To T. H. Huxley 1 November [1875]
Summary
Astonished and disgusted at Klein’s evidence. No doubt there will be severe and vicious legislation against physiology. Will give evidence before Commission.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Date: | 1 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 322) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10235 |
From T. H. Huxley 2 November 1875
Summary
Arrangements for CD’s appearance before Vivisection Commission.
| Author: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 2 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 344 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10236 |
To Francis Galton 2 November [1875]
Summary
Has heard that FG will write on inheritance. Huxley does not believe in E. G. Balbiani’s views on subject.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | 2 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (GALTON/1/1/9/5/7/17) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10237 |
From Francis Galton 3 November 1875
Summary
Outlines a memoir he will give at the Anthropological Society in which he differs theoretically with Pangenesis.
| Author: | Francis Galton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 105: A83–A86 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10238 |
To G. J. Romanes [4 November 1875]
Summary
Mentions his appearance before Vivisection Commission.
Discusses his plans for planting and observing the carrots sent by GJR.
Mentions views of J. S. Burdon Sanderson on graft-hybrids.
Comments on GJR’s paper ["Instinct and acquisition", Nature 12 (1875): 553–4].
[Letter incorrectly dated "Thursday 8th" by CD.] [!? shd be note not synopsis]
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George John Romanes |
| Date: | [4 Nov 1875] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.478) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10239 |
To G. J. Romanes 4 November 1875
Summary
Carrots have arrived; CD has potted them.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George John Romanes |
| Date: | 4 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.479) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10240 |
To Francis Galton 4 November [1875]
Summary
In London yesterday for Vivisection Commission.
Is revising his chapter on Pangenesis [in Variation, 2d ed.] to allow that gemmules probably multiply in the reproductive organs.
Notes examples of inheritance of acquired characteristics cited by Brown-Séquard.
Doubts that double parentage is necessary for complex organisations.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | 4 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (GALTON/1/1/9/5/7/18) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10241 |
From Francis Galton 5 November 1875
Summary
Sends a proof of his "Theory of heredity" from the Contemporary Review [27 (1875): 80–95; revised in J. Anthropol. Inst. 5 (1876): 329–48]. Welcomes CD’s help and criticism.
| Author: | Francis Galton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 105: A87 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10243 |
From Lawson Tait 6 November [1875]
Summary
Composition of "Droserin" [see 10015].
| Author: | Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 21 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10244 |
To Francis Galton 7 November [1875]
Summary
Comments on FG’s paper ["A theory of heredity"]. Finds essay difficult to understand. Objects that FG’s theory conflicts with phenomenon of use and disuse. Conflicts also with rarity of bud-variations in nature.
Says he has ordered FG’s article ["The history of twins", Fraser’s Mag. 92 (1875): 566–76; revised in J. Anthropol. Inst. 5 (1876): 391–406].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | 7 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (GALTON/1/1/9/5/7/19) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10245 |
From Ernst Haeckel 7 November 1875
Summary
Thanks CD for Climbing plants and Insectivorous plants.
Discusses his research on phylogeny. Results described in "Die Gastrula und die Eifurchung der Tiere" [Jena. Z. Naturw. 9 (1875): 402–508].
Describes newly discovered coral.
| Author: | Ernst Philipp August (Ernst) Haeckel |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 65 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10246 |
From A. R. Wallace 7 November 1875
Summary
Thanks for Climbing plants [2d ed.].
Is reading proofs [of Geographical distribution (1876)].
| Author: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 106: B123 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10247 |
From Hugo de Vries 7 November 1875
Summary
Thanks for 2d edition of Climbing plants and for CD’s recognition of HdeV’s two essays on the subject [Climbing plants, pp. v–vi, 9 n., 22, 160]. Cause of spiral growth of tendrils.
| Author: | Hugo de Vries |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 180: 19 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10248 |
From G. J. Romanes [before 4 November 1875]
Summary
Sends successful graft-hybrid of red and white carrot.
CD should correct passage in Variation explaining deformation of sternum in fowls [Variation, 2d ed., 1: 287–8].
Chapter in Variation on Pangenesis is admirable.
| Author: | George John Romanes |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 4 Nov 1875] |
| Classmark: | E. D. Romanes 1896, pp. 42–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10249 |
From Francis Galton 8 November 1875
Summary
Responds to suggestions and criticisms CD made to "theory of heredity" [see 10245].
| Author: | Francis Galton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 8 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 105: A88–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10250 |
To the secretary of the Royal Commission on vivisection 8 November 1875
Summary
CD sends a draft bill which he helped to prepare relating to experiments on live animals; the Commissioners may wish to see it.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Secretary of the Royal Commission on vivisection |
| Date: | 8 Nov 1875 |
| Classmark: | DAR 97: C3 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10251 |
To R. F. Cooke 9 November [1875]
Summary
Climbing plants has sold better than he expected.
Thinks another 1000 of Origin may have to be printed; he has no corrections to make.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Francis Cooke; John Murray |
| Date: | 9 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 322–3) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10252 |
From Arthur Nicols [before 10 November 1875]
Summary
Discusses his ambitions.
Writes of rats that gnaw through lead pipes to find water.
| Author: | Robert Arthur (Arthur) Nicols |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 10 Nov 1875] |
| Classmark: | DAR 172: 62 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10253 |
To Arthur Nicols [before 10 November 1875]
Summary
Does not doubt animals reason in a practical fashion. Do not the rats hear the water trickling?
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Arthur (Arthur) Nicols |
| Date: | [before 10 Nov 1875] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 20 February 1879, p. 365 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10253F |
To Francis Galton 10 November [1875]
Summary
Comments on FG’s paper ["The history of twins"].
CD is "in a passion with the Spectator who always muddles".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | 10 Nov [1875] |
| Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (GALTON/1/1/9/5/7/20) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10254 |
| letter | (51) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (22) |
| Tait, Lawson | (7) |
| Galton, Francis | (4) |
| Murray, John (b) | (3) |
| Nicols, Arthur | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (29) |
| Galton, Francis | (4) |
| Cooke, R. F. | (2) |
| Haeckel, Ernst | (2) |
| Huxley, T. H. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (51) |
| Galton, Francis | (8) |
| Tait, Lawson | (8) |
| Murray, John (b) | (5) |
| Cooke, R. F. | (3) |
The Lyell–Lubbock dispute
Summary
In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…
Matches: 16 hits
- … on the topic. Lyell also added the following note on page 11: *Mr. John Lubbock published …
- … 2 have struck out Galton & Prestwich at p. 11 who will be surprisd [ sic ] to …
- … had done ‘an injustice’ to Falconer and Prestwich. 11 In the same review Lubbock expressed …
- … he took exception to the wording of the note on p. 11 of C. Lyell 1863c, which implied that Lubbock …
- … The statement made by Sir Charles Lyell, in a note to page 11 of his work, that my article on the …
- … of the note in the preface (letter to John Lubbock, 11 June [1865] ). No correspondence with …
- … of the preface of C. Lyell 1863c and reworded the note on p. 11. Unlike the earlier …
- … Lyell revised both the preface and the note on page 11 of the third edition of Antiquity of man …
- … versions of the end of the preface and of the note on page 11 are included below. Preface, C …
- … as well as of the subsequent issues.” Note on page 11, C. Lyell 1863c (original version) …
- … made by him in company with Mr. Busk. Note on page 11, C. Lyell 1863c (revised version) …
- … in Letters, 1863 , (introduction to Correspondence vol. 11, pp. xv–xvii). For a comparison of …
- … 1984, pp. 154–9. 7. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] …
- … Bartholomew 1973. 8. See Correspondence vol. 11, letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March …
- … 18 April [1863 ]. 10. Correspondence vol. 11, letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March …
- … (rough draft of letter from T. H. Huxley to Charles Lyell, 11 June 1865, Imperial College, Huxley …
Origin: the lost changes for the second German edition
Summary
Darwin sent a list of changes made uniquely to the second German edition of Origin to its translator, Heinrich Georg Bronn. That lost list is recreated here.
Matches: 7 hits
- … German edition (see letter from H. G. Bronn, [before 11 March 1862] ). Since the publication of …
- … & a few of importance’ (see letter to H. G. Bronn, 11 March [1862] ). Darwin had sent Bronn …
- … letter from E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 11 July 1862 ). (No American edition …
- … we shall immediately see)’. Page xiv, n., line 11, delete ‘in the years 1794–5’. …
- … substitute for ‘but then . . . kinds of flowers.’: 11 In just some of …
- … sentence also appears in Origin 4th ed., p. 20. 11. p. 56. This whole paragraph was …
- … in Origin 4th ed., p. 449. 47. p. 409–11. This passage also appears, with slight …
1.1 Ellen Sharples pastel
Summary
< Back to Introduction The earliest surviving portrayal of Darwin, who was born on 12 February 1809, is this pastel or chalk drawing by Ellen Wallace Sharples. He is shown kneeling chivalrously before his sister Catherine (born in 1810), in the kind…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Art Journal , 16:1 (Spring–Summer 1995), pp. 3–11. Julius Bryant (ed.), English Heritage …
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: 8 hits
- … backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). I feel …
- … review me in a hostile spirit’ ( letter to John Murray, 11 August 1874 ). Darwin was …
- … Correspondence vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin’s relief, …
- … the moment of being hatched ( letter to Nature , 7 and 11 May [1874] ; Spalding 1872a). …
- … & that must be enough for me’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). Plants that eat . …
- … cartilage, bone & meat &c. &c.’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). His research …
- … Correspondence vol. 21, letter from Francis Darwin, [11 October 1873] ). Darwin wasted …
- … the photograph he sent highly ( letter from D. F. Nevill, [11 September 1874] ). At the …
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
Matches: 7 hits
- … gave him the commission ( see letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] ). Darwin was altogether …
- … on Linum ‘at once’ ( letter to John Scott, 11 December [1862] ), writing up his experiments in …
- … of Natural History’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 11 July [1862] ). She had had assistance …
- … for a second edition ( letter from H. G. Bronn, [before 11 March 1862] ), Darwin asked him to use …
- … see letter from E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 11 July 1862 ). Yet Darwin was now …
- … interest. He told Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 11 September [1862] ): ‘This is a nice, but …
- … from one parent’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 11 July [1862] ). really good …
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: 8 hits
- … Blair, R.H. 11 July 1871 Worcester College for the …
- … Chaumont, F.S.B.F. de 11 March 1871 Woolston, …
- … 9 Nov 1870 11 St Mary Abbot's Terrace, London, England …
- … 1 Feb 1871 11 St Mary Abbot's Terrace, London, England …
- … 7 Sept 1872 11 St Mary Abbot's Terrace, London, England …
- … 1 Feb. 1871 11 Saint Mary Abbot's Terrace, Kensington. W., London, …
- … Sulivan, B.J. 11 Jan 1867 Bournemouth, England …
- … Wallace, A. R. 11 March [1867] 9 St. Mark’s Crescent …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 11 hits
- … regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The botanist Asa Gray, …
- … by descent put him ‘into despair’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). In the same letter, he …
- … bottom of seas, lakes, and rivers ( Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix VII). Quarrels at …
- … Academy of Sciences, Berlin (see Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix III), and of the Société des …
- … unsuccessful ( see letter from E. A. Darwin to Emma Darwin, 11 November [1863] ). The council of …
- … [9 May 1863] , and memorandum from G. H. Darwin, [before 11 May 1863]) . As he struggled …
- … to drive the quietest man mad’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). Hooker and Gray agreed …
- … tropical plants than before (see Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix VI). He was fascinated with …
- … pistils mature at different times ( see letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). The fertility of …
- … ‘Crossing & Sterility’ (see Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix II). When Darwin finished, by …
- … animal suffering caused by them (see Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix IX). Francis Darwin later …
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…
Race, Civilization, and Progress
Summary
Darwin's first reflections on human progress were prompted by his experiences in the slave-owning colony of Brazil, and by his encounters with the Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego. Harsh conditions, privation, poor climate, bondage and servitude,…
Matches: 4 hits
- … man in his most "primitive wildness" ( letter to Henslow, 11 April 1833 ). They …
- … Letter 204 : Darwin to Henslow, J. S., 11 April 1833 "The Fuegians are in a more …
- … 98). Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C., 11 October [1859] "the …
- … Letter 2503 : Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, C., 11 October [1859] I suppose that you do not …
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: 4 hits
- … St George Jackson Mivart ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). A worsening …
- … Mivart not to acknowledge it ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). 'I hate …
- … attacks on Darwin became notorious, had written on 11 May expressing concern that his recently, …
- … well informed: `The die is cast’, he wrote excitedly on 11 May , when the matter was first raised …
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: 6 hits
- … the popularity of his book, writing to Robert Cooke on 11 April , ‘though I believe it is of …
- … for extended periods. In a letter to Thiselton-Dyer of 11 October , Darwin described how the …
- … Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel). Writing to Darwin on 11 March 1877 , Krause declared the …
- … visits from distinguished persons. Gladstone came to Down on 11 March. ‘I expected a stern, …
- … not been a difficulty to me,’ he replied to Romanes on 11 June , ‘as I have never believed in a …
- … that they become quite tipsy’ ( letter to W. M. Moorsom, 11 September [1877] ). Moorsom replied …
Charles Harrison Blackley
Summary
You may not have heard of Charles Harrison Blackley (1820–1900), but if you are one of the 15 million people in the UK who suffer from hay fever, you are indebted to him. For it was he who identified pollen as the cause of the allergy. Darwin 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: 5 hits
- … to think of the future’, Darwin confessed to William on 11 September just hours after Amy’s …
- … naturalist Thomas Edward ( letter from F. M. Balfour, 11 December 1876 ; letter to Samuel Smiles …
- … who died at the age of 10 in 1851, but William, who was 11 years old at the time of her death, would …
- … you are one of the best of all’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 11 September [1876] ). …
- … do I cannot conceive’, Darwin wrote anxiously to Hooker on 11 September. By the time Darwin …
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: 10 hits
- … in that little sheet of note-paper! DARWIN: 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably …
- … 1 OCTOBER 1846 7 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 11 JANUARY 1844 8 C DARWIN TO A …
- … 10 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 24 AUGUST 1855 11 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, 5 JUNE 1855 …
- … 22 NOVEMBER 1856 29 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 11 APRIL 1861 30 A GRAY TO C …
- … A GRAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 1858 58 A GRAY TO JD HOOKER, 11 OCTOBER 1858 59 A GRAY TO …
- … HOOKER, 18 OCTOBER 1859 63 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 11 NOVEMBER 1859 64 JD …
- … 13 NOVEMBER 1859 66 C DARWIN TO R OWEN, 11 NOVEMBER 1859 67 C DARWIN …
- … 17 FEBRUARY 1861 111 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 11 DECEMBER 1861 112 C DARWIN …
- … DARWIN TO A GRAY 28 MAY 1864 159 FROM A GRAY 11 JULY 1864 160 C DARWIN …
- … TO A GRAY 28 JANUARY 1876 204 FROM A GRAY 11 DECEMBER 1874 205 TO A …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
Matches: 4 hits
- … Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864 : ‘the venerable beard gives …
- … continue his observations indoors ( Correspondence vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] …
- … two letters to the Athenæum ( Correspondence vol. 11). Darwin’s anxiety about the matter was …
- … and the question of human origins ( Correspondence vol. 11). Wallace, however, traced a possible …
Thomas Rivers
Summary
Rivers and Darwin exchanged around 30 letters, most in 1863 when Darwin was hard at work on the manuscript of Variation of plants and animals under domestication, the lengthy and detailed sequel to Origin of species. Rivers, an experienced plant breeder…
Darwin and Religion
Summary
When Darwin published On the Origin of Species, was there a clear cut division between those who supported science and those who supported God? Find out how Darwin’s letters reveal a complex reaction from all sides and a desire from Darwin to keep his…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Pupils explore the reaction to Darwin’s findings as evidenced through his letters. Activities …
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Darwin's bad days
Summary
Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and experimenting, even Darwin had some bad days. These times when nothing appeared to be going right are well illustrated by the following quotations from his letters:
Matches: 1 hits
- … Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and …
Darwin on race and gender
Summary
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual…
