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Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots
Summary
Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…
Matches: 13 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts …
- … 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge …
- … to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an …
- … the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his …
- … that his grandfather had felt the same way. In 1792, Erasmus Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I …
- … wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
- … itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
- … but they were ‘as nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
- … with Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel. Kosmos was, as Francis Darwin reported from Germany that …
- … the children correctly’, mentioning in particular that Francis Galton was the son of one of Erasmus …
- … to contradict false statements that had been published by Francis Galton’s aunt, Mary Anne …
- … Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the Galton side of the family, Elizabeth Anne Wheler, who was pleased …
- … In August, Bernard accompanied his grandparents, Aunt Elizabeth (Bessy) Darwin, and Henrietta and …
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.…
Matches: 12 hits
- … Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, …
- … set of selected letters is followed by letters relating to Darwin's 1881 publication …
- … work are referenced throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, …
- … her identity is both anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D …
- … Nevill is referenced by name for her “kindness” in Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . …
- … are identified only as “friends in Surrey”. Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 …
- … Sir C. Lyell” or received from “Miss. B”. Letter 7060 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
- … was referenced in the final publication. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C …
- … are not cited in Expression . Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. H., …
- … infants identified by name in Expression was novelist Elizabeth Gaskell for her description …
- … Darwin, [4 January 1871] Darwin’s brother-in-law, Francis Wedgwood, sends the results of …
- … [1 November 1877] Darwin asks his sons, Horace and Francis, to observe earthworm activity …
Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions
Summary
Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...
Matches: 1 hits
- … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive …
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: 18 hits
- … 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working …
- … 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 …
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … Andrew Clark, whom he had been consulting since August 1873. Darwin had originally thought that …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … by George Henry Lewes and Marian Evans (George Eliot), but Darwin excused himself, finding it too …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
- … 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] ). …
- … letter John Murray, 9 May [1874] ). He communicated Mary Elizabeth Barber’s paper on the pupae of …
Life of Erasmus Darwin
Summary
The Life of Erasmus Darwin (1879) was a curious departure for Darwin. It was intended as a biographical note to accompany an essay on Erasmus's scientific work by the German writer Ernst Krause. But Darwin became immersed in his grandfather's…
Matches: 19 hits
- … scientific work by the German writer Ernst Krause. But Darwin became immersed in his grandfather& …
- … his grandfather's mind and character. To compose the work, Darwin gathered materials and …
- … book into grist for controversy. In February 1879, Darwin received an unusual birthday …
- … an essay by Ernst Krause on the evolutionary ideas of Darwin's grandfather. Darwin was familiar …
- … poems, The Botanic Garden and Temple of Nature . But Darwin had never known his grandfather, …
- … in Darwinismus '; ' It piles up the glory and would please Francis '. Darwin' …
- … 'men of science'. The biographical sketch was thus a way for Darwin to trace his own …
- … character. Once a celebrated poet and philosopher, Erasmus Darwin's fame had declined sharply …
- … wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life ', Darwin wrote to Krause on 14 March …
- … storehouse of private thoughts and experiences. Reading it, Darwin said, was like ' having …
- … Priory where he resided at his death, both appeared in Darwin's Life . & …
- … word “benevolent” has always been associated with Dr. Darwin by his friends '. She recalled an …
- … colourful tales were exchanged in letters. Another cousin, Elizabeth Wheler, told the story of a …
- … bedside & made him a sign to be silent. He then said “Dr. Darwin I am the Jockey who is to ride …
- … to rob him '. Again, the story was told most vividly by Elizabeth Wheler: ' Dr. D. was …
- … her facts till they almost ceased to be true', wrote Elizabeth Wheler. ' My Mother always …
- … Erasmus's character and restored his good reputation. Francis Galton was pleased to have been …
- … much regret that I did not do so '. On the top of Butler's letter, Emma Darwin wrote: & …
- … the matter before the public '. He stated his case in a letter to the Athenaeum , a leading …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 28 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
- … appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a …
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwin’s interests remained extremely broad, and …
- … plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to …
- … Carl von Nägeli and perfectibility Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a …
- … a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägeli’s paper …
- … principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory …
- … in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwin’s apparent confusion about Nägeli’s …
- … ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwin’s uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently …
- … pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical examples he could use …
- … problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth …
- … prevailing theory of blending inheritance that Jenkin and Darwin both shared, would tend to be lost …
- … ( Origin 5th ed., pp. 103–4). The terminology that Darwin and others employed in these matters ( …
- … ‘I must have expressed myself atrociously’, Darwin wrote to Alfred Russel Wallace on 2 February , …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
- … of concern were received for months afterwards. Francis Galton: Hereditary genius and …
- … Emma read aloud from a new book by Darwin’s half-cousin, Francis Galton. The work, Hereditary …
- … is an eminently important difference’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 23 December [1869] ). …
- … of inheritance through experiments on rabbits ( letter from Francis Galton, 11 December 1869 ). …
- … the first to give me freedom of thought’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 24 December 1869 ). …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 22 hits
- … On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, ‘If any …
- … he ought to do what I am doing pester them with letters.’ Darwin was certainly true to his word. The …
- … and sexual selection. In Origin , pp. 87–90, Darwin had briefly introduced the concept of …
- … in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, …
- … to the stridulation of crickets. At the same time, Darwin continued to collect material on …
- … his immediate circle of friends and relations. In July 1868 Darwin was still anticipating that his …
- … which was devoted to sexual selection in the animal kingdom. Darwin described his thirst for …
- … as well say, he would drink a little and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ) …
- … in January 1868. A final delay caused by the indexing gave Darwin much vexation. ‘My book is …
- … 1867 and had expected to complete it in a fortnight. But at Darwin’s request, he modified his …
- … the text. This increased the amount of work substantially. Darwin asked Murray to intervene, …
- … … though it would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s angry letter to Murray crossed one from …
- … of labour to remuneration I shall look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). …
- … as stone, if it were not quite mollified by your note’. Darwin enclosed a cheque to Dallas for £55 …
- … if I try to read a few pages feel fairly nauseated’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 February [1868] ). …
- … reviews. On 7 August 1868 , he wrote him a lengthy letter from the Isle of Wight on the formation …
- … would strike me in the face, but not behind my back’ ( letter to John Murray, 25 February [1868] ) …
- … collector in his student days, Darwin encouraged his son Francis, now an undergraduate at Cambridge, …
- … ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] ). Francis sought additional advice from the …
- … Edmund Langton wrote from the south of France to Sarah Elizabeth Wedgwood on 9 Novembe r, …
- … vaccination ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [7 April 1868] ). Francis was also drafted into the …
- … Africa, Darwin received from Hooker an account by Mary Elizabeth Barber of local variations in the …
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: 20 hits
- … heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old …
- … to adapt to varying conditions. The implications of Darwin’s work for the boundary between animals …
- … studies of animal instincts by George John Romanes drew upon Darwin’s early observations of infants, …
- … of evolution and creation. Many letters flowed between Darwin and his children, as he took delight …
- … Financial support for science was a recurring issue, as Darwin tried to secure a Civil List pension …
- … with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. …
- … Charles Harrison Tindal, sent a cache of letters from two of Darwin’s grandfather’s clerical friends …
- … divines to see a pig’s body opened is very amusing’, Darwin replied, ‘& that about my …
- … registry offices, and produced a twenty-page history of the Darwin family reaching back to the …
- … have influenced the whole Kingdom, & even the world’ ( letter from J. L. Chester, 3 March 1880 …
- … delighted to find an ordinary mortal who could laugh’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin to Charles and …
- … much powder & shot’ ( Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Ernst Krause, 7 June 1879 , and …
- … modified; but now I much regret that I did not do so’ ( letter to Samuel Butler, 3 January 1880 ). …
- … Mr Butler whatever.’ Power of movement With Francis’s assistance, the last of Darwin’s …
- … of the nervous system, and the nature of ‘sensitivity’. Francis Balfour described Movement in …
- … the intake of stones and flints to aid digestion. He asked Francis to check for castings on old …
- … rightly thought the ‘queer subject’ of interest to Francis Galton, who had already taken thumb …
- … extending the study to public-school pupils ( letter to Francis Galton, 7 April 1880 , and …
- … for the Wedgwood nieces. Later in the year, Emma’s sister Elizabeth Wedgwood died at her home, …
- … William’s interest in geology, and longed to see Francis elected fellow of the Royal Society. He …
Darwin’s observations on his children
Summary
Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children, began the research that culminated in his book The Expression of the emotions in man and animals, published in 1872, and his article ‘A biographical sketch of an infant’, published in Mind…
Matches: 26 hits
- … Charles Darwin’s observations on the development of his children,[1] began the …
- … is available below . As with much of his other work, Darwin gathered additional information on the …
- … lunatics, the blind, and animals. And as early as 1839 Darwin had begun to collect information on …
- … the expression of emotions. As the following transcript of Darwin’s notes reveals, he closely …
- … William Erasmus, the stages of his development suggesting to Darwin those expressions which are …
- … The tone of the manuscript reflects an aspect of Darwin’s character clearly perceived by Emma during …
- … “What does that prove”.’[6] For in these notes, Darwin’s deep scientific curiosity transcends his …
- … that on occasion he refers to William as ‘it’. Darwin possessed the ability to dissociate …
- … memories.[8] Yet, though the dissociation was essential for Darwin’s scientific goal, the notes here …
- … until September 1844. Parallels in the development of Anne Elizabeth, born 2 March 1841, were also …
- … the record breaks off until January 1852, by which time the Darwin family had increased by five: …
- … the onset of frowning, smiling, etc., as was the focus of Darwin’s attention on William and Anne, …
- … of logical thought and language. On 20 May 1854, Darwin again took over the notebook and, …
- … all the notes until July 1856, when the observations ceased. Darwin’s later entries, like Emma’s, …
- … Transcription: 1 [9] W. Erasmus. Darwin born. Dec. 27 th . 1839.—[10] During first week. …
- … our door N o 12 and N o 11 is in the slit for the Letter box.— he decidedly ran past N o 11 …
- … has learned them from my sometimes changing the first letter in any word he is using—thus I say …
- … 35 & to take a crust, when their pudding was finished.— Elizabeth[45] remarked him careful …
- … flower garden perceived them, said they were not Dziver’s (Elizabeth’s) flowers. ie were not natural …
- … very contradictory; by mistake he one day graciously gave Elizabeth a kiss, but repenting said …
- … , pp. 131–2. [6] Correspondence vol. 2, letter from Emma Wedgwood, [23 January 1839] . …
- … to Anne and Henrietta were added considerably later; Anne Elizabeth was born in 1841 and Henrietta …
- … by Emma Darwin must have been added on 19 January 1877, when Francis Darwin’s son Bernard was …
- … by Emma Darwin. [29] Caroline Sarah Wedgwood, Elizabeth (Bessy) Wedgwood, and Josiah Wedgwood …
- … information is given. [57] Emma Darwin’s brother Francis (Frank) Wedgwood lived at Etruria …
- … [61] Leonard Darwin, born 1850. [62] Francis Darwin, born 1848. [63] Sarah was …
Scientific Networks
Summary
Friendship|Mentors|Class|Gender In its broadest sense, a scientific network is a set of connections between people, places, and things that channel the communication of knowledge, and that substantially determine both its intellectual form and content,…
Matches: 10 hits
- … and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
- … when strong institutional structures were largely absent. Darwin had a small circle of scientific …
- … in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
- … section contains two sets of letters. The first is between Darwin and his friend Kew botanist J. D. …
- … and he is curious about Hooker’s thoughts. Letter 729 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., …
- … to Hooker “it is like confessing a murder”. Letter 736 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D. …
- … of wide-ranging species to wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 …
- … and asks him to append the ranges of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. …
- … accepted, as did Henslow himself. Darwin will talk to Capt. Francis Beaufort [Hydrographer] and …
- … In this letter, naturalist, artist, and writer Mary Elizabeth Barber replies to Queries on …
Who we were
Summary
Many people have contributed to the Darwin Correspondence Project since it was first founded in 1974. Some names are now lost to us, and we would appreciate hearing from anyone who has contributed in the past and is not listed here. The final staff of…
Matches: 21 hits
- … Many people have contributed to the Darwin Correspondence Project since it was first founded in 1974 …
- … past and is not listed here. The final staff of the Darwin Correspondence Project were based …
- … (Director) Jim Secord has served as Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project since 2006. …
- … for 2013-15 was Head of Department. Besides his work for the Darwin Project, his research is on the …
- … of Science Society, and he has edited a selection of Darwin’s evolutionary writings in the …
- … of the autobiographical Recollections and responses to Darwin’s books from around the world. …
- … a PhD from Cambridge. She curated the University Library’s Darwin Bicentenary exhibition, and edited …
- … for the day-to-day management of all aspects of the Darwin Project, including its outreach programme …
- … the public. She also keeps the office running, transcribes letter texts, researches obscure …
- … with CUP production editors. She is the author of Darwin and women: a selection of letters . …
- … for the production of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin volumes, including in-house …
- … University Library). In addition to his duties at the Darwin Correspondence Project, Hawkins is also …
- … Project in 2000, she has become an enthusiastic follower of Darwin’s botanical work as well. Her …
- … primary editor for German and Russian letters. Dr Francis Neary (Editor, Research Associate …
- … history of hip replacement (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007). Francis has curated a number of …
- … and co-curated ‘Curious Objects’ (2016—17) and ‘Darwin in Conversation’ (2022) at Cambridge …
- … worked as assistant editor on the first seven volumes of Darwin’s correspondence. The focus of her …
- … and skill in nineteenth-century natural history. Elizabeth Smith (Associate Editor - …
- … study through the unique insight they offer of Darwin’s life and times. She established ‘Exploring …
- … entitled ‘For the Curious’ to explore the aspects of Darwin’s work and life that she was most …
- … staff and associates who have contributed to the work of the Darwin Correspondence Project since its …
Volume appendices
Summary
Here is a list of the appendices from the print volumes of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin with links to adapted online versions where they are available. Appendix I in each volume contains translations of letters in foreign languages and these can…
Matches: 16 hits
- … from the print volumes of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin with links to adapted online …
- … and these can be accessed online by searching for a letter and clicking on the translation tab on …
- … 1 II Darwin’s Beagle records 1 III …
- … 1 V Darwin’s early notes on coral reef formation …
- … 2 IV Darwin’s notes on marriage 2 V …
- … 2 VI Darwin and William Kemp on the vitality of seeds …
- … 3 III Darwin’s notes arising from conversations with Joseph Dalton Hooker …
- … 4 II Darwin’s study of the Cirripedia 4 …
- … 5 II Death of Anne Elizabeth Darwin …
- … 6 III Dates of composition of Darwin’s manuscript on species …
- … 7 III Abstract of Darwin’s species theory …
- … 7 V Death of Charles Waring Darwin 7 VI …
- … 8 V Patrick Matthew's letter to the Gardeners’ Chronicle …
- … 9 V Correspondence between Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood I, concerning …
- … 9 IX Letters between Thomas Francis Jamieson and Charles Lyell on the geology …
- … 10 IX Diplomas presented to Charles Darwin …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 25 hits
- … In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished …
- … used these notebooks extensively in dating and annotating Darwin’s letters; the full transcript …
- … *128). For clarity, the transcript does not record Darwin’s alterations. The spelling and …
- … book had been consulted. Those cases where it appears that Darwin made a genuine deletion have been …
- … a few instances, primarily in the ‘Books Read’ sections, Darwin recorded that a work had been …
- … of the books listed in the other two notebooks. Sometimes Darwin recorded that an abstract of the …
- … own. Soon after beginning his first reading notebook, Darwin began to separate the scientific …
- … the second reading notebook. Readers primarily interested in Darwin’s scientific reading, therefore, …
- … editors’ identification of the book or article to which Darwin refers. A full list of these works is …
- … page number (or numbers, as the case may be) on which Darwin’s entry is to be found. The …
- … are not found listed here. The description given by Francis Darwin of his father’s method of …
- … Darwin Library (AC.34). Darwin’s books were bequeathed to Francis Darwin, who, in 1908, gave all but …
- … to be available to scholars using the archive. Books that Francis Darwin had kept were left to his …
- … [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
- … 1828] 31 An analysis of British Ferns. G. W. Francis 4 s [Francis 1837]— plates of …
- … 1834–40]: In Portfolio of “abstracts” 34 —letter from Skuckard of books on Silk Worm …
- … M rs Fry’s Life [Fry 1847] Horace Walpoles letter to C t . of Ossory [Walpole 1848] …
- … Asiatic Society ]—contains very little Macleay’s letter to D r Fleming [Macleay 1830] …
- … th . Hume’s Hist of England [Hume 1763]. to beginning of Elizabeth. Sept 14 th . 4 first …
- … [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
- … of the material from these portfolios is in DAR 205, the letter from William Edward Shuckard to …
- … work is listed again on p. [22]. 44 Probably Francis Boott. 45 Edward …
- … on chemistry (Liebig 1851). 50 Probably Elizabeth Wedgwood. 51 This …
- … of the Devereux, Earls of Essex, in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., 1540 …
- … of England from the fall of Wolsey to the death of Elizabeth. 12 vols. London. 1856–70. 128: …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 19 hits
- … In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwin’s mind was the writing of The variation of animals and …
- … letters on climbing plants to make another paper. Darwin also submitted a manuscript of his …
- … protégé, John Scott, who was now working in India. Darwin’s transmutation theory continued to …
- … Argyll, appeared in the religious weekly, Good Words . Darwin received news of an exchange of …
- … Butler, and, according to Butler, the bishop of Wellington. Darwin’s theory was discussed at an …
- … in the Gardeners’ Chronicle . At the end of the year, Darwin was elected an honorary member of …
- … year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend of …
- … in August. There was also a serious dispute between two of Darwin’s friends, John Lubbock and …
- … a sudden illness. Falconer was 56, almost the same age as Darwin himself. Falconer had seconded …
- … had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
- … his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium …
- … may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
- … always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
- … for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
- … gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … ineffective, and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] …
- … , and letter from Edward Cresy, 10 September 1865 ). Francis and Leonard were still at school in …
- … Wales rented by the Hensleigh Wedgwoods for the summer, and Elizabeth was evidently attending school …
3.14 Julia Margaret Cameron, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction In the summer of 1868 Darwin took a holiday on the Isle of Wight with his immediate family, his brother Erasmus, and his friend Joseph Hooker. The family’s accommodation at Freshwater was rented from the photographer Julia…
Matches: 24 hits
- … < Back to Introduction In the summer of 1868 Darwin took a holiday on the Isle of …
- … Cameron, who seized this opportunity to portray both Darwin and Hooker – portraits that would come …
- … and in particular Hooker’s speech – a ‘Eulogium’ of Darwin, would represent a public victory for the …
- … such as to heighten the demand for images of Hooker and of Darwin himself. She was in any case a …
- … from Cameron’s portraits that included the one of Darwin, thought that ‘Something of what William …
- … done’, had been achieved by these photographs. Darwin was not a natural inhabitant of this …
- … characteristics of the four or five known photographs of Darwin which Cameron took in the summer of …
- … them romantically dishevelled and swathed in rough drapery, Darwin is wearing his usual conventional …
- … than a passing resemblance’ between these photographs and Darwin’s own engraved portrait of Leonardo …
- … one serves as frontispiece to R.B. Freeman’s Charles Darwin: A Companion . In another shot, he …
- … powerful resolve, and there is a quality which his son Francis described as characteristic of him – …
- … captured by Cameron with great skill: in fact, her image of Darwin was such as to offset the …
- … of Descent of Man. Indeed, such ennobling images of Darwin fed into a perception of the superior …
- … that it was ‘Not a very successful picture, although Mr. Darwin was very pleased with it’. In fact …
- … revered sitter, Tennyson. Nevertheless, this photograph of Darwin was highly favoured, and had a …
- … actuality. Ernst Haeckel recalled his first impressions of Darwin on a visit to Down House in 1866: …
- … of Dr Johnson discoursing; and Cameron’s emphasis on Darwin’s domed skull is attuned to nineteenth …
- … intelligence. Relations between Cameron and the Darwin family continued to be very cordial, …
- … the role of her agent at the BAAS conference. He reported to Darwin at the end of August, ‘I have …
- … 28–30cm. vertically. Although the profile photograph of Darwin was reproduced as a lantern slide and …
- … tonal subtlety of the original; as Darwin complained in a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace, the image …
- … prints references and bibliography Lady Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake, ‘Photography’, …
- … Hooker to Darwin, 30 Aug. 1868 (DCP-LETT-6333). Darwin’s letter to Wallace, 5 Dec. [1869] (DCP-LETT …
- … Haeckel on Darwin’ in Times (28 Sept. 1882), p. 6. Francis Darwin (ed.), The Life and Letters …
Darwin in letters, 1851-1855: Death of a daughter
Summary
The letters from these years reveal the main preoccupations of Darwin’s life with a new intensity. The period opens with a family tragedy in the death of Darwin’s oldest and favourite daughter, Anne, and it shows how, weary and mourning his dead child,…
Matches: 22 hits
- … letters from these years reveal the main preoccupations of Darwin’s life with a new intensity. The …
- … life but I trust happy The anguish felt by Darwin is painfully expressed in letters …
- … speak of her again. Yet the family gradually recovered, Darwin’s monographs were printed, and Darwin …
- … to the cirripedes. Before turning to his species work, Darwin somewhat ruefully recorded in his …
- … monographs by natural history societies, though welcomed by Darwin, did not run smoothly. …
- … the Correspondence describes the major achievements of Darwin’s cirripede work as a whole and …
- … societies, which were supported by subscriptions, was that Darwin’s volumes were not publicly …
- … in Germany at the forefront of work in invertebrate zoology, Darwin began a correspondence with …
- … provided the foundations for a relationship with Darwin that soon developed into a valued friendship …
- … April 1854, when his cirripede study was drawing to a close, Darwin re-entered London scientific …
- … with lots of claret is what I want Perhaps Darwin’s decision to take a more active …
- … in his health was indicated by his comment in a letter to Hooker on 29 [May 1854] : ‘Very far …
- … to substantiate it is manifest in the correspondence. Darwin’s friends and colleagues were …
- … outspoken young naturalists like Huxley, reacted eagerly to Darwin’s suggestions, although not …
- … for the geographical distribution of animals and plants. Darwin began a series of researches on the …
- … with the effects of known changes in climate and geology. Darwin boldly rejected the popular idea of …
- … large-scale geological changes. As he told Hooker in a letter of 5 June [1855] , ‘it shocks my …
- … Some of the most interesting letters in this volume set out Darwin’s practical researches and …
- … Variation and extinction The other main focus of Darwin’s research centred on determining the …
- … he had written to Hooker ( Correspondence vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 [June 1850] ), …
- … interested in animal breeding. As Darwin told Fox in a letter of 27 March [1855] , the object of …
- … ‘all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 7 May [1855] ). But …
1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…
Matches: 17 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
- … is unknown. Thus the surviving portraits of Darwin as a young man – other than cartoon …
- … in January 1839 to his cousin Emma Wedgwood; the one of Darwin is signed and dated 1840. Their style …
- … estimate of Richmond’s work can be gauged from a letter which Hooker wrote to Darwin some years …
- … But despite this tendency to prettify, Richmond registered Darwin’s receding hairline, and the …
- … evolutionary theories. As early as February 1839, Elizabeth Wedgwood had written to her …
- … on his behalf to portray herself, her sisters Charlotte and Elizabeth and her sisters-in-law. …
- … and from this he established the dates of various Darwin family commissions. In 1840 there were …
- … Erasmus was entered separately at £31 10 s .) and ‘Mrs. Darwin’, and this must be the Down House …
- … of twelve guineas for a second portrait of ‘Mrs Charles Darwin’ followed in 1842. Perhaps this …
- … in format and composition to the documented 1840 portrait of Darwin is also at Down House …
- … reproduced as the frontispiece to Nora Barlow’s edition of Darwin’s Beagle diary in 1933: she …
- … the Down House portraits after they were removed from Susan Darwin’s house in 1866 is also confusing …
- … William, not to herself: did he give it to her subsequently? Francis Darwin, in Life and Letters …
- … account books, entry for Dec. 1839. Joseph Hooker, letter to Darwin, 17 March 1862 (DCP-LETT-3474). …
- … 21 and 28 May, 1873 (DCP-LETT-8917 and DCP-LETT-8926). Francis Darwin (ed.), The Life and Letters …
- … this seemingly conflicts with the indications in Erasmus’s letter of 1866, quoted above. …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 27 hits
- … The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one …
- … a family Busy as he was with scientific activities, Darwin found time to re-establish family …
- … close contact. In November 1838, two years after his return, Darwin became engaged to his cousin, …
- … 1842, the family, now increased by a daughter, Anne Elizabeth, moved to Down House in Kent, where …
- … his greatest theoretical achievement, the most important of Darwin’s activities during the years …
- … identifications of his bird and fossil mammal specimens, Darwin arrived at the daring and momentous …
- … in species. With this new theoretical point of departure Darwin continued to make notes and explore …
- … present in the version of 1859. Young author Darwin’s investigation of the species …
- … the Beagle had returned to England, news of some of Darwin’s findings had been spread by the …
- … great excitement. The fuller account of the voyage and Darwin’s discoveries was therefore eagerly …
- … suitable categories for individual experts to work upon, Darwin applied himself to the revision of …
- … of the surveying voyage of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle. Darwin’s volume bore the title Journal …
- … visited by H.M.S. Beagle . Also in November 1837, Darwin read the fourth of a series of papers to …
- … to the Society of 9 March 1838), had been developed by Darwin from a suggestion made by his uncle, …
- … Sedgwick, [after 15 May 1838] ). The new research Darwin undertook after 1837 was an …
- … time, the parallel terraces, or ‘roads’, of Glen Roy. Darwin had seen similar formations on the …
- … roads of Glen Roy’, Collected papers 1: 88–137). Darwin later abandoned this view, calling it a …
- … contemporaneous unstratified deposits of South America”, Darwin continued to defend his and Lyell’s …
- … G. R. Waterhouse, and C. C. Babington; the Chalcididae by Francis Walker; spiders by Adam White; …
- … letters have suffered an even more severe loss. In a letter to Lyell’s sister-in-law, Katharine …
- … of fact . . . on the origin & variation of species” ( Letter to J. S. Henslow, [November 1839] …
- … that he had a sound solution to what J. F. W. Herschel in a letter to Lyell had called the ‘mystery …
- … about searching for evidence to support his hypothesis. In a letter to Lyell, [14] September [1838 …
- … just the same, though I know what I am looking for' ( Letter to G. R. Waterhouse, [26 July …
- … there were no doubts as to how one ought to act’ ( Letter from Emma Darwin, [ c. February 1839] …
- … for several months (See Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, 13 October 1834 , …
- … notebook). See also Allan 1977, pp. 128–30). The letter, on ‘Double flowers’ to the …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 23 hits
- … 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence …
- … he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This …
- … the composition and publication, in November 1859, of Darwin’s major treatise On the origin of …
- … exceeded my wildest hopes By the end of 1859, Darwin’s work was being discussed in …
- … has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
- … The 'big book' The year 1858 opened with Darwin hard at work preparing his ‘big …
- … his ninth chapter, on hybridism, on 29 December 1857, Darwin began in January 1858 to prepare the …
- … appropriate. The correspondence shows that at any one time Darwin was engaged in a number of …
- … The chapter on instinct posed a number of problems for Darwin. ‘I find my chapter on Instinct very …
- … celebrated as a classic example of divine design in nature. Darwin hypothesised that the instinct of …
- … of construction as it took place in the hive. As with Darwin’s study of poultry and pigeons, …
- … founder and president of the Apiarian Society, provided Darwin with information and specimens. His …
- … For assistance with mathematical measurements and geometry, Darwin called upon William Hallowes …
- … from the Beagle voyage; on his brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin; and his son William. Even his …
- … bees and bee-hives. Variation and reversion Darwin also continued the botanical work …
- … of smaller genera? The inquiry was of great importance to Darwin, for such evidence would support …
- … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
- … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
- … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
- … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
- … Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … letter as having been received ‘today’. Following Francis Darwin ( LL 2: 116–17) and relying on …
- … inherited his illhealth revived as first Henrietta and then Elizabeth and Leonard suffered similar …
Darwin in letters, 1861: Gaining allies
Summary
The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. He had weathered the storm that followed the publication of Origin, and felt cautiously optimistic about the ultimate acceptance of his ideas. The letters from this year provide an…
Matches: 25 hits
- … The year 1861 marked an important change in the direction of Darwin’s work. By then, he had …
- … propagation, hybridism, and other phenomena that, as Darwin said in his Autobiography , he had …
- … provide an unusually detailed and intimate understanding of Darwin’s problem-solving method of work …
- … 1860 that a new edition of Origin was called for, Darwin took the opportunity to include in the …
- … of natural selection. With this work behind him, Darwin took steps to convince those who …
- … will do me & Natural Selection, right good service’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 26–7 Februrary [1861] …
- … pamphlet (see Correspondence vol. 9, Appendix III). However, Darwin himself remained unconvinced by …
- … began to decline later in the year, scientific interest in Darwin’s views continued unabated and …
- … the third edition and the comments of naturalists with whom Darwin corresponded, showed that a …
- … the theory of natural selection for their particular fields. Darwin relished these explorations, …
- … the Zoologist by George Maw, for example, singled out Darwin’s explanation of the numerous …
- … remained notable instances of design in nature. Although Darwin, in his subsequent correspondence …
- … ‘barometer’ of scientific opinion, Charles Lyell ( see letter to Charles Lyell, 20 July [1861] ). …
- … and embryological relationships between organisms. Darwin also found the review by the young …
- … selection could not be ‘directly proved’ ( see second letter to J. D. Hooker, 23 [April 1861] ). …
- … Gaining allies It is not surprising, then, that Darwin was pleased that the methodology …
- … was ‘the only one proper to such a subject’ ( letter from Henry Fawcett, 16 July [1861] ). Mill in …
- … or against some view if it is to be of any service!’ ( letter to Henry Fawcett, 18 September [1861] …
- … chapter on the imperfection of the geological record ( see letter to George Maw, 19 July [1861] ). …
- … he planned to report ‘at a favourable opportunity’ ( letter from Joseph Leidy, 4 March [1861] ). …
- … laboratory where Nature manufactures her new species’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 28 March [1861] ) …
- … study of natural history was evident. He told Darwin in his letter of [1 December] 1861: …
- … by insect enemies from which the other set is free’ ( letter from H. W. Bates, 30 September 1861 ) …
- … and Darwin encouraged the young Scottish geologist Thomas Francis Jamieson to make an excursion to …
- … for ever since the death of their eldest daughter, Anne Elizabeth, in 1851 (see Correspondence …
