To Alfred Krakauer 12 January 1880
Summary
"I am much obliged for your note. I have heard of the other analogous cases, but there remains a doubt whether they may not be accidental coincidences, for such cases certainly occur in non-Jewish families.––"
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Alfred Krakauer |
| Date: | 12 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Surrogate RP 4481/3) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12419A |
To Lawson Tait 13 January 1880
Summary
The honour RLT proposes [Darwin Festival] is a great one, "but would it not be better to wait until I am in my grave?"
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait |
| Date: | 13 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | Shrewsbury School, Taylor Library |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12420 |
From A. M. Marshall to F. M. Balfour 13 January 1880
Summary
R. Lawson Tait is generally viewed as a humbug – not a person to be associated with.
| Author: | Arthur Milnes Marshall |
| Addressee: | Francis Maitland Balfour |
| Date: | 13 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 171: 42 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12421 |
From J. I. Rogers 13 January 1880
Summary
Responds to article in Nature on the sexual colours of butterflies [Collected papers 2: 220–2].
| Author: | John Innes Rogers |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 176: 200 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12422 |
From W. C. Williamson 13 January 1880
Summary
Sends a seedling Drosera capensis.
| Author: | William Crawford Williamson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 107 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12423 |
To Jabez Hogg 14 January 1880
Summary
CD’s grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, must have published on arsenic, as his father never published on medical subjects.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Jabez Hogg |
| Date: | 14 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | Maggs Brothers (dealers) (catalogue 1453, 2011) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12423F |
To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 15 January 1880
Summary
Thanks for cotton seeds.
Germination of Megarrhiza.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
| Date: | 15 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Darwin: Letters to Thiselton-Dyer, 1873–81: ff. 199–200) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12424 |
To Lawson Tait 15 January [1880]
Summary
Sends copy of Kosmos [containing Krause’s article on Erasmus Darwin].
Believes he can spare an Erasmus Darwin letter.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait |
| Date: | 15 Jan [1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 221.5: 41 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12425 |
From Daniel Mackintosh 15 January 1880
Summary
The violent stranding of floating ice as first mentioned in CD’s article ["Ancient glaciers of Caernarvonshire", Collected papers 1: 163–71] is the most remarkable of the Moel Tryfan phenomena.
| Author: | Daniel Mackintosh |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 171: 9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12426 |
From Ernst Krause 16 January 1880
Summary
What are functions of "yeomen of the armoury" on p. 1? Who is "old Hooker" on p. 34? Needs to explain them in annotations [to Erasmus Darwin].
| Author: | Ernst Ludwig (Ernst) Krause |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 92: B52 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12427 |
From the Darwin children 17 January 1880
Summary
Send CD a present of a fur coat.
| Author: | Elizabeth (Bessy, Lizzy) Darwin; Francis Darwin; George Howard Darwin; Horace Darwin; Leonard Darwin; William Erasmus Darwin; Sara Sedgwick; Sara Darwin; Henrietta Emma Darwin; Henrietta Emma Litchfield |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 17 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 99: 208 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12428 |
To the Darwin children 17 [January 1880]
Summary
Thanks his children for their present of a fur coat.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Elizabeth (Bessy, Lizzy) Darwin; Francis Darwin; George Howard Darwin; Horace Darwin; Leonard Darwin; William Erasmus Darwin; Sara Sedgwick; Sara Darwin; Henrietta Emma Darwin; Henrietta Emma Litchfield |
| Date: | 17 [Jan 1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 211: 1 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12429 |
From Lawson Tait 18 January [1880]
Summary
The Birmingham Philosophical Society proposes to celebrate CD’s birthday and make him their first Honorary Member. RLT will draft the address.
| Author: | Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 18 Jan [1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 99: 213–214 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12430 |
To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 18 January [1880]
Summary
Suspects WTT-D is the author of a good review of Erasmus Darwin in Nature [21 (1880): 245–7].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
| Date: | 18 Jan [1880] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Darwin: Letters to Thiselton-Dyer, 1873–81: ff. 201–2) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12431 |
From Hermann Welcker 18 January 1880
Summary
Sends publications.
Discusses comparative anatomy and evolutionary implications of several ligaments.
Thinks effects of Chinese foot-binding are inherited.
Criticises article on Darwinism in Brockhaus’ Lexikon.
Mentions forthcoming book on mammalian vertebrae.
| Author: | Hermann Welcker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 18 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 181: 88 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12432 |
To Asa Gray 19 January 1880
Summary
Describes the germination and early growth of Megarrhiza about which AG has been misinformed. The tubular petioles act functionally like a root.
Ipomoea did not germinate.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Asa Gray |
| Date: | 19 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (126) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12433 |
To Ernst Krause 19 January 1880
Summary
Replies to EK’s queries about German translation of CD’s preface to Erasmus Darwin.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Ernst Ludwig (Ernst) Krause |
| Date: | 19 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | The Huntington Library (HM 36199) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12434 |
From Charles Dixon 19 January 1880
Summary
Sends seed attached to breast feathers of a heron that had been shot.
| Author: | Charles Dixon |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 19 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 228 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12435 |
To Asa Gray 20 January [1880]
Summary
Germination of Delphinium and Megarrhiza.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Asa Gray |
| Date: | 20 Jan [1880] |
| Classmark: | Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (127) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12436 |
To Ernst Haeckel 21 January 1880
Summary
Thanks EH for copy of book [Das System der Medusen (1879)].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Ernst Philipp August (Ernst) Haeckel |
| Date: | 21 Jan 1880 |
| Classmark: | Ernst-Haeckel-Haus (Bestand A-Abt. 1:1-52/50 [A 9904]) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12437 |
| letter | (648) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (327) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (15) |
| Krause, Ernst | (14) |
| Torbitt, James | (14) |
| Cooke, R. F. | (12) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (303) |
| Torbitt, James | (17) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (16) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (14) |
| Huxley, T. H. | (14) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (630) |
| Torbitt, James | (31) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (29) |
| Krause, Ernst | (27) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (24) |
Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms
Summary
‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…
Matches: 30 hits
- … to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880 . Darwin became fully devoted to …
- … of much value to me’ ( letter to C. H. Tindal, 5 January 1880 ). Darwin had employed a genealogist …
- … & even the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 ). Darwin’s sons George and …
- … of [William Alvey Darwin],’ George wrote on 28 May 1880 , ‘I … said you were anxious not to …
- … letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and Emma Darwin, 22 July 1880 ). Sales of Erasmus …
- … new was published). Butler wrote to Darwin on 2 January 1880 for an explanation: ‘Among the …
- … I did not do so’ ( letter to Samuel Butler, 3 January 1880 ). At the top of Butler’s letter, Emma …
- … an article upon’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [28 January 1880] ). Butler had once been an …
- … the public’ ( letter from Samuel Butler, 21 January 1880 ). He stated his case in the Athen …
- … Henrietta ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 1 February [1880] ). ‘The world will only know … that you …
- … she warned ( letter from H. E. Litchfield, [1 February 1880] ). ‘He is a virulent Salamander of a …
- … husband Richard ( letter from R. B. Litchfield, 1 February 1880 ). Even the great controversialist …
- … a horrid disease’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 3 February 1880 ). All went quiet until …
- … to an elephant’ ( letter from Ernst Krause, 9 December 1880 ). Again, Darwin felt compelled to …
- … behave so differently.’ ( Letter to Asa Gray, 17 February 1880 .) But Gray had based his …
- … agreed with Darwin’s ( letter from Asa Gray, 4 April 1880 ). Having finished the manuscript …
- … or publisher?’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 20 July 1880 ). ‘I must take the risk & loss on my …
- … lose some for science’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 21 July 1880 ). The worries were ill founded, …
- … scale’, Darwin wrote to Alphonse de Candolle on 28 May 1880 . Readers trained in zoology realised …
- … ( letter from F. M. Balfour, [22 November 1880] ). George Romanes, who had worked on the nerves of …
- … would have been amply gratified”‘ ( 21 November [1880] ). ‘I had quite forgotten my old ambition …
- … to see anybody’ ( letter to S. H. Haliburton, 13 December 1880 ). Instinct and worms …
- … has amused me’ ( letter to W. C. McIntosh, 18 June 1880 ). Members of the family were enlisted to …
- … ( letter from Horace Darwin to Emma Darwin, [18 September 1880] ). Darwin’s Wedgwood nieces, Sophy …
- … frightens them’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 8 October [1880] ). The role of instinctive …
- … its return’ ( letter from J.-H. Fabre, 18 February 1880 ). Darwin shared the letter with Romanes, …
- … than the baby!’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 17 December 1880 , and letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 …
- … greatly obliged’ ( letter from W. Z. Seddon, 2 February 1880) . Darwin sympathised with the pupil; …
- … has accepted’ ( letter to W. Z. Seddon, 4 February 1880 ). On 16 February , ‘an ardent student’ …
- … to public-school pupils ( letter to Francis Galton, 7 April 1880 , and letter from Francis …
Volume 28 (1880) now published
Summary
1880 opened and closed with an irksome controversy with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of Movement in…
Matches: 5 hits
- … 1880 opened and closed with an irksome controversy with Samuel Butler, prompted …
- … available. Read more about Darwin's life in 1880 in our Life in letters …
- … Scientific Society after meeting Darwin at Down in July 1880. Forty-three members of the society …
- … of his most prized curiosities. They, and others, recognised 1880 as an important year, the year …
- … & nothing else in this world In the autumn of 1880, after finishing work on the …
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: 20 hits
- … The power of movement in plants , published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work …
- … and illustrated Horace’s machine in a paper (F. Darwin 1880, pp. 449–55). Diagram …
- … suggested by Darwin’s son William in February 1880, probably to replace Frank’s ‘Transversal …
- … to translate the paper into German, and it appeared in 1880 (F. Darwin 1880b). In the same letter, …
- … ’. Luckily, De Vries published two papers in 1879 and 1880 that Darwin was later able to refer to in …
- … weight of the seed ( letter from Asa Gray, 3 February 1880 ). The matter was finally settled by an …
- … would be killed by frost ( letter from Asa Gray, 4 April 1880 ). Darwin agreed, ‘ It seems almost …
- … of Plants’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 23 April [1880] ). Cooke replied, ‘ We are as much puzzled as …
- … ’. The manuscript was sent off towards the end of May 1880 and Darwin then spent a fortnight at his …
- … Alphonse de Candolle’s Phytographie (A. de Candolle 1880). In his letter of thanks for the book, …
- … all plants from their earliest youth ’. By July 1880, Darwin was correcting the first sets …
- … copies they should print ( letter to John Murray, 10 July 1880 ). Moreover, since he worried about …
- … on the usual terms ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 15 July 1880 ). This was also preferable to Darwin, …
- … or raising the price ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 20 July 1880 ). Darwin demurred, however, stating, …
- … page numbers ( letter to Francis Darwin, 5 August [1880] ). Darwin was also very taken by Balfour …
- … genesis of the nervous system ’. By mid-September 1880, Darwin was actively engaged with the …
- … to publish it ( letter from J. V. Carus, 18 September 1880 ). The American publisher, D. Appleton …
- … Murray ( letter from D. Appleton & Co., 17 September 1880 ). Darwin was fortunate in having as …
- … and stamens ( letter from Édouard Heckel, 23 September 1880 ). Darwin wanted electrotypes …
- … the cost of these ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 16 October 1880 ). Cooke replied that although the …
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
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
- … 1866] ; 8 June [1867-72?] ) and Sophy ( 8 October [1880] ). The …
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…
Referencing women’s work
Summary
Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…
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…
1.15 Albert Goodwin, watercolour
Summary
< Back to Introduction In 1880 the watercolourist Albert Goodwin was apparently invited to Down to produce that rare thing – a portrait of Darwin with members of his family. As Henrietta Litchfield, Darwin’s daughter, explained when she reproduced it…
2.7 Joseph Moore, Midland Union medal
Summary
< Back to Introduction The Midland Union was an association of natural history societies and field clubs across the Midland counties, intended to facilitate – especially through its journal The Midland Naturalist – ‘the interchange of ideas’ and…
Matches: 6 hits
- … It was decided at the Union’s annual meeting in July 1880 to award an annual ‘Darwin Prize’ for the …
- … death in 1882, suggested that the initiation of the medal in 1880 had also been intended as a …
- … founded by the Midland Union of Natural History Societies 1880’. In the centre the name of the …
- … date of creation designed and first produced in 1880 computer-readable date 1880-01-01 …
- … and bibliography letter to E. W. Badger, [19 July 1880], DCP-LETT-12660. ‘Encouragement of …
- … and Field Clubs of the Midland Counties , 3:32 (August 1880), preface and pp. 181–2. Journal of …
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: 5 hits
- … Letter 12389 - Johnson, M. to Darwin, [January 1880] Mary Johnson tells Darwin about her …
- … 12745 - Darwin to Wedg wood, K. E. S., [8 October 1880] Darwin asks his niece, …
- … 12760 - Wedgw ood, K. E. S. to Darwin, [15 October 1880] Darwin’s niece, Katherine …
- … publication of The Movement of Plants in 1880 and his “assistance” is proudly …
- … publication of The Movement of Plants in 1880 and his “assistance” is proudly …
Darwin & Glen Roy
Summary
Although Darwin was best known for his geological work in South America and other remote Beagle destinations, he made one noteworthy attempt to explain a puzzling feature of British geology. In 1838, two years after returning from the voyage, he travelled…
Matches: 1 hits
- … 14 October [1862] To Joseph Prestwich, 3 January 1880 …
Earthworms
Summary
As with many of Darwin’s research topics, his interest in worms spanned nearly his entire working life. Some of his earliest correspondence about earthworms was written and received in the 1830s, shortly after his return from his Beagle voyage, and his…
What is an experiment?
Summary
Darwin is not usually regarded as an experimenter, but rather as an astute observer and a grand theorist. His early career seems to confirm this. He began with detailed note-taking, collecting and cataloguing on the Beagle, and edited a descriptive zoology…
Matches: 1 hits
- … when at work’ ( letter to J. M. Herbert, 25 December [1880] ). Horace Darwin’s …
Power of movement in plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Family experiments Darwin was an active and engaged father during his children's youth, involving them in his experiments and even occasionally using them as observational subjects. When his children…
Matches: 4 hits
- … on experiments for The Power of Movement in Plants (1880). The correspondence between Darwin …
- … to his theory of evolution by natural selection. This 1880 book sought to illustrate that evolution …
- … Darwin, C.R. The power of movement in plants. 1880. London: John Murray. Chapter nine: …
- … publication of The Power of Movement in Plants in 1880. After reading Chapter Nine of …
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,…
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…
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…
4.40 'Phrenological Magazine'
Summary
< Back to Introduction Among the stranger uses of Rejlander’s photograph of Darwin (the very popular profile view) was as an illustration in Lorenzo Niles Fowler’s Phrenological Magazine of 1880; it accompanied an article titled ‘Charles Darwin – A…
Matches: 3 hits
Florence Caroline Dixie
Summary
On October 29th 1880, Lady Florence Dixie wrote a letter to Charles Darwin from her home in the Scottish Borders; “Whilst reading the other day your very interesting account of A Naturalist’s Voyage round the world,” she said, “I came across a passage…of…
