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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: 26 hits

… evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost …
… (1875) and Cross and self fertilisation (1876). Darwin’s son Francis became increasingly …
… career to become his father’s scientific secretary. Darwin had always relied on assistance from …
… Francis’s decision. A large portion of the letters Darwin received in 1873 were in response …
… the previous year. As was typical, readers wrote to Darwin personally to offer suggestions, …
… some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed to discussions in the …
… Francis Galton’s work on inherited talent, which prompted Darwin to reflect on the traits and …
… Station at Naples. Plants that eat and feel? Darwin had resumed experiments on the …
… to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873 ] ). Drosera was the main focus of …
… and alkaloids, and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous …
… leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ). Darwin found that the …
… to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this transmission of …
… copy of the Handbook for the physiological laboratory (1873 ), a detailed guide to animal …
… Darwin’s other main focus of botanical investigation in 1873 was cross- and self-fertilisation, work …
… & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August 1873 ). Darwin worried, however, that …
… when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873 ] ). Keeping it in the family …
… their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873 ] ). In September, Darwin …
… will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 ). Erasmus, who had studied medicine …
… work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September [1873 ] ). Shortly afterwards, it was arranged for …
… 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873 ] , “Did I ever boast to you on the …
… anonymously in the Edinburgh Review in April ([Baynes] 1873 ). Darwin asked one of his Scottish …
… before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873 ] ). Readers' lives …
… without instruction or previously acquired knowledge” (A. R. Wallace 1870, p. 204). Moggridge …
… believes whether or not they are sound” ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 November 1873 ). But no …
… unorthodoxy, troubling and potentially undermining (J. R. Moore 1985, pp. 471–2). A courted …
… a personification of Natural Filosofy” ( letter from J. C. Costerus and N. D. Doedes, 18 March 1873 …

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: 28 hits

… the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells …
… on plants with two or three different forms of flowers, Darwin had focused on the anatomical and …
… of different forms of pollen. Although many plants that Darwin observed had flowers with adaptations …
… rates, growth, and constitutional vigour. Although Darwin was no stranger to long months and years …
… … is highly remarkable’ In September 1866, Darwin announced to the American botanist …
… several years ( To Édouard Bornet, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin began a series of experiments, …
… ). It was only after a new season of experiments that Darwin would confirm that this poppy shed its …
… access to flowers was only the tip of the iceberg. Darwin next focused on the California …
… conditions’ ( From Fritz Müller, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin’s interest was piqued and he described …
… when self-fertilised, although fewer than crossed plants. Darwin sent some of these seeds to Müller, …
… [1868] ). Müller, in turn, sent seeds from his plants to Darwin and both men continued to …
… Müller remarked, on receiving a new batch of seeds from Darwin, ‘that it was ‘curious to see, on …
… ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870, Darwin reported that he was ‘rearing crossed …
… seeds of Ipomœa. I remember saying the contrary to you & M r Smith at Kew. But the result is …
… 5 December 1871 ). When Darwin began writing in February 1873 , he asked Hooker for names of …
… system to follow ( To J. D. Hooker, 17 February 1873 ). Despite also working on experiments with …
… with this & get it published’ ( To Asa Gray, 11 March [1873 ] ). In April 1873 , the …
… I am already plagued by foreign Translators, Reviewers, &c.’ ( To John Murray, 4 May [1873 ] ). …
… when it will be published’ ( To J. V. Carus, 8 May [1873 ] ). Hermann Müller also wrote from …
… my further working’ ( From Hermann Müller, 10 June 1873 ). Darwin, in turn, had found Müller’s …
… them by different routes’ ( To Hermann Müller, 30 May 1873 ). Although Darwin had completed a …
… must turn to the vegetable kingdom’ In June 1873 , Delpino informed Darwin that …
… to avoid crossing ( From Federico Delpino, 18 June 1873 ). Darwin was intrigued. ‘I am very glad …
… Bees’, he told Delpino ( To Federico Delpino, 25 June [1873 ] ). Darwin’s suspicion that sweet peas …
… his crossing experiments through the early summer, by August 1873 , Darwin decided to shift focus …
… effects of Interbreeding’ ( To J. V. Carus, 2 August [1873 ] ). In September, Darwin wrote a …
… the set of all my works, I would suggest 1,500’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 16 September 1876 ). In the …
… of hybrids, has not yet been produced’ ( From A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this …

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: 24 hits

… | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
… community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
… Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin …
… peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October …
… in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] …
… Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [8 June 1867 - 72] Darwin …
… Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 May 1870] …
… Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, [1873 ] Ellen Lubbock, wife of naturalist …
… Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873 ] Mary Treat reports in detail on her …
… the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 …
… Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
… in Llandudno. Letter 4823 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] …
… Letter 8144 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [5 January 1872] Darwin asks his niece, …
… Lychnis diurna. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R . to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
… lawn. Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. R., [24 February 1872] Darwin …
… Letter 9606 - Harrison, L. C. to Darwin, [22 August 1874] Darwin’s niece, Lucy, …
… Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
… Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873 ] Mary Treat provides a detailed …
… garden ”. Letter 6083 - Casparay, J. X. R. to Darwin, [2 April 1868] …
… Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
… 9156 - Wallace, A. R . to Darwin, [19 November 1873 ] Wallace reassures Darwin that …
… 9157 - Darwin to Da rwin, G. H., [20 November 1873 ] Darwin offers the work of …
… Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 January 1873 ] Darwin gives Mary Treat close …
… 9157 - Darwin to Da rwin, G. H., [20 November 1873 ] Darwin offers the work of …

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: 25 hits

… 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working …
… dispute over an anonymous review that attacked the work of Darwin’s son George dominated the second …
… and traveller Alexander von Humboldt’s 105th birthday, Darwin obliged with a reflection on his debt …
… during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August 1874] ). The death of a …
… from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to the self-assessment, ‘as for one …
… I feel very old & helpless The year started for Darwin with a week’s visit to …
… Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873 . Darwin had originally thought that …
… ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor health so frequently in …
… 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and sceptics Darwin excused himself for reasons of …
… by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George Eliot), but Darwin excused himself, finding it too …
… had suggested a new edition of the coral book in December 1873 , when he realised the difficulty a …
… vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 December [1873 ] ). Darwin himself had some trouble …
… Descent was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though …
… on subsequent print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). …
… of human evolution and inheritance himself. In August 1873 , he had published in the Contemporary …
… the use of the Down schoolroom as a winter reading room in 1873 (see Correspondence , vol. 21, …
… in a few hours dissolve the hardest cartilage, bone & meat &c. &c.’ ( letter to W. D. …
… ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 July [1874] ). In 1873 , Hooker had begun a series of …
… vol. 21, letter from Francis Darwin, [11 October 1873 ] ). Darwin wasted several weeks in …
… whether at the ‘close of the putrefaction of flesh, skin &c, any substance is produced before …
… details of an Australian variety of sundew ( letter from T. C. Copland, 23 June 1874 ). …
… Sharpe for promotion at the British Museum ( letter to R. B. Sharpe, 24 November [1874] ). He …
… head that M r Spencer’s terms of equilibration &c always bother me & make everything less …
… Moulinié, who had died after a period of ill health in 1873 . Edmond Barbier corrected defects in …
… was a copy of Joseph Simms’s book on physiognomy (Simms 1873 ), which contained Darwin’s portrait to …

Language: key letters

Summary

How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…

Matches: 14 hits

… human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the …
… he first began to reflect on the transmutation of species. Darwin’s correspondence reveals the scope …
… he exchanged information and ideas. Letter 346: Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, C. S., 27 Feb 1837 …
… one stock.” Letter 2070: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, C. R., [before 29 Sept 1857] …
… because we can trace the elements into Latin, German &c. but I see much the same sort of thing …
… down of former continents.” Letter 3054: Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 2 Feb [1861] …
… that languages, like species, were separately created. Darwin writes to the geologist Charles Lyell …
… I tell him is perfectly logical.” Letter 5605: Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. T., 15 Aug …
… Letter 7040: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, C. R., [1868-70?] As Darwin began to work on …
… growing to such a stage” Letter 8367: Darwin, C. R. to Wright, Chauncey, 3 June [1872] …
… altering the breed. Letter 8962: Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, Friedrich, 3 July 1873 …
… Letter 10194: Max Müller, Friedrich to Darwin, C. R., 13 Oct [1875] For Müller, human and …
… […]” Letter 9887: Dawkins, W. B. to Darwin, C. R., 14 Mar 1875 The relationship …
… […]” Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., 27 July 1877 Darwin’s study of …

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: 24 hits

… Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig …
… as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified …
… correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring …
… Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day …
… Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart Mill, Emma Darwin, Horace Darwin… and acts as a sort …
… the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and between the audience and …
… this, he sends out copies of his Review of the Life of Darwin. At this time in his life, Asa …
… friends in England, copies of his ‘Review of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it …
… Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles Darwin… made his home on the border of the little …
… are kept in check by a constitutional weakness. DARWIN: A plain but comfortable brick …
… by every blessing except that of vigorous health… DARWIN: 4 My confounded stomach …
… pursuits and the simplicity of his character. DARWIN: 5 I am allowed to work now …
… own house, where he was the most charming of hosts. DARWIN: 6 My life goes on …
… being a part of [an unpublished] manuscript. Darwin settles down to write. His tone is …
… THE CONCURRENCE OF BOTANISTS: 1855 In which Darwin initiates a long-running correspondence …
… gossip about difficult colleagues (Agassiz). Gray realizes Darwin is not revealing all of his …
… man, more formally attired and lighter on his feet than Darwin. He has many more demands on his time …
… catches his attention. He opens the letter. DARWIN: 8 April 25 th 1855. My …
… filled up the paper you sent me as well as I could. DARWIN: 10 My dear Dr Gray. I …
… is condensed in that little sheet of note-paper! DARWIN: 11 My dear Hooker… What …
… surprising good. GRAY: 12 My dear Mr Darwin, I rejoice in furnishing facts to …
… paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r] 178 doctrine that each variation has been …
… GRAY (BOSTON, 1893) 2A GRAY TO CLARA ?, 3 MARCH 1873 3 A GRAY. MEMOIR OF …
… & 1 MARCH 1870 197 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER, 3 JULY 1873 198 TO A GRAY 5 …

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: 22 hits

… There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
… 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge …
… to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an …
… the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his …
… a holiday in the Lake District in August did little to raise Darwin’s spirits. ‘I wish that my …
… W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26] July [1879] ). From July, Darwin had an additional worry: the …
… that his grandfather had felt the same way. In 1792, Erasmus Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I …
… all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 ). The year …
… contained a warmer note and the promise of future happiness: Darwin learned he was to be visited by …
… Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 …
… the veteran of Modern Zoology’, but it was in Germany that Darwin was most fêted. A German …
… nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of …
… accepted in Germany. ‘On this festive day’, Haeckel told Darwin, ‘you can look back, with justified …
… Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and serene evening of life’. This …
… of the Admiralty described the unknown young man as ‘A M r Darwin grandson of the well known …
… him on 9 June not to ‘expend much powder & shot on M r Butler’, for he really was not worth …
… leaving Darwin ‘more perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 …
… the highest point, for his “why”—“what for” &c are incessant’, Darwin joked on 2 July (first …
… and after Farrer’s second marriage to Darwin’s niece in 1873 the Darwins had stayed at the Farrers’ …
… which is his profession tho’ not a profitable one; also D r C[lark]’s opinion that he was so …
… greatly amused Darwin, who felt it was ‘very acute of M r Ruskin to know that I feel a deep & …
… and prevent ‘Cattle diseases, Potato diseases &c’, probably did not know that Darwin had already …

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: 11 hits

… the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same …
… nineteenth century were different in important ways. Many of Darwin's leading supporters were …
… their religious beliefs with evolutionary theory. Darwin's own writing, both in print and …
… much as possible. A number of correspondents tried to draw Darwin out on his own religious views, …
… political contexts. Design Darwin was not the first to challenge …
… on the controversial topic of design. The first is between Darwin and Harvard botanist Asa Gray, …
… Origin . The second is a single letter from naturalist A. R. Wallace to Darwin on design and …
… Darwin and Wallace Letter 5140 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. R., 2 July 1866 …
… Darwin and Graham Letter 13230 — Darwin, C. R. to Graham, William, 3 July 1881 …
… Letter 8837 — Darwin, C. R. to Doedes, N. D., 2 Apr 1873 Darwin explains the impossibility of …
… 9122 — Darwin, C. R. to Down School Board, [Nov–Dec 1873] Darwin, Sir John Lubbock, Ellen …

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: 7 hits

… Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those …
… a broad variety of women had access to, and engaged with, Darwin's published works. A set of …
… women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
… that his views are original and will appeal to the public. Darwin asks Murray to forward the …
… and criticisms of style. Letter 2461 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859] …
… typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] …
… - Forster, L. M . to Darwin, H. E., [20 February 1873] Henrietta’s friend, Laura, …

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 …

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: 14 hits

… Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, …
… set of selected letters is followed by letters relating to Darwin's 1881 publication …
… throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, Miss, [April 1860] …
… anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D. F., [12 November …
… Nevill is referenced by name for her “kindness” in Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . …
… science critic. Letter 4370 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [April - May 1865] …
… as “friends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 March 1865] …
… to state that the information was “received through Sir C. Lyell” or received from “Miss. B”. …
… in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [9 June 1867 - …
… in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., [30 January 1868 …
… at him. Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [15 June 1872] Darwin’s …
… Letter 8719 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 January 1873 ] Darwin asks naturalist Mary Treat …
… near his house. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
… worm castings . Letter 7345 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [15 June 1872] …

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: 23 hits

… When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect …
… ease of distribution sometime in late 1867 or early 1868. Darwin went over his questions, refining …
… was the collection of observations on a global scale. Darwin was especially interested in peoples …
… cultural and conventional, or instinctive and universal. Darwin used his existing correspondence …
… and with the mouth a little drawn back at the corners?” Darwin’s questionnaire was an extension of …
… was also carefully devised so as to prevent the feelings of Darwin’s remote observers from colouring …
… and not the susceptibilities of a moral nature.” Darwin did not typically countenance such …
… the collection of information to its display in print. After Darwin received all of the replies to …
… except “yes” or “no.” “The same state of mind” Darwin would later assert in Expression of the …
… uniformity.” Table of Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter …
… could available online ahead of schedule as part of the “Darwin and Human Nature” project, funded by …
… nodding vertically Blair, R.H. 11 July …
… Fuegians Brooke, C.A.J. 30 Nov 1870 …
… Dyaks Brooke, C.A.J. 30 April 1871 …
… Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging/pouting of …
… blushing Darwin, Francis 20 June 1867 …
… Bartlett and S. Sutton Darwin, Francis …
… pouting Darwin, W.E. [after 29 March 1868] …
… blushing in blind students Darwin, W.E. [7 …
… blushing Darwin, W.E. [22? April 1868] …
… Reade, Winwood W. [c.8 or 9 Apr 1870] Accra, West …
… in Hottentots Smyth, R. Brough 13 Aug 1868 …
… Weale, J.P.M. [Jan 1873 ] Bedford, Cape of Good Hope, …

Science, Work and Manliness

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters In 1859, popular didactic writer William Landels published the first edition of what proved to be one of his best-selling works, How Men Are Made. "It is by work, work, work" he told his middle class audience, …

Matches: 11 hits

… In describing what they did using the language of labour, Darwin and his male colleagues asserted …
… 1. Which elements of the scientific process do Darwin and his male correspondents tend to …
… another's scientific work? How does this differ from how Darwin praised women's work ? …
… Letters Letter 282 - Darwin to Fox, W. D., [9 - 12 August 1835] Darwin …
… thinking and hammering”. Letter 1533 - Darwin to Dana, J. D., [27 September 1853] …
… the labour bestowed on it are “really surprising” and Darwin hopes that Dana’s health withstood the …
… labour and patience”. Letter 4262 - Darwin to Gray, A., [4 August 1863] Darwin …
… which was “no slight labour”. Letter 3901 - Darwin to Falconer, H., [5 & 6 January …
… worked out paper on which Falconer has worked very hard. Darwin hopes that Falconer’s extreme labour …
… investigation as a physical and laborious process, he envies Darwin and other “hard working …
… Letter 9157 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H., [20 November 1873] Darwin offers the work of …

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: 24 hits

… The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It …
… unique window into this complicated relationship throughout Darwin’s life, as it reveals his …
… belief (and doubt) than many non-conformist denominations. Darwin’s parents attended a Unitarian …
… the necessary studies to be a clergyman. During Darwin’s lifetime, the vast majority of the …
… income was essential to enjoy a gentlemanly lifestyle. For Darwin, who could rely on the financial …
… compatible with the pursuit of scientific interests. Indeed, Darwin’s Cambridge mentor, John Stevens …
… (Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (1887): 321). Darwin started on his journey around the world …
… it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] ). Darwin’s …
… Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] ). Writing to Fox …
… about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). Darwin’s doubts about orthodox belief, and …
… in 1838 and 1839, as can be read here. In the end, Darwin chose a middle course—a life of ease in …
… within six years of his return from the Beagle voyage, Darwin moved to Down House, in the …
… where their children Mary and Charles were buried; later Darwin’s brother Erasmus, Emma’s sister …
… of Emma, whose religious scruples are discussed here. But Darwin’s correspondence reveals his own …
… Although he was not the principal landowner in Down, Darwin was a gentleman of means, and clearly …
… made inroads on Anglican authority in the countryside. The Darwin family took an interest in, and …
… Many of the letters highlighted in this section focus on Darwin’s long-standing relationship with …
… To the end of his life Innes refused to be persuaded by Darwin’s theory of evolution, but …
… cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to Innes expressing concern …
… to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] and n. 2). Darwin praised Innes to John William …
… letter of 1854 in which he said, From all I have seen of M r Innes’ conduct towards the poor &amp …
… Innes informed Darwin that though he ‘heard all good of M r . Ffinden’s moral character, his …
… (letter to Down School Board, [after 29 November 1873 ] ). Ffinden fiercely resented Darwin for …
… an interesting letter from Darwin to the evangelist J. W. C. Fegan. Darwin whole-heartedly supported …

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…

Matches: 26 hits

… 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which …
… about their research while he was away from home. Although Darwin lacked a state of the art research …
… the advantages of both while Francis was working abroad. Darwin was privy to the inner workings of …
… methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument …
… that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. Darwin described his experimental practice …
… plant physiology, but it was at its core informed by Darwin’s theory of evolution, particularly by …
… early 1860s, at a time when his health was especially bad, Darwin had taken up the study of climbing …
… reproduced as a small book, giving it a much wider audience. Darwin was not the first naturalist to …
… from correspondents in response to the work, and by 1873 began preparing a second edition, which …
… about the nature of movement, so much so, that at one point Darwin had considered combining the …
… digestive processes. With his final great botanical work, Darwin would attempt ‘ to bring all the …
… emotions had their origins in non-human animal expression. Darwin had not done experimental work in …
… viewed the division between animals and plants as absolute, Darwin was interested in similarities. …
… become adapted to perform new functions, like climbing? For Darwin, physiology was a way of seeing …
… attracting students from all over Europe and beyond. When Darwin’s son Francis worked in this …
… ‘Mad about drops of water’ Darwin’s interest in the diversified movements of …
… because Darwin never published on bloom. In August 1873 , while on holiday in Southampton at the home …
… by bloom, but his main preoccupation in the summer of 1873 was his experimental work on …
… themselves from the injurious effects of water. By November 1873 , he was already devising …
… ‘ Frank & I are working very hard on bloom & sleep &c.; but I am horribly afraid all …
… that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from R. I. Lynch, [before 28 July 1877] ). ‘ …
… to learn about cutting thin sections of soft leaves &c.— Lastly the instrument for making marks …
… the curious mode of germination ’ and concluded, ‘ M r Rattan seems to be a real good observer, …
… or ‘The Nature of the Movements of Plants’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 23 April [1880] ). Cooke …
… was willing to publish on the usual terms ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 15 July 1880 ). This was also …
… pay more for at the usual rate of charging per inch &c they w d . be over £40’; he suggested …

Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours

Summary

Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…

Matches: 29 hits

… Ever since the publication of Expression , Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The …
… of these projects would culminate in a major publication. Darwin’s botany was increasingly a …
… assisted his father’s research on movement and bloom, and Darwin in turn encouraged his son’s own …
… The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. Darwin received two elaborate photograph albums …
… from Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Closer to home, Darwin received an honorary Doctorate of …
… sites for possible earthworm activity. Now in his 69th year, Darwin remained remarkably productive, …
… no controversy. In his autobiographical reflections, Darwin remarked: ‘no little discovery of …
… (‘Recollections’, p. 419). During the winter and spring, Darwin was busy preparing the manuscript of …
… and presented to the Linnean Society of London. In the book, Darwin adopted the more recent term …
… as dimorphic without comparing pollen-grains & stigmas’, Darwin remarked to Joseph Dalton …
… measurements of the size and number of pollen-grains, Darwin compared the fertility of individual …
… primrose and purple loosestrife. In the course of his work, Darwin found a number of other …
… dreadful work making out anything about dried flowers’, Darwin complained to Asa Gray on 8 March …
… which include heterstyled species. This pleases me.’. Darwin dedicated the book to Gray, ‘as a small …
… separate publications together into a larger whole enabled Darwin to advance more speculative views …
… both pollen and seeds’ ( Forms of flowers , p. 344). Darwin was typically pessimistic about the …
… be sold’. His publisher knew from previous experience that Darwin was a poor judge of sales, and …
… after completing his manuscript of Forms of flowers , Darwin took up the problem of ‘bloom’ in …
… characteristic whose purpose was little understood. Darwin had begun studying bloom in August 1873 , …
… exchanged between Down and Kew over the next six months. Darwin corresponded most often with the …
… been for your kindness, we sh d . have broken down’, Darwin wrote back on 5 September . ‘As it …
… one of the young leaves with a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). …
… but I think the great honour of its being printed in the R. Soc. Transactions, (sh d . the …
… larger aim was announced in the subtitle: Zeitschrift fü r einheitliche Weltanschauung auf Grund …
… ‘but found him as soft & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ). Hooker …
… I hope it may remain for centuries to come’ ( letter from C. C. Graham, 30 January 1877 ). Graham …
… of Siebold’s study of medical monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October 1877 ). An …
… any recognition by any public bodies of England & that y r . own University w d . like to be …
… at the Senate House yesterday, with a suspended monkey &c; but I believe the cheering was more …

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: 27 hits

… At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
… appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a …
… material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwin’s interests remained extremely broad, and …
… plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to …
… Carl von Nägeli and perfectibility Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a …
… a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägeli’s paper …
… principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory …
… in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now …
… are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwin’s apparent confusion about Nägeli’s …
… ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwin’s uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently …
… pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical examples he could use …
… problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth …
… prevailing theory of blending inheritance that Jenkin and Darwin both shared, would tend to be lost …
… ( Origin 5th ed., pp. 103–4). The terminology that Darwin and others employed in these matters ( …
… ‘I must have expressed myself atrociously’, Darwin wrote to Alfred Russel Wallace on 2 February , …
… now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , and …
… of Origin was the result of correspondence between Darwin and the geologist James Croll. In the …
… of information which I have sent prove of any service to M r . Darwin I can supply him with much …
… & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). More …
… and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ), and …
… an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
… species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a …
… genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This …
… incorporating his latest revisions (Moulinié trans. 1873 ). Reinwald and Moulinié had been engaged …
… Sweetland Dallas’s edition of Fritz Müller’s Fü r Darwin (Dallas trans. 1869). The book, an …
… creation, if he is not completely staggered after reading y r essay’. The work received a …
… whole meeting was decidedly Huxley’s answer to D r M c Cann. He literally poured boiling oil …

Have you read the one about....

Summary

... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.

Matches: 1 hits

… ... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some …

4.7 'Vanity Fair', caricature

Summary

< Back to Introduction A letter to Darwin from his publisher John Murray of 10 May 1871 informed him, ‘Your portrait is earnestly desired – by the Editor of Vanity Fair. I hope Mr Darwin may consent to follow the example of Murchison – Bismark [sic] …

Matches: 14 hits

… < Back to Introduction A letter to Darwin from his publisher John Murray of 10 May …
… desired – by the Editor of Vanity Fair. I hope M r Darwin may consent to follow the example of …
… agreeing to be caricatured in Vanity Fair ’s pages . Darwin’s first reaction was anything but …
… characterisation tallies extremely closely with Francis Darwin’s recollections of his father, both …
… Vanity Fair ’s friendly and convincing likeness of Darwin took its place in a long series of colour …
… by a motto rather than by his name – in the case of Darwin (‘Men of the Day, No. 33’) it was …
… were intermingled with those of royals and aristocrats. Darwin himself, no longer a controversial or …
… evidently thought that Pellegrini would be chosen to draw Darwin, assuring the latter that this …
… House there is a copy of the Vanity Fair caricature of Darwin paired in a single mount and frame …
… (‘Men of the Day’, no. 57, ‘Old Bones’, 1 March 1873 ) (EH88202629). A printed caption has been added …
… further.’ physical location Darwin archive, Cambridge University Library. Other …
… September 1871   computer-readable date c.1871-06-01 to 1871-09-29   …
… no. 152 (30 Sept. 1871), p. 107. Letter from John Murray to Darwin, 10 May 1871 (DCP-LETT-7750). …
… Greenwood Press, 1984), pp. 437-440. Janet Browne, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place. Volume II …

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