [1870] ) …
… laborious & valuable labours on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). …
… Ape than such an Ape differs from a lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 …
… his “end” whatever may have been his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In …
… by you in this manner than praised by many others’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 28 May [1870 …

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: 29 hits

… his publishers, he warned that it was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
… turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June …
… home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26 …
… many blessings, was finding old age ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
… wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
… itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
… office to complete Horace’s marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
… but they were ‘as nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
… on your life’s work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
… to wish Darwin a ‘long and serene evening of life’. This letter crossed with one from Darwin, …
… the statement ‘In the beginning was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). …
… as the ‘organ of “uncultivated materialism”’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). …
… up the glory & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 …
… wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879 …
… known philosopher and poet’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter from Francis Beaufort to Robert …
… these things with the when & the where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May …
… paternal grandparents thought ‘perfect in every way’ ( letter from E. A. Wheler, 25 March 1879 ). …
… heard of him ‘constantly, & always with pride’ ( letter from Reginald Darwin, 29 March 1879 ). …
… essay might end up ‘interfering with each other’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 27 March 1879 ). Darwin …
… made such an introduction ‘almost indispensable’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 ). Darwin …
… everything into ridicule. He hates scientific men’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 May 1879 ). …
… must be ‘in some degree interesting to the public’ ( letter to Reginald Darwin, 10 April [1879] ). …
… ‘very tastefully and well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and …
… ‘more perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). …
… telling, and he regretted going beyond his ‘tether’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 …
… never again to be tempted out of his ‘proper work’ ( letter to James Paget, 14 July 1879 ). At …
… of the tips of radicles, the embryonic roots of seedlings ( letter to Francis Darwin, 16 June [1879 …
… experienced obstacles from the start, as he reported in a letter of 29 May . Sachs had changed …
… and Farrer had corresponded on scientific topics since 1868 and after Farrer’s second marriage to …

Natural Science and Femininity

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…

Matches: 16 hits

… Britain? Letters Letter 109 - Wedgwood, J. to Darwin, …
… pursuit of real, professional work on his return. Letter 158 - Darwin to Darwin, R. W., …
… colour and “beauty” of tropical vegetation. Letter 542 - Darwin to Wedgwood, C. S., [27 …
… meals, family time and walks into town with Emma. Letter 555 - Darwin to FitzRoy, R., …
… ‘ A Biographical Sketch of an Infant ’. Letter 2781 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [3 May …
… them in the north-facing borders of his garden. Letter 2864 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., …
… and “never saw anything so beautiful”. Letter 4230 - Darwin to Gardeners’ Chronicle, [2 …
… linked with his domestic family life. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, [2 …
… at least provide Darwin with aesthetic pleasure. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., …
… he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom. Letter 4469 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin …
… before expecting to dedicate his life to science. Letter 4472 - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin …
… duty to the public to contribute more than this. Letter 6044 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H., …
… and influence to help shape his sons’ fortunes. Letter 6046 - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, …
… from the comfort of his “ pretty garden ”. Letter 6139 - Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [22 …
… moths all of which were conducted in his home. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to Wedgwood, S …
… attracted to dark spots on the bedroom wallpaper. Letter 10821 - Graham C. C. to Darwin …

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…

Matches: 22 hits

… & I can see it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] …
… wrote to the contrary: ‘I am sorry to see in your last letter that you still look forward to the …
… near the British Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] …
… it is a sort of scene I never ought to think about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). …
… However, what remains is cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to …
… (a local charity), which he administered from 1848 to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] …
… he would make an excellent Guardian [of the Poor Fund]’ (letter to J. W. Lubbock, 28 March [1854] …
… club the use of his own lawn for its meetings (Moore 1985; letter to J. S. Henslow, 17 January …
… the family’s dog, Quiz, when he moved away from Down (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 December [1861] ) …
… was considered to be a cross between a cow and a red deer (letter from J. B. Innes, 7 December …
… ancestor. Please think of my request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed …
… and leaves Moses to take care of himself. Letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 …
… take care of the financial complications he left behind (letter from S. J. O’H. Horsman, 2 June …
… seemed to have made off with the church’s organ fund (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 June [1868] ). So …
… by Horsman relating to the Down school and organ funds (letter to J. B. Innes, 13 January 1871 ). …
… Dissenters’ chapel, rather than the Down parish church (letter to J. B. Innes, 1 December 1868 ). …
… in the Parish, but preaches, I hear, very dull sermons’ (letter to J. B. Innes, 18 January [1871] …
… capital testimonials to his wife’s qualifications’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 5 June 1871 ). …
… support, and presented their answer to the School Committee (letter to Down School Board, [after …
… of letters to both men, vainly seeking to reconcile them (letter from John Lubbock, 5 April [1875] …
… During the reign of Ffinden, there is an interesting letter from Darwin to the evangelist J. W. C. …
… do not know that there is a drunkard left in the village’ (letter to J. W. C. Fegan, [December …

Inheritance

Summary

It was crucial to Darwin’s theories of species change that naturally occurring variations could be inherited. But at the time when he wrote Origin, he had no explanation for how inheritance worked – it was just obvious that it did. Darwin’s attempt to…

Matches: 4 hits

… 'provisional hypothesis of Pangenesis’, was published in 1868 in his book, Variation of …
… Huxley, [17 July 1865] ). He was forced to confess in a letter to Hooker , that it was indeed & …
… some other name. ( to J. D. Hooker, 23 February '1868] ) And took …
… hardly possible. ( from A. R. Wallace, 24 February 1868 ) Darwin’s …

Scientific Networks

Summary

Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…

Matches: 25 hits

… and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
… in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
… botanist Asa Gray. Darwin and Hooker Letter 714 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
… and he is curious about Hooker’s thoughts. Letter 729 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., …
… to Hooker “it is like confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
… wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
… and asks him to append the ranges of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. …
… and relationships of alpine flora in the USA. Letter 2125 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
… and their approach to information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D …
… first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
… perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
… ends with a discussion of lamination of gneiss. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
… up his doubts about Darwin’s doctrines. In his second letter he talks about his visit with Falconer. …
… was on the Beagle voyage and afterwards. Letter 152 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. …
… is Henslow’s “bounden duty to lecture me”. Letter 196 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, C. R. …
… sends home a copy of his notes on the specimens. Letter 249 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, …
… sends news of Cambridge and mutual friends. Letter 251 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S …
… illness and specimens are sent to Henslow. Letter 272 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S. …
… collection and plans to cross the Cordilleras. Letter 1189 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
… Hermann Müller. Darwin and Lubbock Letter 1585 — Darwin, C. R. to Lubbock, John, …
… and it has reawakened his passion for entomology. Letter 1720 — Darwin, C. R. to …
… 147 (1857): 79–100]. Darwin and Müller Letter 5457 — Müller, H. L. H. to Darwin, …
… of the floral anatomy of Lopezia miniata . Letter 5471 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, H. …
… Fritz Müller is Hermann Müller’s brother. Letter 5481 — Müller, H. L. H. to Darwin, C. …
… Letter 5770 — Müller, H. L. H. to Darwin, C. R., Jan [1868] Müller thanks Darwin for his …

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: 24 hits

… that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
… persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
… from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
… ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
… than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
… from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
… leap from that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
… out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public …
… book he wished his one-time mentor had not said a word ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February …
… I respect you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
… against stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). …
… thinking, while Huxley’s book would scare them off ( see letter from Asa Gray, 20 April 1863 ). In …
… change of species by descent put him ‘into despair’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). In the …
… disaffected towards Lyell and his book. In a February letter to the Athenæum , a weekly review of …
… find great difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
… of so much of Lyell’s book being written by others’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
… is wretched to see men fighting so for a little fame’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). …
… overt act, and I shall watch for a fitting opportunity’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] …
… God demented Owen, as a punishment for his crimes… ?’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January [1863] …
… Darwin’, a transitional form between reptiles and birds ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January …
… a significant gap had been filled in the fossil record ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January …
… continued to capture his and others’ attention ( see letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , …
… Primula crosses, the results of which were published in 1868 ( see letter to John Scott, 25 and …
… months. However, the two-volume work was not published until 1868. Roping in the family …

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: 23 hits

… earthworms . Selected letters Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. …
… work are referenced throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, …
… her identity is both anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D …
… Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., …
… being acknowledged publicly as a science critic. Letter 4370 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
… are identified only as “friends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 …
… Sir C. Lyell” or received from “Miss. B”. Letter 7060 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
… was referenced in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C …
… are not cited in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., …
… description of a crying baby in Mary Barton. Letter 8321 - Darwin to …
… he would “feel the public humming” at him. Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, …
… lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly rely”. Letter 8427 - Darwin to Litchfield H …
… of Henrietta’s considerable editorial input. Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 …
… Letters relating to Earthworms Letter 7428 - Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [4 …
… depth of furrows in an old field near his house. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R. to …
… activity in the fields of North Wales. Letter 8193 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H …
… published discussion of earthworm activity . Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. …
… discussion of turf-based worm castings . Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, …
… lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly rely”. Letter 11221 - Darwin to Darwin …
… are referenced in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12742 - Darwin, H. to Darwin, …
… "My son Horace" in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12745 - Darwin to …
… anonymously in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12760 - Wedgwood, K. E. S. to …
… but does not identify the workers in question. Letter 13037 - Darwin to Darwin, …

	Asa Gray	(1)
	CCD intro	(16)
	emotion	(2)
	Featured	(8)
	natural selection	(4)
	Primula	(1)
	Sexual selection	(2)
	Variation	(5)
	Human nature	(1)
	Life sciences	(2)
	drama	(1)
	Descent	(3)
	heredity	(1)
	human evolution	(2)
	ice ages	(1)
	Nägeli	(1)
	Origin	(4)
	Darwin's controversies	(3)
	co-adaptation	(1)
	controversy	(1)
	Mivart	(2)
	Natural selections: a longer read	(2)
	Religion	(1)
	Evolution	(1)
	inheritance	(1)
	Pangenesis	(3)
	botany	(1)
	hothouse	(1)
	Climbing Plants	(1)
	George Douglas Campbell	(1)
	Hugh Falconer	(1)
	reading	(1)
	Robert FitzRoy	(1)
	Survival of the fittest	(2)
	distribution	(1)
	Germany	(1)
	glacier	(1)
	illness	(1)
	disagreement	(1)
	expression	(1)
	morality	(1)
	reaction	(1)
	worms	(1)
	Copley medal	(1)
	humans	(1)
	questionnaire	(1)
	British Association	(1)
	Big Book	(1)
	instinct	(1)
	Historical documents	(1)

Darwin Correspondence Project

Search form

Search: contains ""

Summary

Matches: 20 hits

Summary

Matches: 26 hits

Summary

Matches: 10 hits

Summary

Matches: 29 hits

Summary

Matches: 10 hits

Summary

Matches: 8 hits

Summary

Matches: 3 hits

Summary

Matches: 30 hits

Summary

Matches: 23 hits

Summary

Matches: 21 hits

Summary

Matches: 26 hits

Summary

Matches: 22 hits

Summary

Matches: 29 hits

Summary

Matches: 29 hits

Summary

Matches: 16 hits

Summary

Matches: 22 hits

Summary

Matches: 4 hits

Summary

Matches: 25 hits

Summary

Matches: 24 hits

Summary

Matches: 23 hits