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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: 26 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 …
  • … a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [8 June 1867 - 72] …
  • … Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 …
  • … her observations on the expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 …
  • 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 …
  • … New Zealand. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to Wedgwood, S. E., [9 November 1868] …
  • Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 November 1868] Darwin …
  • … lakes in Pennsylvania. Letter 3681  - Wedgwood, M. S. to Darwin, [before 4 August …
  • … on holiday in Llandudno. Letter 4823  - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] …
  • … any way he can. Letter 8144 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [5 January 1872] …
  • … of hillside worm casting ridges. Letter 8169 - Wedgwood, L. to Darwin, [20 January, …
  • … on the common. Men: Letter 385  - Wedgwood, S. E. & J. to Darwin, [10 …
  • … summer holiday in Margate. Letter 7433  - Wedgwood,  F. to Darwin, [9 January …
  • Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873] Mary Treat provides a detailed …
  • … E. to Darwin, W. E., [January 23rd 1887]: Emma Darwin tells her eldest son, William, …
  • … E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March, 1862 - DAR 219.1:49) Emma Darwin updates her son, William, …
  • … is a great critic”, thought the article worth reprinting, Emma was less convinced. Letter
  • … 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 …

Dining at Down House

Summary

Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Dining, Digestion, and Darwin's Domestic Life While Darwin is best remembered for his scientific accomplishments, he greatly valued and was strongly influenced by his domestic life. Darwin's…

Matches: 11 hits

  • … In addition to sharing a tender relationship with his wife Emma, Darwin played an active role in the …
  • … and Conclusion”). Letters Letter Packet: Dining at Down House …
  • … ill health began on his Beagle voyage. In this letter (written amidst the excitement of South …
  • … difficulties of traveling on horseback while ill. Letter 465 —Emma Wedgwood (Emma Darwin …
  • … making himself agreeable” for her sake. Letter 3626 —Emma Darwin to T. G. Appleton, 28 …
  • … to thank Appleton for gifts sent from America. Letter 3597 —Darwin to Joseph Dalton …
  • … on the difficulties of finding a suitable cook. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [4 …
  • … among other things, for Darwin’s complaints. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [14 April …
  • … Scottish medium, Daniel Dunglass Home, with Galton. Emma Darwin to Henrietta Darwin, [4 …
  • … taste of Darwin's life at Down House, recreate recipes from Emma Darwin's cookbook and …
  • … food that Darwin ate, using authentic recipes from his wife Emma Darwin’s cookbook. Our menu …

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

  • … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
  • … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ).  Such …
  • … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
  • … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
  • … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’  ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
  • … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
  • … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
  • … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
  • … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
  • … Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). …
  • … had suggested a new edition of the coral book in December 1873, when he realised the difficulty a …
  • … edition, published in 1842 ( Correspondence  vol. 21, letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 17 …
  • … Hooker, and finally borrowed one from Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January …
  • … to take so sweetly all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March …
  • … of human evolution and inheritance himself.  In August 1873, he had published in the  Contemporary …
  • … satisfaction. Assisted in the wording by his wife, Emma, and daughter Henrietta, he finally wrote a …
  • … a comfortable cabin ( see letter from Leonard Darwin to Emma Darwin, [after 26 June -- 28 September …
  • … to become Darwin’s secretary. They rented Down Lodge and Emma Darwin wrote, ‘They have . . . made …
  • … the average in prettiness & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October …
  • … the use of the Down schoolroom as a winter reading room in 1873 (see  Correspondence , vol. 21, …
  • … dead uncle’s position of vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October …
  • … ( 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 …
  • … 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 …

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: 18 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, …
  • … 9122 — Darwin, C. R. to Down School Board, [Nov–Dec 1873] Darwin, Sir John Lubbock, Ellen …

1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait

Summary

< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…

Matches: 14 hits

  • … youth survive, although more may once have existed . In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, …
  • … House, celebrated his marriage in January 1839 to his cousin Emma Wedgwood; the one of Darwin is …
  • … estimate of Richmond’s work can be gauged from a letter which Hooker wrote to Darwin some years …
  • … theories.   As early as February 1839, Elizabeth Wedgwood had written to her sister Emma: ‘My …
  • … Italy – or would a portrait by Holmes be preferable?’ Emma in response promised, ‘I will go and get …
  • … not return from Italy until August or September 1839. Josiah Wedgwood himself wrote to his daughter …
  • … arranging ‘to send you Richmond’s pictures of self and Emma’: ‘self’ presumably means Charles, and …
  • … was being assembled, so that both the Darwin and the Wedgwood families would have one. It is …
  • … lent Richmond’s watercolour drawings of Charles and Emma, with a note that the one of Charles had an …
  • … – the only one she knew about – to 1840. However, in Emma Darwin: A Century of Family Letters …
  • … account books, entry for Dec. 1839. Joseph Hooker, letter to Darwin, 17 March 1862 (DCP-LETT-3474). …
  • … Murray, 1887), vol. 3, p. 371. Henrietta Litchfield (ed.), Emma Darwin: A Century of Family …
  • … University Press, 1933), frontispiece. Barbara and Hensleigh Wedgwood, The Wedgwood Circle 1730 …
  • … this seemingly conflicts with the indications in Erasmus’s letter of 1866, quoted above.   
 …

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: 27 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. …
  • … E. to Darwin, W. E. , (March 1862 - DAR 219.1:49) Emma Darwin updates her eldest son, …
  • … 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 …
  • … it nearly all night before she could lay it down. Letter 13547 - Tanner, M. H. …
  • … involving worms which occurred in her garden. Letter 13650 Kennard, C. A. to Darwin …
  • … Reading Variation Letter 5712 - Dallas, W. S. to Darwin, [8 December 1867] …

Darwin as mentor

Summary

Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…

Matches: 13 hits

  • … of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 …
  • … sweeping conclusions on insufficient grounds. Letter 3934 - Darwin to Scott, J., [21 …
  • … how to make the material worthy of publication. Letter 4185 - Darwin to Scott, J., [25 …
  • … indefatigable worker you are!”. Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March …
  • … book’s “lucid vigorous style”. In consultation with Emma, Darwin offers Henrietta “some little …
  • … how he made so many observations without aid. Letter 8146 - Darwin to Treat, M., [5 …
  • … “in some well-known scientific journal”. Letter 8171 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L., [21 …
  • … that Lucy is worth her weight in gold. Letter 9005b - Darwin to Treat, M., [12 …
  • … flies until he had repeated the experiment. Letter 9580 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H. D., …
  • … should not yet be submitted to the publisher. Letter 9613 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., …
  • … and thinks that it ought to be published. Letter 10523 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 June …
  • … in the pursuit of her “admirable work”. Letter 11096 - Darwin to Romanes, G. J., [9 …
  • … her manuscript to Nature for publication. Letter 13414 - Darwin to Harrison, L., …

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

  • … and various dissenting establishments. In the Darwin and Wedgwood households, formal adherence to …
  • … & 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 ). …
  • … the late 1830s, and in correspondence with his fiancée, Emma Wedgwood, in 1838 and 1839, as can be …
  • … of England. The whole family took the sacrament, although Emma used to make the children turn around …
  • … and Charles were buried; later Darwin’s brother Erasmus, Emma’s sister Sarah, Emma herself, and …
  • … church involvement can be attributed to the influence of Emma, whose religious scruples are …
  • … 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 …
  • … Ffinden strongly disapproved of the Darwins. In his eyes, Emma’s Unitarian leanings and Darwin’s …
  • … schools in this period, the Down school was Anglican. Emma wished it to be used as a reading room …
  • … (letter to Down School Board, [after 29 November 1873] ). Ffinden fiercely resented Darwin for …
  • … even altered the habits of the household in order to allow Emma and the children to attend his …
  • … increase his desire to actually attend Sunday services with Emma and the children. Darwin’s life in …

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: 17 hits

  • … handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller, 22 February …
  • … 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 …
  • … Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
  • … Square W London, England enclosed in a letter from Henry Maudsley …
  • … South Africa possibly included in letter from Mansel Weale …
  • … Peradeniya, Ceylon enclosed in letter from G.H.K. Thwaites …
  • … Egypt] possibly included in letter(s) from Asa Gray Nile …
  • … Lake Wellington, Australia letter to F.J.H. von Mueller nodding, …
  • … 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 …
  • … Weale, J.P.M. [Jan 1873] Bedford, Cape of Good Hope, …
  • … England (about Australia) encloses letter from Austrialian friend, letter not …
  • … forwarded by Smyth; Wilson sent letter to Ferdinand von Mueller Victoria Aborigines …

Darwin and vivisection

Summary

Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…

Matches: 19 hits

  • … me) attack on Virchow for experimenting on the Trichinae’ (letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January …
  • … progress of physiology. He reiterated these concerns in a letter to Thomas Henry Huxley ten days …
  • … for the physiological laboratory (Klein et al . 1873), which became a focus of criticism in the …
  • … I love with all my heart’ ( Correspondence vol. 19, letter to ?, 19 May [1871] ). As a …
  • … farmers and their staff (see Correspondence vol. 14, letter to a local landowner, [1866?] ). …
  • … by the prospect of animals suffering for science. In a letter to E. Ray Lankester, he wrote: ‘You …
  • … I shall not sleep to-night’ ( Correspondence vol. 19, letter to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871 …
  • … was a sensitive subject within Darwin’s family. In his letter of 14 January 1875 to Huxley, …
  • … ones (men of course) or I might get one or two’ (letter from Emma Darwin to F. P. Cobbe, 14 …
  • … after night, prepares and sets instruments of torture’ ( Emma Darwin (1904) 2: 201). …
  • … to serve as the basis for a petition, and gave it to Huxley (letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, …
  • … with Huxley, who produced a new sketch for a petition (letter from T. H. Huxley, [4 April 1875] ) …
  • … who drafted a memorial, sending it to Darwin on 7 April (letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, 7 …
  • … in order to gather signatures. More alterations were made (letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, 10 …
  • … had already been prepared for the House of Lords (see letter to J. S. Burdon Sanderson, [11 April …
  • … his approval as president of the Royal Society of London (letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 April [1875] …
  • … his counsel: ‘we wd do whatever else you think best’ (letter to E. H. Stanley, 15 April 1875 ). …
  • … Sanderson both expressed their dismay at this alteration (letter from T. H. Huxley, 19 May 1875 , …
  • … version, and that only minor corrections had been made (letter to Lyon Playfair, 26 May 1875 , …

Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings

Summary

‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…

Matches: 19 hits

  • … On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & that will do me some good, if I …
  • … to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
  • … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
  • … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
  • … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
  • … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
  • … heavily on his son Francis, who had made the decision in 1873 to abandon his medical studies and …
  • … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
  • … signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
  • … and the local vicar George Sketchley Ffinden resurfaced. In 1873, Charles and Emma Darwin and the …
  • … and the Darwins did not warm thereafter. On 24 December , Emma wrote triumphantly to the former …
  • … both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
  • … her presentation copy of Insectivorous plants ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 15 July [1875] ). Such …
  • … of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). …
  • … Henry Eeles Dresser. ‘The horror was great’, Henrietta Emma Litchfield wrote to her brother Leonard …
  • … on the digestive properties of Nepenthes since 1873. ‘You are aware that Dr Hooker has worked …
  • … and had agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 …
  • … lay of hair in eyelashes and on arms, a typically lengthy letter full of personal observations, …
  • … examination it was pronounced to be of a ‘high type’ ( letter from Woodward Emery, 17 September …