To Asa Gray 23 January 1877
Summary
Thanks AG for card about Pontederia.
Asks for specimens of Phlox subulata and Gilia aggregata to check for dimorphism.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Asa Gray |
| Date: | 23 Jan 1877 |
| Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (120) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10811 |
Matches: 7 hits
- … have been applied to it (see A. Gray 1870 ; see also Grant and Wilken 1986, p. 359). …
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Gray, Asa. 1870. Revision of the North …
- … American Polemoniaceae. [Read 14 June 1870. ] Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts …
- … for the last time. In a letter dated Nov 21, 1870 you say that Phlox subulata presents two …
- … vol. 18, letter from Asa Gray, 21 November 1870 . Gray’s description of Phlox …
- … species is in A. Gray 1870 , pp. 248–58, and his discussion of P. subulata and P. nivalis …
- … Forms of flowers , p. 120. In A. Gray 1870 , p. 275, Gray wrote of Gilia : ‘the tendency …
To Williams & Norgate 1 November [1877–9?]
Summary
Asks to be sent Dr Frank’s Die Natur: wagerechte Richtung von Pflanzentheilen.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Williams & Norgate |
| Date: | 1 Nov [1877-9] |
| Classmark: | Swann Auction Galleries (dealers) (November 2005) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10234F |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Bibliography Frank, Albert Bernhard. 1870. Die natürliche wagerechte Richtung von …
- … Richtung von Pflanzentheilen &c” Leipzig 1870 Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin …
- … is conjectured from the fact that CD cited Frank 1870 in Movement in plants , which was …
- … horizontal direction of the parts of plants; Frank 1870 ) in the Darwin Library–CUL. …
From Alpheus Hyatt January 1877
Summary
Reports on his work. Relationships of shells found at Steinheim; attempts to elucidate the genesis of different forms.
| Author: | Alpheus Hyatt |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | Jan 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 357, 359 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10760 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … Evolution 89: 13–20. Sandberger, Fridolin. 1870–5. Die Land- und Süsswasser-Conchylien der …
- … Wissenschaften zu Berlin (1866): 474–504. Hyatt, Alpheus. 1870. On reversions among the …
- … ammonites. [Read 5 October 1870. ] Proceedings of …
- … the Boston Society of Natural History 14 (1870–1): 22–43. Hyatt, Alpheus. 1876. Genetic …
- … s figures of P. laevis , see Sandberger 1870–5 , Atlas, plate 28; his description of the …
- … reversions among the Ammonites’ ( Hyatt 1870 ), in which he attempted to show retardation …
From L. H. Morgan 26 June 1877
Summary
Criticises Herbert Spencer’s Principles of sociology, particularly for its treatment of the family, for its superficiality, and for its dependence on J. F. McLennan’s views on exogamy. Americans are coming to see Spencer’s ideas as too broad.
| Author: | Lewis Henry Morgan |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 26 June 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 171: 241 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11020 |
From Asa Gray 27 September 1877
Summary
Has received CD’s book [Forms of flowers]; thanks him for the compliment of the dedication.
| Author: | Asa Gray |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 27 Sept 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 165: 198 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11155 |
From W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 16 July 1877
Summary
Is forwarding several plants requested by CD.
| Author: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 July 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 98 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11056 |
From Johannes Schön 10 April 1877
Summary
In the name of a student science club, asks whether CD’s theory of evolution applies to mental as well as physical characteristics of men and animals. Asks whether animals have free-will like humans. Do animals have a sense that humans lack?
| Author: | Johannes Schön |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Apr 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 177: 62 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10925 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 9 September 1869 , and Correspondence vol. 18, letter to Gustav Jäger, 17 February 1870 ). …
From G. J. Wilson 19 March 1877
Summary
Pangenesis supports the existence of gemmules; does not accept Galton’s experiments as disproving their existence or importance.
| Author: | George John Wilson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 19 Mar 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 127 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10904 |
To Octavian Blewitt 1 January 1877
Summary
A letter in support of [Ann Jane] Cupples’ request to the Royal Literary Fund for assistance. Her talent, industry, and need.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Octavian Blewitt |
| Date: | 1 Jan 1877 |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Loan 96 RLF 1/2015/8) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10764F |
From Samuel Butler to Francis Darwin 25 November 1877
Summary
SB’s book [Life and habit (1878)] will be bound shortly. He will send two copies, one of which can be given to CD. To SB’s surprise it has turned out to be an attack on CD’s views and a defence of Lamarck; describes how he was brought to the opinions expressed in it.
| Author: | Samuel Butler |
| Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
| Date: | 25 Nov 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 393 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11254 |
From Adam Fitch 20 July 1877
Summary
Queries about cauliflowers.
| Author: | Adam Fitch |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 July 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 164: 128 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11063 |
From John Michels 9 December 1877
Summary
Sends a drawing [missing] of alleged fossil man found in Colorado. JM is certain it is a hoax perpetrated by P. T. Barnum. It was designed to conform to CD’s well-known views of man’s ancestor.
| Author: | John Michels |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 9 Dec 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 171: 176 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11272 |
From W. E. Darwin [24 April 1877?]
Summary
Sends notes made in June 1867, on Rhamnus catharticus and R. lanceolatus. Encloses diagrams and measurements relating to pollen size in R. lanceolatus.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [24 Apr 1877?] |
| Classmark: | DAR 109: A44, A71–6 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10343 |
From R. A. Vance 12 November 1877
Summary
Writes of his observations on the "valves of Houston" in the rectum, which he believes to be rudimentary organs.
| Author: | Reuben Aleshire Vance |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 12 Nov 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 180: 1 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11232 |
To Otto Zacharias 26 April 1877
Summary
CD has sent the pig’s foot to William Henry Flower to examine.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Otto Zacharias |
| Date: | 26 Apr 1877 |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.510) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10941 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1870 . 2d edition. London: Macmillan and Co. …
From Ernst Haeckel 9 February 1877
Summary
Sends birthday wishes. Album of photographs from German admirers has been sent.
Plans trip to Mediterranean.
| Author: | Ernst Philipp August (Ernst) Haeckel |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 9 Feb 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 166: 70 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10835 |
From C. W. Thomson 30 June 1877
Summary
Wants CD’s advice on who would undertake describing the Crustacea from the Challenger expedition [1872–6].
| Author: | Charles Wyville Thomson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 30 June 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 115 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11026 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Nordpolarfahrt in den Jahren 1869 und 1870 unter Führung des Kapitän Karl Koldewey vol. 2, …
To Lawson Tait 13 November [1877]
Summary
CD declines to write for RLT’s new journal. He is not fitted for the work and dislikes it particularly. It costs loss of time as he "cannot change with ease from one job to another".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait |
| Date: | 13 Nov [1877] |
| Classmark: | DAR 221.5: 40 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11235 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … vol. 18, letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] . Edward William Badger was an editor of the …
From G. M. Asher to John Murray 1 November 1877
Summary
Describes case of two varieties of Russian wheat, the kubanka (or White Turkish) and the saxonka, which grow side by side with no intermediate varieties. As kubanka gradually yields place to saxonka, thinks an unusual tendency to jumping variation [saltation] operates; suggests CD urge some young botanist to investigate [see ML 2: 419–22].
| Author: | Georg Michael Asher |
| Addressee: | John Murray |
| Date: | 1 Nov 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 159: 116 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11222 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … a Russian-born historian, had spent time after 1870 studying German communities along the …
From Oscar Comettant 1 July 1877
Summary
Circular letter advertising Ernest Lavigne’s scheme to educate wealthy foreign children in Paris.
| Author: | Jean Pierre Oscar (Oscar) Comettant |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 July 1877 |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 216 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11029 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … and sociology of the Americas. See Lucretius 1870. Ernest Lavigne’s wife was Comettant’s …
| letter | (28) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (6) |
| Asher, G. M. | (1) |
| Bates, H. W. | (1) |
| Bowles, W. B. | (1) |
| Butler, Samuel (b) | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (20) |
| Blewitt, Octavian | (1) |
| Darwin, Francis | (1) |
| Gray, Asa | (1) |
| Murray, John (b) | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (26) |
| Gray, Asa | (2) |
| Saporta, Gaston de | (2) |
| Asher, G. M. | (1) |
| Bates, H. W. | (1) |
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 29 hits
- … The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The …
- … machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December [1870] ). Finishing Descent; …
- … some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ). Darwin was still working hard on …
- … I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). She had previously read proof-sheets …
- … shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). Henrietta disagreed: ‘Certainly …
- … of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February 1870] ). Darwin was also encouraged …
- … sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] ). Cobbe accused Darwin of smiling in …
- … great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870?] ). Humans as animals: ears …
- … [1868] ; this volume, letter to Thomas Woolner, 10 March [1870] ). Darwin included Woolner’s …
- … findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March 1870 ). Indeed, Darwin noted the same …
- … bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). Researching expression: …
- … spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 ). Keen for more evidence of …
- … hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] ). Darwin made a similar request of …
- … not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] ). Darwin’s queries were part …
- … of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). He also wrote to a leading Dutch …
- … on this subject’ ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). Human evolution: debates and …
- … more fully in a collection of essays published in April 1870 (Wallace 1870a). Wallace wrote to …
- … naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870]). Despite their increasing …
- … in one sense rivals’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 20 April [1870] ). Darwin alluded here to the …
- … No one but yourself’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 20 May 1870 ). Darwin very rarely used the …
- … never write reviews’ ( letter to H. W. Bates, [22 May 1870] ). St George Jackson Mivart …
- … to answer objectors’ ( letter to W. H. Flower, 25 March [1870] ). In his letters to Mivart, Darwin …
- … on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). He also tried to recruit Mivart’s …
- … lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 ). Mivart hinted that his …
- … his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In his critical essays (later revised …
- … Charles Darwin et ses précurseurs français (Quatrefages 1870), that gave a detailed account, as …
- … many others’ ( letter to Armand de Quatrefages, 28 May [1870] ). Quatrefages had …
- … discord’ ( letter from Armand de Quatrefages, 30 March 1870 ). In proposing Darwin for election, …
- … them’ ( letter from Armand de Quatrefages, 18 July 1870 ). The assertion had been made by Emile …
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: 12 hits
- … Brooke, C.A.J. 30 Nov 1870 Sarawak, Borneo …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 15 March 1870 West Riding …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 18 March 1870 Down, Kent, …
- … Donders, F.C. 27 May 1870 Utrecht, Netherlands …
- … Forbes, David 13 June 1870 Portman Square, London W. …
- … Nicol, Patrick 13 May 1870 Sussex Lunatic Asylum, …
- … Reade, Winwood W. [c.8 or 9 Apr 1870] Accra, West …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 4 June 1870 Lagos, Africa …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 3 Sept 1870 Conservative Club, St …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 9 Nov 1870 11 St Mary Abbot's …
- … Weale, J.P.M. [25 May 1870] Bedford, Cape of Good …
- … Weir, J.J. 27 June 1870 Blackheath, London, England …
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: 4 hits
- … Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870] Darwin seeks Henrietta’s …
- … Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 September 1870] Written shortly before …
- … Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, J., [29 September 1870] Darwin asks Murray to …
- … Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to Darwin, [29 April 1870] George Cupples tells Darwin about a …
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…
Jane Gray
Summary
Jane Loring Gray, the daughter of a Boston lawyer, married the Harvard botanist Asa Gray in 1848 and evidence suggests that she took an active interest in the scientific pursuits of her husband and his friends. Although she is only known to have…
Matches: 1 hits
- … behaviour of her dog (letter from J. L. Gray, 14 February 1870 ), she also passed on information …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 1 hits
- … on my mind’ ( letter to W. T. Preyer, 17 February [1870 ])) that without earthworms aerating the …
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: 1 hits
- … more litters & no happy results”, he wrote on 26 April 1870 . In the following year, Galton …
Capturing Darwin’s voice: audio of selected letters
Summary
On a sunny Wednesday in June 2011 in a makeshift recording studio somewhere in Cambridge, we were very pleased to welcome Terry Molloy back to the Darwin Correspondence Project for a special recording session. Terry, known for his portrayal of Davros in Dr…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of Descent (letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). Audio of more …
Darwin and Gender Projects by Harvard Students
Summary
Working in collaboration with Professor Sarah Richardson and Dr Myrna Perez, Darwin Correspondence Project staff developed a customised set of 'Darwin and Gender' themed resources for a course on Gender, Sex and Evolution first taught at Harvard…
Matches: 1 hits
- … grateful I shall be.”(Letter to Darwin, H. E., [8 Feb 1870] ) Although Miranda acknowledges that …
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…
Experimenting with emotions
Summary
Darwin’s interest in emotions can be traced as far back as the Beagle voyage. He was fascinated by the sounds and gestures of the peoples of Tierra del Fuego. On his return, he started recording observations in a set of notebooks, later labelled '…
John Lubbock
Summary
John Lubbock was eight years old when the Darwins moved into the neighbouring property of Down House, Down, Kent; the total of one hundred and seventy surviving letters he went on to exchange with Darwin is a large number considering that the two men lived…
Matches: 3 hits
Evolution: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860-1870
Summary
This selection of Charles Darwin’s letters includes correspondence with his friends and scientific colleagues around the world; letters by the critics who tried to stamp out his ideas, and by admirers who helped them to spread. It takes up the story of…
Matches: 1 hits
- … you owe any more … Darwin to his son Francis, 1870. …
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…
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: 1 hits
- … Photograph: Authenticity, Science and the Periodical Press, 1870 – 1890 (London and New York: …
Photograph album of Dutch admirers
Summary
Darwin received the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the Netherlands. He wrote to the Dutch zoologist Pieter Harting, An account of your countrymen’s generous sympathy in having sent me on my…
Matches: 1 hits
- … & I feel deeply for you. ( Letter to F. C. Donders, 19 May 1870 ) …
Darwin in public and private
Summary
Extracts from Darwin's published works, in particular Descent of man, and selected letters, explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual selection in humans, and both his publicly and privately expressed views on its practical implications…
Science: A Man’s World?
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…
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…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] Letter from Mary Treat, …
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
