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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: 16 hits

… The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The …
… in relation to Sex’. Always precise in his accounting, Darwin reckoned that he had started writing …
… gathered on each of these topics was far more extensive than Darwin had anticipated. As a result, …
… and St George Jackson Mivart, and heated debates sparked by Darwin’s proposed election to the French …
… shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
… anything which has happened to me for some weeks’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870 ] ) …
… corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870 ] ) …
… , the latter when she was just eighteen years of age. Darwin clearly expected her to make a …
… who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870 ] ). …
… abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
… thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870 ?] …
… how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
… in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
… patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
… who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870 ] ). He also wrote to …
… (in retrograde direction) naturalist’ (letter to A. R.Wallace, 26 January [1870 ]). …

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: 24 hits

… When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect …
… handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller, 22 February …
… was the collection of observations on a global scale. Darwin was especially interested in peoples …
… cultural and conventional, or instinctive and universal. Darwin used his existing correspondence …
… and with the mouth a little drawn back at the corners?” Darwin’s questionnaire was an extension of …
… was also carefully devised so as to prevent the feelings of Darwin’s remote observers from colouring …
… Correspondence about Darwin’s Questionnaire (click on the letter dates to see the individual letters …
… Correspondent Letter date Location …
… nodding vertically Blair, R.H. 11 July …
… Africa)? ] mentioned in JPM Weale letter , but Bowker's answers not found …
… Fuegians Brooke, C.A.J. 30 Nov 1870 …
… Woolston, Southampton, England letter to W.E. Darwin shrugging …
… Square W London, England enclosed in a letter from Henry Maudsley …
… 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. …
… South Africa possibly included in letter from Mansel Weale …
… Peradeniya, Ceylon enclosed in letter from G.H.K. Thwaites …
… Egypt] possibly included in letter (s) from Asa Gray Nile …
… 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 …
… in Hottentots Smyth, R. Brough 13 Aug 1868 …

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: 19 hits

… Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those …
… a broad variety of women had access to, and engaged with, Darwin's published works. A set of …
… Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
… that his views are original and will appeal to the public. Darwin asks Murray to forward the …
… her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
… from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
… he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
… in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
… he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
… so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
… which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
… Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
… of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
… the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
… Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to Darwin, [29 April 1870] George Cupples tells Darwin about a …
… in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to Darwin, [16 July 1875] …
… in her garden. Letter 13650 Kennard, C. A. to Darwin, [28 January 1882] …
… Variation . Letter 6126 - Binstead, C. H. to Darwin, [17 April 1868] …
… of Variation . Letter 6237 - Bullar, R. to Darwin, [9 June 1868] …

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: 20 hits

… | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
… community. Here is a selection of letters exchanged between Darwin and his workforce of women …
… Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
… silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
… to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
… be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
… Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
… Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
… Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [5 May 1870 ] …
… the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 …
… Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
… in Llandudno. Letter 4823 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] …
… Letter 8144 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [5 January 1872] Darwin asks his niece, …
… Lychnis diurna. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R . to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
… lawn. Letter 8224 - Darwin to Ruck, A. R., [24 February 1872] Darwin …
… Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
… garden ”. Letter 6083 - Casparay, J. X. R. to Darwin, [2 April 1868] …
… Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870 ] Darwin seeks Henrietta’s …
… Letter 7123 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [March 1870 ] Darwin thanks his daughter, …
… Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …

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…

Matches: 16 hits

… Discussion Questions | Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth …
… Letters Darwin’s Notes On Marriage [April - July 1838] In these notes, …
… theories, & accumulating facts in silence & solitude”. Darwin also comments that he has …
… an hour “with poor Mrs. Lyell sitting by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to …
… whose attractions are not those of her sex”. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 …
… her own steam and is a “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, …
… ornaments in the making of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 …
… the young, especially ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., …
… Anderson is “neither masculine nor pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., …
… to him as a published science author, is a man. Letter 7314 - Kovalevsky, S. to Darwin, …
… Theoriae Functionum Ellipticarum , (1829). Letter 7329 - Murray, J. to Darwin, [28 …
… to prick up what little is left of them ears”. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
… almost out of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8079 - Norton, S. R. to Darwin, [20 …
… but has not read the pamphlet herself. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, [16 May …
… narrative so not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
… patience. Letter 13607 – Darwin to Kennard, C. A., [9 January 1882] 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: 23 hits

… Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig …
… as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified …
… correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring …
… Actor 1 – Asa Gray Actor 2 – Charles Darwin Actor 3 – In the dress of a modern day …
… Agassiz, Adam Sedgwick, A Friend of John Stuart Mill, Emma Darwin, Horace Darwin… and acts as a sort …
… the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and between the audience and …
… this, he sends out copies of his Review of the Life of Darwin. At this time in his life, Asa …
… friends in England, copies of his ‘Review of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it …
… Joseph D Hooker GRAY: 3 Charles Darwin… made his home on the border of the little …
… his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
… 11 My dear Hooker… What a remarkably nice and kind letter Dr A. Gray has sent me in answer to my …
… be of any the least use to you? If so I would copy it… His letter does strike me as most uncommonly …
… on the geographical distribution of the US plants; and if my letter caused you to do this some year …
… a brace of letters 25 I send enclosed [a letter for you from Asa Gray], received …
… might like to see it; please be sure [to] return it. If your letter is Botanical and has nothing …
… Atlantic. HOOKER: 28 Thanks for your letter and its enclosure from A. Gray which …
… notions of natural Selection and would see whether it or my letter bears any date, I should be very …
… 55 My good dear friend, forgive me. This is a trumpery letter influenced by trumpery feelings. …
… do a good deal to secure it. Darwin passes Gray’s letter to Hooker with a cringe. …
… paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r] 178 doctrine that each variation has been …
… ARTS AND SCIENCES, PROCEEDINGS XVII, 1882 4 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 10 MAY 1848 …
… A GRAY 25 MAY 1868 182 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 1870 183 C DARWIN, …
… NOV 1865 196 FROM A GRAY 27 FEBRUARY & 1 MARCH 1870 197 A GRAY TO JD …

Cross and self fertilisation

Summary

The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…

Matches: 27 hits

… the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells …
… on plants with two or three different forms of flowers, Darwin had focused on the anatomical and …
… of different forms of pollen. Although many plants that Darwin observed had flowers with adaptations …
… rates, growth, and constitutional vigour. Although Darwin was no stranger to long months and years …
… … is highly remarkable’ In September 1866, Darwin announced to the American botanist …
… several years ( To Édouard Bornet, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin began a series of experiments, …
… ). It was only after a new season of experiments that Darwin would confirm that this poppy shed its …
… access to flowers was only the tip of the iceberg. Darwin next focused on the California …
… conditions’ ( From Fritz Müller, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin’s interest was piqued and he described …
… when self-fertilised, although fewer than crossed plants. Darwin sent some of these seeds to Müller, …
… [1868] ). Müller, in turn, sent seeds from his plants to Darwin and both men continued to …
… Müller remarked, on receiving a new batch of seeds from Darwin, ‘that it was ‘curious to see, on …
… depends’ ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870 , Darwin reported that he was ‘rearing …
… of English fertile plants’ ( To Fritz Müller, 12 May 1870 ). From a fairly early stage in …
… seeds of Ipomœa. I remember saying the contrary to you & M r Smith at Kew. But the result is …
… 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
… the sweet pea ( Lathyrus odoratus ), and in October 1867, Darwin wrote to James Moggridge to ask …
… of the year ( To J. T. Moggridge, 1 October [1867] ). Darwin was beginning to suspect that the …
… simply did not exist in Britain. During a visit to Darwin in May 1866, Robert Caspary, a …
… by the former ( From Robert Caspary, 18 February 1868 ). Darwin eagerly requested seed from both …
… was published on 30 January 1868. In April 1868, Darwin informed George Bentham, ‘I am …
… to elongate when the pollen touches the stigmatic surface. Darwin was able to discern that …
… plant sexual relations, Müller, who sent the publication to Darwin, reported that he was surprised …
… I am already plagued by foreign Translators, Reviewers, &c.’ ( To John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
… [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
… the set of all my works, I would suggest 1,500’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 16 September 1876 ). In the …
… of hybrids, has not yet been produced’ ( From A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this …

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 …

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: 11 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. …
… wide-ranging genera. Darwin and Gray Letter 1674 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
… and asks him to append the ranges of the species. Letter 1685 — Gray, Asa to Darwin, C. …
… and relationships of alpine flora in the USA. Letter 2125 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, …
… information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct [1848] …
… 7124 — Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870 ] Darwin writes to his daughter …

Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small

Summary

In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…

Matches: 23 hits

… In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous …
… for scientific colleagues or their widows facing hardship. Darwin had suffered from poor health …
… ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
… of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater public recognition …
… Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwin’s greatest scientific pleasure. The year …
… fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
… working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots,’ Darwin wrote, ‘the chief result being that …
… contents, if immersed for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. Darwin’s interest in root …
… London on 6 and 16 March, respectively. In January, Darwin corresponded with George John …
… François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
… quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
… probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
… we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
… of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
… find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
… our homes, would in this case greatly suffer’ ( letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). Kennard …
… judged, intellectually his inferior, please ( letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 January 1882 ). …
… dull aching in the chest’ (Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin, [ c . 28 March 1882] (DAR 210.3: 45)). …
… to some Estancia,’ wrote Hughes, ‘as the scenery &c. will amply repay your trouble’ ( letter …
… where he had witnessed an earthquake in 1835 ( letter from R. E. Alison, [March–July 1835 ]). …
… will be months before I am able to work’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [ c . 10 April 1864] ). To …
… contents of bats?’ ( letter to Hermann Müller, 14 March 1870 ). One of Darwin’s other great …
… much of him’ ( letter to George Cupples, 20 September [1870 ] ). Despite Darwin’s insistence …

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: 17 hits

… Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with …
… in beetles. The unity of human species Darwin believed that the same process of sexual …
… gradually increase those features over long periods of time. Darwin’s theory was based partly on the …
… seemed to prevail across the globe. In Descent , Darwin also addressed widely held beliefs …
… of ‘species’, ‘varieties’, and ‘races’. Darwin argued forcefully for the unity of the human species, …
… Gender and civilisation In his early notebooks, Darwin remarked that survival value or …
… , B74). In his later writings on plants and animals, Darwin remained consistent on this point, and …
… improvement, or design. However, when it came to humans, Darwin reintroduced the structure of …
… and present, on the basis of their ‘civilization’. Here Darwin drew on contemporary anthropology, …
… colonial conquests and expansion abroad. Thus, while Darwin’s views on race differed widely …
… in the success of nations’ ( Descent 1: 239). For Darwin, the civilising process was essentially …
… taken from their homeland in Tierra del Fuego to England, Darwin wrote: ‘in contradiction of what …
… ( Beagle diary , p. 143). He was delighted to receive a letter from an African correspondent …
… were often crossed in practice ( see correspondence with C. Kennard, below ). The implications of …
… and Progress Key letters: Letter to J. S. Henslow, 11 April 1833 …
… . New Haven: Yale University Press. Young, Robert J. C. 1995. Colonial desire: hybridity in …
… Correspondence with women Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February …

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 ). …
… 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 information which I have sent prove of any service to M r . Darwin I can supply him with much …
… & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). More …
… and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ), and …
… an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
… species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a …
… genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This …
… the basis for a new German edition (Bronn and Carus trans. 1870 ), prepared by Julius Victor Carus, …
… own evolutionary views and critical commentary (Royer trans. 1870 ). Darwin complained to Hooker, …
… Sweetland Dallas’s edition of Fritz Müller’s Fü r Darwin (Dallas trans. 1869). The book, an …
… creation, if he is not completely staggered after reading y r essay’. The work received a …
… whole meeting was decidedly Huxley’s answer to D r M c Cann. He literally poured boiling oil …
… work some hours daily’ ( letter to Anton Dohrn, 4 January 1870 ). Darwin’s health was generally …

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,…

Matches: 18 hits

… | Selected Readings In Descent of Man , Darwin argued that human morality had …
… (Barrett et al. eds. 1987, p. 619) Darwin gathered observations over many decades on …
… Though rooted in instinctive sympathy, moral behavior for Darwin was not purely automatic or …
… the social instincts that humans shared with animals. Darwin's moral theory was the most …
… obligation, compassion, guilt, and the pangs of conscience. Darwin's theory was condemned by …
… female members of their hive in order to protect the queen. Darwin engaged with his critics in …
… save another. Letters Letter 7048 : Darwin, W. E., to Darwin, …
… but rather in a muddle on the whole subject" Letter 7645 : Morley, John to Darwin, …
… but 'in the air' from generation to generation." Letter 7685 : Darwin to …
… that man ever existed as a non-social animal." Letter 7691 , Morley, John, to …
… the moral sense, at a time when Paris is aflame". Letter 7145 : Darwin to Cobbe, F. …
… apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind." Letter 7149 : Cobbe, F. P. to …
… metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?" Letter 7470 : Wedgwood, …
… which look with reverence or respect is shame." Letter 7537 : Darwin, C. R. to …
… dissatisfied with himself & regret his conduct." Letter 9377 : Darwin, C. R. to …
… the same so-called instinctive nature as before?" Letter 12610 : Preston, S. T. to …
… Self or Self-Interest." Letter 12615 : Darwin, C. R. to Preston, S. T., 22 May …
… 2007. Darwin (London: Routledge), ch. 6 Richards, R. J. 1987. Darwin the development of …

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: 25 hits

… ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can …
… of On the origin of species , intended to be Darwin’s last, and of Expression of the …
… books brought a strong if deceptive sense of a job now done: Darwin intended, he declared to Alfred …
… anything more on 'so difficult a subject, as evolution’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 27 July …
… of books and papers, and the latter formed the subject of Darwin’s last book, The formation of …
… worms , published in the year before his death. Despite Darwin’s declared intention to take up new …
… begun many years before. In his private life also, Darwin was in a nostalgic frame of mind, …
… The last word on Origin The year opened with Darwin, helped by his eldest son William, …
… best efforts, set the final price at 7 s. 6 d. ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 February 1872 ) …
… condition as I can make it’, he wrote to the translator ( letter to J. J. Moulinié, 23 September …
… by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in July 1870 , and was now halted so that the further …
… translation remained unpublished at the end of the year ( letter from C.-F. Reinwald, 23 November …
… to the comparative anatomist St George Jackson Mivart ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January …
… comparison of Whale & duck most beautiful’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 3 March 1872 ) …
… a person as I am made to appear’, complained Darwin ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 5 January 1872 ). …
… `chiefly perhaps because I do it badly’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 3 August [1872] ). …
… from his ignorance, he feels no doubts’ ( letter to F. C. Donders, 17 June 1872 ). Right up to the …
… Charlton Bastian’s recent book on the origin of life (H. C. Bastian 1872; Wallace 1872d) left him …
… & new views which are daily turning up’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 August [1872] ). …
… Lord Sackville Cecil, to attend a séance ( letter from M. C. Stanley, 4 June 1872 ). There was …
… you agreed to let them have it for love!!!’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 1 August 1872 ). It …
… & have not taken care of ourselves’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 20 November 1872 ). A …
… gift, although he doubted he would ever use it ( letter to C. L. Dodgson, 10 December 1872 ). …
… try `with straight blunt knitting needle’ ( letter to L. C. Wedgwood, 5 January [1872] ) to …
… to which any scientific man can look’ ( letter to F. C. Donders, 29 April [1872] ). …

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest

Summary

The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…

Matches: 24 hits

… The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now …
… and also a meeting with Herbert Spencer, who was visiting Darwin’s neighbour, Sir John Lubbock. In …
… Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But …
… all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
… hypothesis of hereditary transmission. Debate about Darwin’s theory of transmutation …
… alleged evidence of a global ice age, while Asa Gray pressed Darwin’s American publisher for a …
… able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
… once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
… see you out with our beagles before the season is over’ ( letter from John Lubbock, 4 August 1866 …
… work doing me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). …
… production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
… of “Domestic Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] …
… good deal I think, & have come to more definite views’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December …
… ‘I quite follow you in thinking Agassiz glacier-mad’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8[–9] September …
… you go on, after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèe—which I dreamed of 2 nights …
… so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [ c . 10 May 1866] ). Henrietta’s …
… teleological development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). Also in …
… and a revised American edition was not published until 1870 . Further botanical research: …
… common broom ( Cytisus scoparius ) and the white broom ( C. multiflorus ) in his botanical …
… and June on the subject of Rhamnus catharticus (now R. cathartica ). Darwin had become …
… of separate sexes. William gathered numerous specimens of R. catharticus , the only species of …
… replied with a modified list, adding Fritz Müller’s Fü r Darwin , and a recent fossil discovery in …
… selection, and with special creation ( letter from W. R. Grove, 31 August 1866 ). Hooker later …
… indeed at poor Susan’s loneliness’ ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7 …

Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest

Summary

The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…

Matches: 27 hits

… The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the publication of his …
… book out of my head’. But a large proportion of Darwin’s time for the rest of the year was devoted …
… way, and the initial reception of the book in the press. Darwin fielded numerous letters from …
… offered sharp criticism or even condemnation. Darwin had expected controversy. ‘I shall be …
… a bare-faced manner.”‘ The most lively debate centred on Darwin’s evolutionary account of the …
… taste. Correspondence with his readers and critics helped Darwin to clarify, and in some cases …
… year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression. Darwin continued to investigate the …
… also brought a significant milestone for the family, as Darwin’s eldest daughter Henrietta was …
… during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working fairly continuously …
… do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ) …
… to her liking, ‘to keep in memory of the book’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 20 March 1871 ). …
… and had forsaken his lunch and dinner in order to read it ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 19 …
… they believe to be the truth, whether pleasant or not’ (letter from W. W. Reade, 21 February 1871). …
… and Oldham … They club together to buy them’ ( letter from W. B. Dawkins, 23 February 1871 ). …
… one’s n th . ancestor lived between tide-marks!’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 20 February 1871 ). …
… habits, furnished with a tail and pointed ears” (letter from Asa Gray, 14 April 1871) …
… ‘will-power’ and the heavy use of their arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 …
… in order to make it darker than the hair on his head ( letter from W. B. Tegetmeier, [before 25 …
… together with an image of an orang-utan foetus ( letter from Hinrich Nitsche, 18 April 1871 ). …
… of himself, adding that it made a ‘very poor return’ ( letter to Hinrich Nitsche, 25 April [1871] …
… is a thing which I sh d feel very proud of, if anyone c d . say of me.’ After the publication …
… was achieved through ‘the medium of opinion, positive law &c’, and transmitted by culture, not …
… in the world except. laughing. crying grinning pouting &c. &c’, he wrote to Hooker on 21 …
… so giddy I can hardly sit up, so no more’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 4 August [1871] ). On 23 …
… activity would have on the elevation of land. In October 1870 , two separate square yards of ground …
… annually on an acre of land at 16 tons (letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [20 November 1871] ). He also …
… ( letter to Asa Gray, 16 July [1871] , letter to S. R. S. Norton, 23 November [1871] ). …

Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?

Summary

Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…

Matches: 27 hits

… evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost …
… (1875) and Cross and self fertilisation (1876). Darwin’s son Francis became increasingly …
… career to become his father’s scientific secretary. Darwin had always relied on assistance from …
… Francis’s decision. A large portion of the letters Darwin received in 1873 were in response …
… the previous year. As was typical, readers wrote to Darwin personally to offer suggestions, …
… some of which were incorporated in a later edition. Darwin also contributed to discussions in the …
… Francis Galton’s work on inherited talent, which prompted Darwin to reflect on the traits and …
… Station at Naples. Plants that eat and feel? Darwin had resumed experiments on the …
… I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
… and alkaloids, and even electrical stimulation. On sending Darwin a specimen of the carnivorous …
… work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
… to bend inward, so that the plant closed like a fist. Darwin was fascinated by this transmission of …
… parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
… it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
… we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
… in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
… our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
… on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
… “he would fly at the Empr’s throat like a bulldog” ( letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, …
… force & truth of the great principle of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 …
… the heavy breathing that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish …
… with up lines; & sadness & decay with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April …
… with the advance of civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). …
… without instruction or previously acquired knowledge” (A. R. Wallace 1870 , p. 204). Moggridge …
… believes whether or not they are sound” ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 November 1873 ). But no …
… unorthodoxy, troubling and potentially undermining (J. R. Moore 1985, pp. 471–2). A courted …
… a personification of Natural Filosofy” ( letter from J. C. Costerus and N. D. Doedes, 18 March 1873 …

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…

Matches: 11 hits

… Charles Darwin’s daughter Henrietta wrote the following journal entries in March and …
… 1871 in a small lockable, leather-bound notebook now in the Darwin Archive of Cambridge University …
… excised within it, presumably by Henrietta herself. Darwin’s letters in 1870 and 1871 ( …
… scepticism; many of her arguments are reminiscent of Darwin’s own discussion of religious belief in …
… of the theory of natural selection. Snow occasionally sent Darwin information relating to his …
… of emotion (see letters from F. J. Wedgwood to H. E. and C. R. Darwin, [1867–72], letter nos. …
… period of their courtship. We are grateful to William Darwin for permission to publish the …
… amongst whom of course was Lena had any knowledge of it. M r . W. spoke or preached as u like to …
… Father who w d be waiting for her—when down came M r . W. on his knees between them & said, …
… worship of humanity—this I hope is only in its bud— I c d conceive a life wh. was filled & …
… when I feel my day made bright & happy by one short letter . I want him to take me in his arms …

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: 26 hits

… 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which …
… about their research while he was away from home. Although Darwin lacked a state of the art research …
… the advantages of both while Francis was working abroad. Darwin was privy to the inner workings of …
… methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument …
… that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. Darwin described his experimental practice …
… plant physiology, but it was at its core informed by Darwin’s theory of evolution, particularly by …
… early 1860s, at a time when his health was especially bad, Darwin had taken up the study of climbing …
… reproduced as a small book, giving it a much wider audience. Darwin was not the first naturalist to …
… which eventually appeared in 1875. In the same year, Darwin published a much longer work, …
… about the nature of movement, so much so, that at one point Darwin had considered combining the …
… ‘ Frank & I are working very hard on bloom & sleep &c.; but I am horribly afraid all …
… , a plant that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from R. I. Lynch, [before 28 July …
… the woodblock using photography for scientific accuracy ( letter from J. D. Cooper, 13 December …
… lost colour, withered, and died within a couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin, 28 February …
… how their observations could have been so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879 …
… the botanist Gaetano Durando, to find plants and seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February – 8 …
… to learn about cutting thin sections of soft leaves &c.— Lastly the instrument for making marks …
… only the regulator & not cause of movement ’. In the same letter , Darwin discussed terminology, …
… to replace Frank’s ‘Transversal-Heliotropismus’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 10 February [1880] ). …
… experiments and devised a new test, which he described in a letter to his mother, ‘ I did some …
… and it appeared in 1880 (F. Darwin 1880b). In the same letter , Francis revealed the frustration of …
… on holiday in the Lake District, Darwin received a long letter from De Vries detailing his latest …
… the curious mode of germination ’ and concluded, ‘ M r Rattan seems to be a real good observer, …
… or ‘The Nature of the Movements of Plants’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 23 April [1880] ). Cooke …
… was willing to publish on the usual terms ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 15 July 1880 ). This was also …
… pay more for at the usual rate of charging per inch &c they w d . be over £40’; he suggested …

	CCD intro	(6)
	co-adaptation	(1)
	controversy	(1)
	Descent	(4)
	Featured	(1)
	human evolution	(2)
	Mivart	(2)
	Human nature	(2)
	drama	(1)
	Life sciences	(2)
	Survival of the fittest	(2)
	emotion	(1)
	heredity	(1)
	ice ages	(1)
	Nägeli	(1)
	natural selection	(1)
	Origin	(2)
	distribution	(1)
	Germany	(1)
	glacier	(1)
	illness	(1)
	Variation	(1)
	disagreement	(1)
	expression	(1)
	morality	(1)
	Pangenesis	(1)
	reaction	(1)
	worms	(1)
	book sales	(1)
	celebrity	(1)
	cross-fertilisation	(1)
	electrocution	(1)
	genius	(1)
	insectivorous plants	(1)
	instinct	(1)
	Historical documents	(1)
	Natural selections: a longer read	(2)
	Religion	(1)

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