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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: 21 hits
- … The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early …
- … 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 …
- … intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August 1874] ). The death of a Cambridge friend, …
- … and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to …
- … much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). I feel very old & …
- … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
- … old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor …
- … on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and …
- … Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] ). Later in the month, …
- … and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin agreed that it was ‘all …
- … perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874] ). This did not stop word getting …
- … at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). Back over old ground New …
- … Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January 1874 , letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 …
- … had cost twenty-four shillings.) Murray’s partner, Robert Francis Cooke, informed Darwin that the …
- … (see G. B. Airy ed. 1881). Darwin’s third son Francis married Amy Ruck, the sister of a …
- … work on insectivorous plants. Amy drew a plant and Francis was disappointed that they seemed not to …
- … from Cornwall, but Darwin was unwell when it arrived, so Francis worked on the tiny bladders under …
- … 1874 , and Correspondence vol. 21, letter from Francis Darwin, [11 October 1873] ). …
- … work’ ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 18 September [1874] ).Francis’s new wife, Amy, drew the plant ( …
- … After his wife read Expression , the military surgeon Francis François de Chaumont sent …
Darwin's 1874 letters go online
Summary
The full transcripts and footnotes of over 600 letters to and from Charles Darwin in 1874 are published online for the first time. You can read about Darwin's life in 1874 through his letters and see a full list of the letters. The 1874 letters…
Matches: 11 hits
- … and footnotes of over 600 letters to and from Charles Darwin in 1874 are published online for …
- … licentiousness’. After re-reading what George had written, Darwin wrote: I cannot …
- … of [a] lying scoundrel.— ( Letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ) The …
- … behaviour in scientific society. Find out more about how Darwin and his family and friends dealt …
- … signifying so much. ( Letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ) At the age of 65, Darwin …
- … must be enough for me ( Letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ) During the year he …
- … the positive ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 August [1874] ) – he mourned after several …
- … day’s work ( Letter to D. F. Nevill, 18 September [1874] ) Darwin’s family continued …
- … ‘I am sure he will never voluntarily be idle’, wrote Darwin to the directors, fearing that Horace …
- … the expedition was unsuccessful owing to clouds. His son Francis, having given up his medical …
- … have to do— ( Letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 November [1874] ) Darwin’s continuing …
St George Jackson Mivart
Summary
In the second half of 1874, Darwin’s peace was disturbed by an anonymous article in the Quarterly Review suggesting that his son George was opposed to the institution of marriage and in favour of ‘unrestrained licentiousness’. Darwin suspected, correctly,…
Matches: 19 hits
- … In 1874, the Catholic zoologist St George Jackson Mivart caused Darwin and his son George serious …
- … pp. 98–114, and Dawson 2007, pp. 77–81. George Darwin's article on marriage In …
- … liberty of marriage’ in the Contemporary Review (G. H. Darwin 1873b). In this article, George …
- … reproductive choices would have an effect on future society. Francis Galton had written about the …
- … appeared to have created very little stir, until, in July 1874, Mivart published an anonymous review …
- … 76). Mivart’s argument did not win general assent. Darwin was more struck by the comments on …
- … The following quotations from Mivart’s paper mention Darwin and George: p. 45: ‘Mr. Darwin, …
- … sentiments, disguise them by studious reticence—as Mr. Darwin disguised at first his views as to the …
- … licentiousness theoretically justified. Mr. George Darwin proposes that divorce should be made …
- … deep debt of gratitude will indeed be one day due to Mr. Darwin— one difficult to over-estimate. …
- … Clearing George's name On 27 July , Darwin wrote to George: he was thinking of taking …
- … of the Quarterly ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 29 July 1874 ). Darwin hastily advised against …
- … to wish to circulate ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). Darwin provided a draft of the …
- … to endorse them ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 5 August 1874 ). He sent a second draft, which Darwin …
- … a fair copy of his letter with his letter of 6 [August] 1874 . George and Darwin were also …
- … George’s letter to Murray with his letter of 11 August 1874 , and was no doubt relieved to …
- … to all he asked ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). In October, George’s letter …
- … a Pickwickian sense’ ( letter to John Murray, 18 October 1874 ). In other words, Mivart had used …
- … reaction was savage ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [6 December 1874] ). Hooker and Huxley between them …
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 25 hits
- … lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to …
- … organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments …
- … of most advanced plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in …
- … from botanical research was provided by potatoes, as Darwin took up the cause of an Irish …
- … would rid Ireland of famine. Several correspondents pressed Darwin for his views on religion, …
- … closed with remarkable news of a large legacy bequeathed to Darwin by a stranger as a reward for his …
- … birthday ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 February [1878] ), Darwin reflected that it was ‘more …
- … Expression ), and the final revision of Origin (1872), Darwin had turned almost exclusively to …
- … Movement in plants In the spring of 1878, Darwin started to focus on the first shoots and …
- … were enrolled as researchers, as were family members. Darwin asked his niece Sophy to observe …
- … ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). While Darwin was studying the function of …
- … on one side, then another, to produce movement in the stalk. Darwin compared adult and young leaves …
- … (see Movement in plants , pp. 112–13). He explained to Francis on 2 July : ‘I go on maundering …
- … after growth has ceased or nearly ceased.’ Finally, Darwin turned to plant motion below the …
- … precision the lines of least resistance in the ground.’ Darwin would devote a whole chapter to the …
- … out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] ). …
- … the bassoon & apparently more by a high than a low note.’ Francis apparently played the musical …
- … on plant movement were intensely collaborative, with Francis playing a more active role than ever. …
- … exchanged when they were apart. At the start of June, Francis left to work at Sach’s laboratory in …
- … ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June [1878] ). While Francis was away, Darwin sent regular …
- … to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] ). Two …
- … is horrid not having you to discuss it with’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 20 [July 1878] ). …
- … topics and dictating experimental method and design. Francis seems to have been allowed to work more …
- … cells of oats to determine whether they had chlorophyll, Francis reported ( letter from Francis …
- … and an earlier effort to promote his scheme at the 1874 meeting of the British Association in …
Francis Darwin
Summary
Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished scientist. He was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, initially studying mathematics, but then transferring to natural sciences. Francis completed…
Matches: 8 hits
- … Known to his family as ‘Frank’, Charles Darwin’s seventh child himself became a distinguished …
- … but then transferring to natural sciences. Francis completed his studies at Cambridge, …
- … into debt and had kept the matter secret for some months. Darwin was very stern in his advice: ‘I …
- … an old fellow as I daresay I appear to you’ (letter to Francis Darwin, 18 October [1870] ). …
- … He became engaged to Amy Ruck in 1872; the couple married in 1874. Francis was already living in …
- … a laboratory run by Julius von Sachs in Wurzburg. Francis Darwin was elected to the Royal …
- … his father had not been knighted, although in 1877 Charles Darwin was awarded an honorary degree …
- … ( The Power of Movement in Plants, 1880). Perhaps Francis Darwin, whom the family regarded as a …
Francis Darwin marries
Summary
The Darwins' son, Francis, marries Amy Ruck; Francis starts work as his father's assistant
Francis Galton
Summary
Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…
Matches: 11 hits
- … and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather …
- … a natural historical narrative of the journey (Galton 1853). Darwin enjoyed and admired Galton’s …
- … Hereditary Genius (1869), which contained an entry on the Darwin family, including the “author of …
- … for subjects of natural history”. Shortly after Darwin published his preliminary hypothesis …
- … on rabbits to test the theory. He reported regularly to Darwin on these experiments, which involved …
- … Royal Society claiming that his results tended to disprove Darwin’s theory (Galton 1871). This …
- … 1871 ). His views on inheritance continued to diverge from Darwin’s, however. He studied cases of …
- … Galton shared his views in several lengthy letters, but Darwin struggled with the abstract reasoning …
- … and infirmities, with the aim of improving the population. Darwin was less optimistic about such a …
- … ( 4 January [1873] ). Like most of his contemporaries, Darwin continued to believe in the …
- … English men of science: their nature and nurture (Galton 1874), Darwin insisted that he had no …
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: 24 hits
- … Editions Plants always held an important place in Darwin’s theorising about species, and …
- … his periods of severe illness. Yet on 15 January 1875 , Darwin confessed to his close friend …
- … way to continuous writing and revision, activities that Darwin found less gratifying: ‘I am slaving …
- … bad.’ The process was compounded by the fact that Darwin was also revising another manuscript …
- … coloured stamens.’ At intervals during the year, Darwin was diverted from the onerous task of …
- … zoologist St George Jackson Mivart. In April and early May, Darwin was occupied with a heated …
- … chapter of the controversy involved a slanderous attack upon Darwin’s son George, in an anonymous …
- … on 12 January , breaking off all future communication. Darwin had been supported during the affair …
- … Society of London, and a secretary of the Linnean Society, Darwin’s friends had to find ways of …
- … pp. 16–17). ‘How grandly you have defended me’, Darwin wrote on 6 January , ‘You have also …
- … had also considered taking up the issue with Murray in 1874, even threatening to break off future …
- … laid to rest, another controversy was brewing. In December 1874, Darwin had been asked to sign a …
- … Darwin had become acquainted with Klein when his son Francis was studying medicine in London. Klein …
- … botanical research and had visited Down House in April 1874 (see Correspondence vol. 22, letters …
- … A scientific friendship had developed between the men in 1874, and this was enhanced by Romanes’s …
- … white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 November 1874] ). Testing Pangenesis …
- … performed on animals in previous years by Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton. These had been …
- … manuscripts and proofs, Darwin now relied heavily on his son Francis, who had made the decision in …
- … wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February 1875?] …
- … plants , and moved on to Variation 2d ed., Francis signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the …
- … 219.1: 89). The most eminent of Darwin’s guests was Francis, duke of Teck, a German prince …
- … Darwin could not keep up, and on 22 July , he had Francis reply: ‘My Father desires me to say …
- … on 2 December, the same meeting at which Romanes and Francis Darwin were made fellows. But Thiselton …
- … had learned of Lyell’s failing health from Hooker in 1874 and January 1875. On 22 February, he was …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 19 hits
- … The year 1876 started out sedately enough with Darwin working on the first draft of his book on the …
- … games. ‘I have won, hurrah, hurrah, 2795 games’, Darwin boasted; ‘my wife … poor creature, has won …
- … regarding the ailments that were so much a feature of Darwin family life. But the calm was not to …
- … the first member of the next generation of the family, with Francis and Amy’s child expected in …
- … four days later. ‘I cannot bear to think of the future’, Darwin confessed to William on 11 …
- … once, the labour of checking proofs proved a blessing, as Darwin sought solace for the loss of his …
- … had involved much time and effort the previous year, and Darwin clearly wanted to focus his …
- … When Smith, Elder and Company proposed reissuing two of Darwin’s three volumes of the geology of …
- … single-volume edition titled Geological observations , Darwin resisted making any revisions at …
- … Mivart made a slanderous attack on George Darwin in late 1874 in an anonymous article, which …
- … Darwin reassured his close friend Joseph Hooker that he and Francis would attend the meeting. Darwin …
- … subject takes an opposite line’. Although he conceded that Francis had the best of an argument with …
- … to propose the young rising star of Cambridge morphology, Francis Maitland Balfour, for fellowship …
- … of the earliest available commercial models of typewriter. Francis Darwin and his wife, Amy, …
- … point, and he was reliant on his son George and cousin Francis Galton for the calculations. ‘I have …
- … in their research. He revelled in the praise heaped on Francis by George Henry Lewes for an article …
- … chemical pycrotoxine in vivisection experiments ( letter to Francis Darwin, [1 May 1876] ). Darwin …
- … 2 May [1876] ). Darwin even cautioned the otherwise healthy Francis, ‘Take care and do not overwork …
- … first time to a large and healthy boy, the son of Amy and Francis. Just four days later, Darwin had …
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: 16 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 …
- … garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] Darwin’s …
- … . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867] Mary Barber …
- … 9426 - Story-Maskelyne , T. M. to Darwin, [23 April 1874] Thereza Story-Maskelyne …
- … Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] Theodosia Marshall sends …
- … 9606 - Harrison, L. C. to Darwin, [22 August 1874] Darwin’s niece, Lucy, sends a …
- … Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] Theodosia Marshall details …
- … Darwin, [9 January 1871] Darwin’s brother-in-law, Francis, reports on the appearance and …
- … Letter 9485 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [8 June 1874] Mary Treat details her experiments …
- … tells her eldest son, William, that her third eldest son, Francis, is receiving help with his plant …
- … February 1857] Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, writes to Francis with the results of his …
- … in his home. Letter 10517 - Darwin to Francis, F., [29 May 1876] Darwin …
- … Letter 10517 - Darwin t o Francis, F., [29 May 1876] Darwin gives his son, Francis …
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: 23 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 …
- … research being pursued by other naturalists who, like Francis, had come to this centre for the study …
- … methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument …
- … copied but also improved on some of the apparatuses that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. …
- … 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 …
- … which eventually appeared in 1875. In the same year, Darwin published a much longer work, …
- … 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. …
- … from all over Europe and beyond. When Darwin’s son Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers …
- … had also asked Horace to discuss the point with his friend Francis Balfour(258). Darwin promised to …
- … between 45 o & 90 o to the horizon ’. By May 1874, Thiselton-Dyer had observed some …
- … of any success. '. Just two months later, Darwin put Francis in charge of this aspect of the …
- … more familiar with the research in Sachs’s laboratory as Francis’s departure for Würzburg was …
- … to Wurzburg, & work by myself will be dull work’ . Francis was in Würzburg until early August. …
- … good instruments were never far from Darwin’s thinking. Francis viewed the new instruments he was …
- … design an improved version of the instrument, a klinostat; Francis later described and illustrated …
- … was the relationship between bending movement and growth. Francis described the disagreements about …
- … increased turgescence which precedes it ’ was reported by Francis, who added that Sachs ‘ doesn’t …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 27 hits
- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can …
- … of On the origin of species , intended to be Darwin’s last, and of Expression of the …
- … books brought a strong if deceptive sense of a job now done: Darwin intended, he declared to Alfred …
- … 27 July [1872] ). By the end of the year Darwin was immersed in two of the studies that …
- … of books and papers, and the latter formed the subject of Darwin’s last book, The formation of …
- … worms , published in the year before his death. Despite Darwin’s declared intention to take up new …
- … begun many years before. In his private life also, Darwin was in a nostalgic frame of mind, …
- … The last word on Origin The year opened with Darwin, helped by his eldest son William, …
- … on 30 January , shortly after correcting the proofs, and Darwin’s concern for the consolidation of …
- … and sixth editions were costly to incorporate, and despite Darwin’s best efforts, set the final …
- … closely involved in every stage of publication of his books, Darwin was keen to ensure that this …
- … to bring out the new edition in the United States, Darwin arranged with Murray to have it …
- … had to be reset. The investment in stereotype reinforced Darwin’s intention to make no further …
- … A worsening breach The criticisms against which Darwin had taken the greatest trouble to …
- … objections to the theory of natural selection’, Darwin refuted point by point assertions published …
- … Although Mivart was among those who wrote in January to wish Darwin a happy new year, before the …
- … critical and anonymously published review of Descent . Darwin’s supporters had rallied to his …
- … The republication of Wright’s paper had been arranged by Darwin himself (see Correspondence vol. …
- … so bigotted a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 5 …
- … that he would willingly acknowledge himself at fault if only Darwin would renounce `fundamental …
- … letter to St G. J. Mivart, 8 January [1872] ). Despite Darwin’s request that he drop the …
- … ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 10 January 1872 ). Darwin, determined to have the last word in …
- … 11 January [1872] ). 'I hate controversy,’ Darwin wrote later in the year, possibly with this …
- … drawings shortly afterwards ( letter from Samuel Butler to Francis Darwin, [before 30 May 1872] , …
- … the claims of spiritualists, and Darwin, through his cousin Francis Galton, had with some interest …
- … however, incorporated in the second edition, produced by Francis Darwin after his father’s death. …
- … new name on the list of volunteers: by the beginning of May, Francis Darwin, the Darwins’ third son, …
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Summary
George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…
Matches: 4 hits
- … novels, under her pen name, achieved great acclaim. Darwin and his family were keen readers …
- … Allen, [26 March 1873], DAR 219.11: 14). A few days later Darwin asked if his daughter and son-in …
- … to lunch but there is no evidence that this happened (Emma Darwin to Horace Darwin, [14 October 1873 …
- … started ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] ). Darwin took Emma to a Sunday afternoon at …
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: 29 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 …
- … From a fairly early stage in his experimental programme, Darwin began to pay more attention to the …
- … the sweet pea ( Lathyrus odoratus ), and in October 1867, Darwin wrote to James Moggridge to ask …
- … of the year ( To J. T. Moggridge, 1 October [1867] ). Darwin was beginning to suspect that the …
- … simply did not exist in Britain. During a visit to Darwin in May 1866, Robert Caspary, a …
- … by the former ( From Robert Caspary, 18 February 1868 ). Darwin eagerly requested seed from both …
- … was published on 30 January 1868. In April 1868, Darwin informed George Bentham, ‘I am …
- … to elongate when the pollen touches the stigmatic surface. Darwin was able to discern that …
- … ( To Fritz Müller, 25 September 1873 ). But by March 1874, some doubts seemed to have arisen when …
- … with new & related matter. ( To J. V. Carus, 19 March [1874] ). A year later, Darwin still …
- … 8 January 1876] ). It was his cousin, the statistician Francis Galton, who provided a statistical …
- … to publish the report in the introduction to the book ( To Francis Galton, 13 January [1876] ). …
- … 6 June 1876] ). The project proved to be too complex and Francis Darwin later recalled, ‘the …
- … birth of Darwin’s first grandchild, a son born to Amy and Francis Darwin on 7 September, suddenly …
- … if, as I expect, you find it too much for you’ ( To Francis Darwin, 16 September [1876] ). Francis …
- … have accepted all, though some slightly modified’ ( To Francis Darwin, 20 September [1876] ). …
- … ‘Your corrections are very good & very useful’ ( To Francis Darwin 25 September [1876] ). …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical …
- … a live worm on a hook (‘Recollections’, pp. 358, 388). Darwin’s concern for animals aligned with …
- … and an integral part of medical and veterinary training. Darwin was clearly disturbed by the …
- … to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871] ). In Descent , Darwin described an animal enduring a …
- … to the last hour of his life’ ( Descent 1: 40). Darwin’s closest encounter with …
- … of different breeds together. Galton reported regularly to Darwin on the results (all negative). He …
- … Society, calling into question the theory of pangenesis. Darwin was taken aback, and swiftly replied …
- … no longer look after the rabbits (many died from the cold), Darwin offered to give the poor …
- … further cross-circulation and ‘Siamesing’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
- … more influenced by experiments on animals than on plants’, Darwin conceded. ‘I think a large number …
- … ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 July 1875 ). Darwin was concerned that the method be painless, …
- … can be chloroformed (letter to G. J. Romanes, 27 December 1874 ). In the previous sections …
- … were analogous to those performed on dogs and other animals. Darwin’s work on insectivorous plants …
- … an acquaintance of the Darwins, and had corresponded with Darwin cordially about his moral theory, …
- … ( letter to F. B. Cobbe, [14 January 1875] ). Darwin’s involvement in the vivisection …
- … in regard to health &c, I look at as puerile. Darwin saw a need for regulation (licensing …
- … with costly equipment, a supply of animals, etc.. Darwin was concerned that ‘private men’ would be …
- … ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January [1875] ) Darwin worked closely with Burdon …
- … the total abolition of the practice. ‘It seems to me’, Darwin remarked to George Romanes, ‘that …
- … organised defence. To bring more solidarity to the field, Darwin’s son Francis, and a number of his …
- … ( letter from T. L. Brunton, 12 February 1882 ). Darwin declined the offer to be honorary …
- … had its first meeting on 20 April 1882, the day after Darwin’s death. While Darwin was …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
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] …
- … 9633 - Nevill, D. F. to Darwin, [11 September 1874] Dorothy Nevill tells Darwin …
4.16 Joseph Simms, physiognomy
Summary
< Back to Introduction In September 1874, the American doctor Joseph Simms, then on a three-year lecture tour of Britain, sent Darwin a copy of his book, Nature’s Revelations of Character; Or, Physiognomy Illustrated. He was seeking a public…
Matches: 15 hits
- … < Back to Introduction In September 1874, the American doctor Joseph Simms, then on a …
- … . He was seeking a public endorsement of the work from Darwin and pointed out that the latter was …
- … Revelations , there was indeed a wood-engraved head of Darwin, taken straight from one of Elliott …
- … view. In Simms’s array of physiognomic types, Darwin represents ‘Observativeness [sic] Large’. ‘Full …
- … expression of a desire and capacity for observation. Darwin is an excellent example of large …
- … paper The Evening World in 1891, it was the shape of Darwin’s eyelids which indicated this …
- … was not, however, restricted to the face. In his letter to Darwin he explained, ‘I wish a drawing of …
- … in Germany I often heard it from scientific men that Mr. Darwin produced the deepest and best work …
- … to be satisfactorily summarised in a catalogue entry. Darwin was simply amused by FitzRoy’s near …
- … wide of the mark (see separate catalogue entry). However, Darwin accepted the validity of his own …
- … in physiognomic and phrenological notions. Some members of Darwin’s circle, notably Francis Galton …
- … to Lyell of 21 August 1861, echoed in one to Asa Gray, Darwin argued against a belief in …
- … was “ordained & guided by an intelligent cause.”’ Yet Darwin’s protest left open the question of …
- … popular editions with variant titles down to the 1890s. Darwin’s letters to Lyell, 21 Aug. [1861] …
- … Lavater (London: F. Pitman and Joseph Poole, 1885), p. 20. Francis Darwin (ed.), The Life and …
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
Matches: 20 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The …
- … and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had himself made …
- … in the early 1870s (he died in January 1875), and Darwin assisted him financially on at least one …
- … The Expression of the Emotions. In April of that year, Darwin wrote to the London firm of Elliott …
- … to any purchasers’. Phillip Prodger has suggested that Darwin agreed to be photographed by Rejlander …
- … Expression of the Emotions. Open sale of any portraits of Darwin was likely to be highly …
- … Library contains photographs by him of Richard Litchfield (Darwin’s son in law), and another man, …
- … this was the wedding day of Litchfield and Henrietta Darwin, which Rejlander thus commemorated. …
- … plans for purveying a fanciful or dramatised portrayal of Darwin, he was evidently thwarted, as …
- … transition from pathognomy to portraiture in his work for Darwin must have raised interesting …
- … and on one side. Of the five or so known photographs of Darwin, evidently taken at more than one …
- … photographs. In this way they communicate a sense of Darwin’s commanding intellect and physical …
- … However, they may have seemed too dramatic to please the Darwin family, and were evidently not …
- … 1871, and reproduced in the London Journal in June 1872. Darwin also sent it to various contacts …
- … Dresser. However, it was a fourth photograph, showing just Darwin’s head and shoulders in profile, …
- … press. On 11 November 1871, Rejlander sent Darwin ‘a bundle of cards’, which were probably …
- … supposition is strengthened by the fact that in October 1871 Darwin himself had written to the …
- … as a steel engraving, which was published in Nature in 1874, and was included in Francis Darwin …
- … to the Subscribers to Nature no. 240 June 4 th 1874’. Wood engraving in The Graphic , XI:278 …
- … accompanying a laudatory article by Revd R.A. Armstrong. Francis Darwin’s catalogue of portraits of …
3.18 Elliott and Fry photos, c.1869-1871
Summary
< Back to Introduction The leading photographic firm of Elliott and Fry seems to have portrayed Darwin at Down House on several occasions. In November 1869 Darwin told A. B. Meyer, who wanted photographs of both him and Wallace for a German…
Matches: 22 hits
- … photographic firm of Elliott and Fry seems to have portrayed Darwin at Down House on several …
- … Payments to the firm on 25 July 1869 and 5 April 1870 in Darwin’s banking account must relate to …
- … to Wallace. Elliott and Fry evidently approached Darwin again in the spring of 1871, with a …
- … to Down again for a simpler portrayal. On 2 August 1871, Darwin wrote, ‘Many thanks for the …
- … which of Elliott and Fry’s widely disseminated images of Darwin were taken in summer 1869, and which …
- … view, is not much help. However, two of the group now in the Darwin archive were dated by Darwin’s …
- … the later 1870s are clearly wide of the mark. As regards Darwin’s appearance, he does not look older …
- … this group of photographs, of which there is a print in the Darwin archive (DAR 225.117), shows a …
- … and must therefore have been reissued commemoratively. Darwin’s daughter Henrietta owned this, and …
- … to it. In another of Elliott and Fry’s photographs, Darwin sits sternly erect; in yet another he …
- … to a profile or nearer to a frontal view. In all of them Darwin is wearing a distinctive waistcoat, …
- … the complexities, John van Wyhe, in his ‘Iconography’ of Darwin portraits, identifies some of the …
- … 1871, but dates others (still with the spotted waistcoat) to 1874. Elliott and Fry were …
- … the day, which were widely marketed. Thus the photographs of Darwin were frequently reissued in …
- … in the National Portrait Gallery. An idealised version of Darwin’s head from one of the Elliott and …
- … to the June 1882 issue, which had two obituary articles on Darwin. It had also appeared in another …
- … lurid Illustrated Police News, accompanying a notice of Darwin’s death in 1882. A vignette …
- … many more such usages of the Elliott and Fry images of Darwin, often at third hand or in reworked …
- … Elliott and Fry’s rather unflattering portrayal of Darwin, especially of his blunt nose and untidy …
- … 1869–71 Elliott and Fry photographs were mentioned by Francis Darwin in his catalogue of portraits …
- … taken in summer 1869 and summer 1871, possible also in 1874. computer-readable date c …
- … 140.1.9). Wood engraving in The Pictorial World (6 June 1874), p. 228 (DAR 140.1.3). Another …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 28 hits
- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous …
- … for scientific colleagues or their widows facing hardship. Darwin had suffered from poor health …
- … of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater public recognition …
- … Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwin’s greatest scientific pleasure. The year …
- … to Fritz Müller, 4 January 1882 ). These were topics that Darwin had been investigating for years, …
- … working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots,’ Darwin wrote, ‘the chief result being that …
- … for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. Darwin’s interest in root response and the …
- … London on 6 and 16 March, respectively. In January, Darwin corresponded with George John …
- … letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 28 December 1881 ). Darwin had a long-running interest in such …
- … experiments had been conducted to lend support to Darwin’s theory of pangenesis (see …
- … He was eager to write up the results on Brazilian cane, with Darwin providing a detailed outline: ‘I …
- … at the Linnean Society on 4 May, but not published. Darwin carried on with botanical work in …
- … which are asymmetric, thus facilitating cross-fertilisation. Darwin’s aim, he said, was just to …
- … 3 April 1882 ). Earthworms and evolution Darwin’s last book, Earthworms , had been …
- … Appendix V). The conservative Quarterly Review , owned by Darwin’s publisher John Murray, carried …
- … themselves’ ( Quarterly Review , January 1882, p. 179). Darwin commented at length on the review …
- … is a young man & a worker in any branch of Biology,’ Darwin continued, ‘he will assuredly sooner …
- … and professor of ecclesiastical history Henry Wace. Darwin was confident that the theory of …
- … James Frederick Simpson, a musical composer, had provided Darwin with observations on worm behaviour …
- … at an early age was encouraged by Darwin. He wrote to Francis: ‘I say nothing about the loss to …
- … a small tribute of respect’ (letter from John Lubbock to Francis Darwin, 20 April 1882 (DAR 215: 10n …
- … of ice dams causing glacial lakes was presented by Thomas Francis Jamieson in a paper to the …
- … father confessor. ( Letter from Charles Lyell, 1 September 1874 .) Darwin’s fame continued …
- … Darwin’s views on eugenics, a term coined by his cousin Francis Galton, were mixed, partly owing to …
- … years of Darwin’s life show his increasing attachment to Francis, as father and son worked together …
- … no one to talk to, I scribble this to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [1 August 1878] ). …
- … from Charlotte Papé, 16 July 1875 ). She now addressed Francis, who could best appreciate the …
- … and nothing too small’ (letter from Charlotte Papé to Francis Darwin, 21 April 1882, DAR 215: 7k). …
