From J. S. Henslow [5 November 1837 – March 1838]
Summary
Fragment glued to CD’s notes on rock specimens. The recto refers to one of CD’s specimens, the verso mentions his Keeling Island plants.
| Author: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [5 Nov 1837 – Mar 1838] |
| Classmark: | DAR 39: 88a |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-338 |
To John Maurice Herbert [1 January 1837]
Summary
Enjoyed the merry evening with JMH.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Maurice Herbert |
| Date: | [1 Jan 1837] |
| Classmark: | Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (General Special Collections DC AL 1/1) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-339 |
From Fanny Myddelton Biddulph 14 January 1837
Summary
Apologises for delay in thanking him for the flowers. Has been too unwell to write.
| Author: | Frances (Fanny) Mostyn Owen; Frances (Fanny) Myddelton Biddulph |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Jan 1837 |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 57 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-340 |
From Emily Catherine Darwin 15 [January 1837]
Summary
Morning Herald had an account of CD’s 80 specimens of Mammalia and 450 birds at the Zoological Society.
John Gould has described new species in CD’s Galapagos birds.
Much interest in CD’s "Laurels".
Family news.
| Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 [Jan 1837] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 142 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-341 |
To a member of Downing College, Cambridge [19 January 1837]
Summary
Declines invitation to dine at Downing College because of influenza.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | [19 Jan 1837] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 142v |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-342 |
From Charles Lyell 13 February 1837
Summary
"I could think of nothing for days after your lesson on coral reefs, but of the top of submerged continents. It is all true, but do not flatter youself that you will be believed, till you are growing bald, like me, with hard work & vexation at the incredulity in the world."
| Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Feb 1837 |
| Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell Collection Coll-203/B9) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-343 |
From Catherine and Caroline Sarah Darwin [16 February 1837]
Summary
News of family and friends.
Caroline repeats story told to R. W. Darwin of FitzRoy’s feeling of obligation to Captain John White, from whom he gained release to marry Miss O’Brien.
Fanny Biddulph has had a son.
| Author: | Emily Catherine (Catherine) Darwin; Emily Catherine (Catherine) Langton; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [16 Feb 1837] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 143 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-344 |
From Caroline Darwin [21 February 1837]
Summary
Interested in Lyell’s address [Proc. Geol. Soc. Lond. 2 (1833–8): 479–523]. Asks what the points are on which CD and Lyell are fully agreed.
Inquires about the paper FitzRoy and CD wrote on missionaries ["Moral state of Tahiti" (1836), Collected papers 1: 19–38].
News of family.
| Author: | Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [21 Feb 1837] |
| Classmark: | DAR 204: 141 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-345 |
To Caroline Darwin 27 February 1837
Summary
Has just given a paper [on "Sand tubes"] at Cambridge Philosophical Society and exhibited some specimens. It went well, with Whewell and Sedgwick taking an active part.
Herschel thinks 6000–odd years since the creation not nearly long enough to explain the separations from a single stock.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Darwin; Caroline Sarah (Caroline) Wedgwood |
| Date: | 27 Feb 1837 |
| Classmark: | DAR 154: 51 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-346 |
To William Whewell [10 March 1837]
Summary
CD seeks to decline the Secretaryship [of the Geological Society] by citing his obligation to FitzRoy to write his volume of the narrative of their expedition. His youth, inexperience, and ignorance of English geology.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Whewell |
| Date: | [10 Mar 1837] |
| Classmark: | Trinity College Library, Cambridge (Add c 88: 2) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-347 |
To W. D. Fox [12 March 1837]
Summary
Finished going over his geological specimens at Cambridge, and is now in London.
Describes his plans for writing the journal, and later the geology and zoology of the Beagle voyage.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | [12 Mar 1837] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 51) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-348 |
To Charles Babbage [14 March 1837 – 31 December 1838]
Summary
Would have had great pleasure in accepting CB’s invitation, "whether for beauty or for shells", but has another engagement.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Babbage |
| Date: | [14 Mar 1837 – 31 Dec 1838] |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 37190: 326) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-349 |
From the Misses Horner [17 March 1837 – 28 December 1838]
Summary
“The Botanists” and “The learned Linguists” give thanks for book and assistance.
| Author: | Anne Susanna (Susan) Horner; Leonora Horner; Leonora Pertz; Joanna Baillie Horner; Frances Joanna Horner; Frances Joanna Bunbury; Katharine Murray Horner; Katharine Murray Lyell |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [17 Mar 1837 – 28 Dec 1838] |
| Classmark: | DAR 94: 1a |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-350 |
To the Geological Society of London 27 March 1837
Summary
Recommends David Williams’ paper on raised beaches of Devon [David Williams, "Letter … on the raised beaches of Barnstaple", Trans. Geol. Soc. Lond. 2d ser. 5 (1840): 287–8] be shortened and published immediately after Sedgwick’s and Murchison’s paper ["Description of a raised beach in Barnstaple", ibid., pp. 279–86] as chief point of paper is to support their conclusions.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Geological Society of London |
| Date: | 27 Mar 1837 |
| Classmark: | Geological Society of London (GSL/COM/P/4/2/216) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-352 |
To J. S. Henslow 28 March [1837]
Summary
Publication plans for the account of the Beagle expedition – CD to have the third volume for his journal.
News of naturalists and their interest in his specimens. Queries about plant specimens, including one on whether seeds from Keeling Island would endure salt water.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 28 Mar [1837] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 34 DAR/1/1/34) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-353 |
To Leonard Jenyns 10 April [1837]
Summary
Discusses possibility of publishing the zoology of the voyage of the Beagle. Will need help from more able naturalists. Would LJ object to describing the fishes for such a work rather than for scientific journals? Is working on his Beagle journal.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Leonard Jenyns; Leonard Blomefield |
| Date: | 10 Apr [1837] |
| Classmark: | Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-354 |
To J. S. Henslow 18 [May 1837]
Summary
Plans to apply to Government for assistance with publishing Zoology.
Robert Brown has taken an interest in the fossil woods.
CD is at work on his journal. Has not begun his geology yet. Has seen much of Lyell.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 18 [May 1837] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 35 DAR/1/1/35) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-355 |
To J. S. Henslow [28 May 1837]
Summary
CD to read paper on formation of coral islands at Geological Society. Lyell seems prepared to give up [his view].
Publication of the Narrative is now definite. Feels he should have published journal after the geology and zoology of the voyage.
Robert Brown, as well as JSH, is interested in edible fungi from Tierra del Fuego.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | [28 May 1837] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Henslow letters: 36 DAR/1/1/36) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-356 |
To John Lort Stokes [after 31 May 1837]
Summary
Asks JLS: "Are there masses of coral or beds of shells some yards above high water mark, on the coast fronting the barrier reef?" [In reference to JLS’s proposed exploration of Australian coasts and rivers.]
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Lort Stokes |
| Date: | [after 31 May 1837] |
| Classmark: | Stokes 1846, 1: 331 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-356F |
To Charles Babbage [June – September 1837]
Summary
At Lyell’s request sends his copy of Whewell’s History of inductive sciences [1837] to CB.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Babbage |
| Date: | [June – Sept 1837] |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 37190: 322) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-358 |
| Darwin, C. R. | (50) |
| Darwin, Caroline | (2) |
| Darwin, Catherine | (2) |
| FitzRoy, Robert | (2) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (18) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (12) |
| Fox, W. D. | (4) |
| Owen, Richard | (4) |
| Blomefield, Leonard | (3) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (68) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (14) |
| Owen, Richard | (5) |
| Darwin, Caroline | (4) |
| Fox, W. D. | (4) |
Language: key letters
Summary
How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…
Matches: 11 hits
- … whom he exchanged information and ideas. Letter 346: Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, C. S., 27 Feb …
- … Caucasian languages separated from one stock.” Letter 2070: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to Darwin, …
- … is the grinding down of former continents.” Letter 3054: Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 2 …
- … former,—which I tell him is perfectly logical.” Letter 5605: Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. F. …
- … whilst young, do they scream & make loud noise?” Letter 7040: Wedgwood, Hensleigh to …
- … speech from gradually growing to such a stage” Letter 8367: Darwin, C. R. to Wright, …
- … & thus unconsciously altering the breed. Letter 8962: Darwin, C. R. to Max Müller, …
- … judge of the arguments opposed to this belief[.]” Letter 10194: Max Müller, Friedrich to …
- … want, at least in the Science of Language […]” Letter 9887: Dawkins, W. B. to Darwin, C. R. …
- … hold that language is not a test of race […]” Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … of wanting to eat, for this movement makes a sound like the letter m.” “For some time past I have …
Variation under domestication
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment A fascination with domestication Throughout his working life, Darwin retained an interest in the history, techniques, practices, and processes of domestication. Artificial selection, as practiced by plant and…
Matches: 5 hits
- … under domestication") Letters Letter Packet: Variation under …
- … “for & versus” the immutability of species. Letter 1686 — Darwin to Fox, W.D., 23 …
- … show as much variation as their parents do. Letter 1788 — Darwin to Tegetmeier, W.B., …
- … any rare breeds that Tegetmeier could send him. Letter 1794 — Darwin to Layard, E.L., …
- … on the variation present in domestic species. Letter 1837 — Darwin to Thwaites, G.H.K …
Darwin's health
Summary
On 28 March 1849, ten years before Origin was published, Darwin wrote to his good friend Joseph Hooker from Great Malvern in Worcestershire, where Dr James Manby Gully ran a fashionable water-cure establishment. Darwin apologised for his delayed reply to…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Darwin apologised for his delayed reply to Hooker’s letter which he put down to his exceptionally …
- … I was rapidly going the way of all flesh. See the letter At various periods in his …
- … months while he took Dr Gully’s water cure. In Darwin’s letter to Hooker, he described Dr Gully’s …
- … certain that the Water Cure is no quackery.— See the letter After returning from …
- … in the years around 1848, 1852, 1859, and 1863. In a letter to Hooker in April of 1861, for example, …
- … as my retching is apt to be extremely loud.— See the letter Besides experimenting …
- … the vomiting wonderfully & I am gaining vigour .’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 April [1864] ) …
- … these grounds (see, for example, Correspondence vol. 2, letter to J. S. Henslow, 14 October …
- … first mentioned attacks of ‘periodical vomiting’ in a letter to W. D. Fox, [7 June 1840] ( …
- … sickness in 1849, describing ‘incessant vomiting’ in his letter to Richard Owen, [24 February 1849 …
- … he was sick almost daily (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [6 …
- … before Darwin’s decision to consult John Chapman. In a letter to J. D. Hooker, [20-] 22 February …
- … after eating, and that he seldom threw up food. In his letter to Chapman of 16 May [1865] , …
- … and care see, for example, Correspondence vol. 4, letter to Emma Darwin, [27-8 May 1848] . …
- … had suffered from gout (see Correspondence vol. 1, letter to W. D. Fox, [25-9 January 1829] , …
- … see King-Hele 1999, pp. 161-2). Erasmus also wrote a letter to Darwin’s father, in which he claimed …
- … are discussed in Colp 1977, pp. 31-2, 47, 98. In his letter to J. D. Hooker, 5 March [1863] ( …
- … feel a little alive’. See also Correspondence vol. 12, letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, …
- … the treatment (see, for example, Correspondence vol. 4, letter to W. D. Fox, 24 [March 1849] …
- … at Down for several years (see Correspondence vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 October 1849 …
- … September and October 1863 (see Correspondence vol. 11, letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, …
- … checked his chronic vomiting ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 April [1864] …
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: 30 hits
- … sleep & movements of plants £ 1 ..s 4. [Dutrochet 1837] Voyage aux terres australes …
- … of useful knowledge Horse, cow, sheep [Youatt 1831, 1834, 1837]. Verey Philosophie d’Hist. …
- … contains all his fathers views Quoted by Owen [Hunter 1837] [DAR *119: 3v.] Hunter …
- … 11 besides the paper collected by Owen [Hunter 1837] (at Shrewsbury). Yarrells paper on …
- … of plants. 13 Books quoted by Herbert [Herbert 1837] p. 338 Schiede in 1825 …
- … remarks on acclimatizing of plants. Herbert [Herbert 1837] p. 348 gives reference to …
- … notes to White Nat. Hist of Selbourne [E. T. Bennett ed. 1837 and [J. Rennie] ed. 1833] read 19 : …
- … 6: folio par Céran de Lemonier. Bailliere [Céran-Lemonnier 1837] Transactions of the …
- … history of British Birds by W. Macgillivray [W. Macgillivray 1837–52].— I should think well worth …
- … [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
- … Instinct & Reason by S. Bushnan. Longman. 5 s [Bushnan 1837]—dedicated to L d . Brougm. 26 …
- … of Brutes [Fabricius 1603]. referred to by Hallam [Hallam 1837–9] D r . Lord has written …
- … analysis of British Ferns. G. W. Francis 4 s [Francis 1837]— plates of every species—treats of …
- … [Hogarth 1835] Wilkinson Ægyptian [J. G. Wilkinson 1837–41] read [DAR *119: 14v.] …
- … 1834–40]: In Portfolio of “abstracts” 34 —letter from Skuckard of books on Silk Worm …
- … At end of 2 d . Vol of Müller Phy. [Müller 1837–42] references to some good Books Blacklock …
- … “Vergleich: Anat der Myxinoiden”. Müller [Müller 1837] Towards end of paper describes anomalies …
- … Miss. Martineau Society in America [H. Martineau 1837] Bamfords Life of a Radical [Bamford …
- … 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] …
- … [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 …
- … ( Notebooks , pp. 319–28). 55 The letter was addressed to Nicholas Aylward Vigors …
- … to William Jackson Hooker. See Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [5 or 12 November …
- … 119: 21b Broughton, William Grant. 1832. A letter in vindication of the principles of …
- … by Bekhur to Garoo and the Lake Manasarowara: with a letter from … J. G. Gerard, Esq. …
- … 1830. On the dying struggle of the dichotomous sytem. In a letter to N. A. Vigors. Philosophical …
- … *119: 8v., 22v.; *128: 165 ——. 1850a. Letter to the Rev. John Bachman, on the question of …
- … art of improving the breeds of domestic animals. In a letter addressed to the Right Hon. Sir …
- … 1820. Remarks on the improvement of cattle, &c. in a letter to Sir John Saunders Sebright, …
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: 30 hits
- … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
- … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
- … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
- … 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., …
- … expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
- … is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
- … of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, …
- … briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
- … expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
- … birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. Letter 8683 - Roberts, D. to …
- … of an angry pig and her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, …
- … that she make observations of her pet cats. Letter 8989 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 …
- … on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera . Letter 9426 - Story …
- … without the birds attacking the buds and flowers. Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to …
- … and her father of plants and insects. Men: Letter 2221 - Blyth, E. to Darwin …
- … specimens and bird observations from Calcutta. Letter 3634 - Darwin to Gray, A., [1 …
- … “enthusiasm and indomitable patience”. Letter 4242 - Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin …
- … contained in “a little treatise”. Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 …
- … he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom. Letter 5602 - Sutton, S. to …
- … expression of emotion in chimpanzees and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von …
- … to show in his museum in Canterbury, New Zealand. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to …
- … to be attracted to dark spots on the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. …
- … the black letters in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July …
- … Fieldwork Women: Letter 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June …
- … 385 - Wedgwood, S. E. & J. to Darwin, [10 November 1837] Emma’s sister, Sarah, …
- … Letter 378 - Darwin to Henslow, J. S., [20 September 1837] Darwin takes Henslow up on …
- … Letter 347 - Darwin to Whewell, W., [10 March 1837] Darwin seeks to decline the …
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: 16 hits
- … the most important of Darwin’s activities during the years 1837–43 was unquestionably his work on …
- … species came to be as they are (Kohn 1980). Between April 1837 and September 1838 he filled several …
- … voyage. The book was finished and set in type by November 1837, though not published until 1839, …
- … countries visited by H.M.S. Beagle . Also in November 1837, Darwin read the fourth of a series of …
- … May 1838] ). The new research Darwin undertook after 1837 was an extension and an …
- … 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 …
- … species and varieties had no basis in reality (W. Herbert 1837, p. 341); species were only clearly …
- … 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] …
- … Health Active and productive as the years 1837–43 were, they were also years during which …
- … 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 …
- … seeds and other interests mentioned in the correspondence of 1837–43, which at first seem unrelated, …
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…
Matches: 7 hits
- … John Murray. Chapters 1 and 3. Letters Letter 385 - Sarah Elizabeth …
- … In his reply of two days later, Darwin wrote, “Your letter & facts are quite splendid.—I cannot …
- … request, and his gratitude for her observations. Letter 12745 - Darwin to Sophy …
- … such a case as grass roots, weeds, in a gravel path.” [ Letter 12760 , 15 October 1880] …
- … her interest in earthworms and its significance. Letter 13632 - Darwin to John …
- … QUESTIONS 1. What do you think of Darwin's letter to John Murray? What does Darwin …
- … this experiment? Can you relate your own observations to the letter selections for this module? …
Journal of researches
Summary
Within two months of the Beagle’s arrival back in England in October 1836, Darwin, although busy with distributing his specimens among specialists for description, and more interested in working on his geological research, turned his mind to the task of…
Matches: 6 hits
- … as he explained to his cousin William Darwin Fox in March 1837: ‘ I intend giving a kind of journal …
- … which will much add to the value of the whole .’ By July 1837, Darwin had finished the draft of his …
- … flurry of activity had been spurred by assurances in May 1837 that Darwin’s volume would ‘begin to …
- … the first manuscript pages had been sent off. On 1 August 1837, he reminded the dilatory Henslow …
- … than the other two volumes, so, as early as September 1837, he had secured an agreement with …
- … Alexander von Humboldt, who wrote a long and appreciative letter about the ‘ excellent et admirable …
Introduction to the Satire of FitzRoy's Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle
Summary
'a humble toadyish follower…': Not all pictures of Darwin during the Beagle voyage are flattering. Published here for the first time is a complete transcript of a satirical account of the Beagle’s brief visit in 1836 to the Cocos Keeling islands…
Matches: 7 hits
- … – he responded brutally to the Cocos-Keeling protests in 1837, but he claimed to be the champion of …
- … are not so marked. A final set refers to a comparison of a letter and a newspaper editorial. In all …
- … men, women and children. At the time of the disturbances in 1837, Ross spoke of two hundred Malays, …
- … all British residents except the Ross family, left after 1837. John Clunies Ross (1786 …
- … FitzRoy and, more importantly, for encouraging discontent in 1837. Leisk and his family “decamped” …
- … HMS Pelorus , Harding visited Cocos-Keeling in December 1837, having been sent to investigate the …
- … a chief instigator of the resistance to Ross’ authority in 1837. In this ms., Ross sometimes refers …
Darwin & coral reefs
Summary
The central idea of Darwin's theory of coral reef formation, as it was later formulated, was that the islands were formed by the upward growth of coral as the Pacific Ocean floor gradually subsided. It overturned previous ideas and would in itself…
Matches: 7 hits
- … of coral as the Pacific Ocean floor gradually subsided. A letter from Robert Edward Alison, who had …
- … first sighting of a coral island is confirmed by a letter to his sister Caroline, written on 29 …
- … the time of the visit of the Beagle to Tahiti. The letter of 29 April was written shortly after …
- … he had a sound theory and one that was worth publishing. The letter continues: ‘I hope to be able to …
- … for ever . . . ,’ he wrote to John Herschel on 24 May 1837, ‘the whole theory is knocked on the head …
- … on his coral theory before the Geological Society in May 1837. His most fully developed statement …
- … heart’ to have finished writing his book on coral reefs: letter to Leonard Jenyns [9 May 1842] . …
Darwin’s species notebooks: ‘I think . . .’
Summary
I have lately been sadly tempted to be idle, that is as far as pure geology is concerned, by the delightful number of new views, which have been coming in, thickly & steadily, on the classification & affinities & instincts of animals—bearing…
Matches: 1 hits
- … begin to group themselves clearly under sub-laws. Letter to Charles Lyell, [14] September [1838] …
Conrad Martens
Summary
Conrad Martens was born in London, the son of an Austrian diplomat. He studied landscape painting under the watercolourist Copley Fielding (1789–1855), who also briefly taught Ruskin. In 1833 he was on board the Hyacinth, headed for India, but en route in…
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 4 hits
- … book Darwin claimed had ‘much influence on my mind’ ( letter to W. T. Preyer, 17 February [1870 ]) …
- … papers presented to the Geological Society of London in 1837. He had been inspired by observations …
- … whole soul is absorbed with worms just at present!’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton Dyer, 23 November …
- … ‘worms have much bigger souls than anyone wd suppose’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881] …
'An Appeal' against animal cruelty
Summary
The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…
Matches: 14 hits
- … was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 …
- … of the pamphlet in August and September 1863 (see letter from G. B. Sowerby Jr to Emma Darwin, 22 …
- … 1863, pp. 821–2, under the title `Vermin and traps' ( Letter no. 4282). The wording of the …
- … and to 'a good many persons Squires Ladies & MPs' (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D …
- … more success with the campaign than she expected (see the letter from Emma Darwin to William Erasmus …
- … s. 6 d. for distributing the 'cruelty pamphlet', and letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. …
- … involved no more cruelty than the possible alternatives (see letter from E. L. Darwin, 7 September …
- … to the RSPCA in 1852 for working horses with sore necks (see letter from Emma Darwin to William …
- … threatened to report a similar case of cruelty in 1866 (see letter to [Local landowner], [1866], …
- … , pp. 44, 54–5, 78, and Correspondence vol. 2, letter to W. D. Fox, 28 August [1837]). Later he …
- … Autobiography , pp. 78–9, Correspondence vol. 7, letter to W. E. Darwin, 22 [September 1858], …
- … Gardeners’ Chronicle , 29 August 1863, pp. 821–2 ( Letter no. 4282). The woodcut was arranged …
- … is to William Howitt; the quotation is taken from Howitt"s letter to the Morning Star , 8 …
- … Gardeners’ Chronicle , 29 August 1863, pp. 821–2 ( Letter no. 4282). 7 Edward Strong …
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 16 hits
- … hurrah for my species-work’ ( Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. D. Hooker, [5 or 12 November …
- … William Herschel, to write the chapter on geology ( letter to J. F. W. Herschel, 4 February [1848] …
- … by Darwin on the use of microscopes on board ship ( see letter to Richard Owen, [26 March 1848] ). …
- … to Milne directly, he sent a long rejoinder in the form of a letter for publication in the Scotsman. …
- … asked for it to be destroyed. Only the draft of Darwin’s letter remains ( letter to the Scotsman …
- … that his original fieldwork was ‘time thrown away’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8 [September 1847] ) …
- … that it would be a ‘thorn in the side of É de B.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 3 January 1850 ). …
- … been described by the taxonomists Darwin had enlisted in 1837 and published in the five volumes of …
- … marine invertebrates himself (see Correspondence vol. 2, letter to Leonard Jenyns, 10 April [1837]) …
- … opinion that such a monograph was a ‘desideratum’ ( letter to J. L. R. Agassiz, 22 October 1848 ), …
- … abortive stamens or pistils ( Correspondence vol. 2, letter from J. S. Henslow, 21 November …
- … care what you say, my species theory is all gospel.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 May 1848 ). …
- … sacrifice the rule of priority for the sake of expedience ( letter to H. E. Strickland, [4 February …
- … it as ‘the greatest curse to natural History’ ( letter to H. E. Strickland, 29 January [1849] ). …
- … Museum of Zoology, has been transcribed with Darwin’s letter to H. E. Strickland, 29 January [1849 …
- … the battle, he gave up only from fatigue and ill health ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 April 1849 ). …
New material added to the American edition of Origin
Summary
A ‘revised and augmented’ American edition of Origin came on the market in July 1860, and was the only authorised edition available in the US until 1873. It incorporated many of the changes Darwin made to the second English edition, but still contained…
Matches: 11 hits
- … Soon after Origin was published, Darwin received a letter from Asa Gray offering to arrange an …
- … Darwin responded favourably to Gray’s proposal in his letter of 21 December [1859] ( Correspondence …
- … had been fixed through the process of stereotyping (see letter from Asa Gray, 23 January [1860] and …
- … of species; Darwin sent this off to Gray enclosed in his letter of [8 or 9 February 1860]. He had …
- … [1860] and 1 February [1860]). A month later, in his letter of 8 March [1860], Darwin sent …
- … (especially that given by Hewett Cottrell Watson in his letter of [3? January 1860]) that Darwin …
- … changes he intended to make in the American edition in the letter to Lyell, 18 [and 19 February 1860 …
- … corrected Second Edition with additional corrections” (letter to Asa Gray, 1 February [1860]). …
- … resulting from three separate printings of Origin (see letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] and …
- … Dean of Manchester, in his work on the Amaryllidaceæ (1837, p. 19, 339), declares that ‘ …
- … of Origin ( Origin 3d ed., pp. 363–6). See also letter from John Lubbock, [after 28 April …
Darwin on human evolution
Summary
'I hear that Ladies think it delightful reading, but that it does not do to talk about it, which no doubt promotes the sale.' For the first time online you can now read the full texts of nearly 800 letters Darwin wrote and received during 1871,…
Darwin and barnacles
Summary
In a letter to Henslow in March 1835 Darwin remarked that he had done ‘very little’ in zoology; the ‘only two novelties’ he added, almost as an afterthought, were a new mollusc and a ‘genus in the family Balanidæ’ – a barnacle – but it was an oddity. Who,…
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: 28 hits
- … 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] …
- … each night, returning to its allotted space each morning ( letter from Arthur Nicols, 7 March 1871 …
- … without having a high aesthetic appreciation of beauty ( letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 …
- … endowment of spiritual life’ at some time in the past ( letter from Roland Trimen, 17 and 18 April …
- … to the white’. Darwin thanked Innes for his ‘pleasant letter’, but asserted his antipathy to human …
- … myself a good way ahead of you, as far as this goes’ ( letter to J. B. Innes, 29 May [1871] ). …
- … ‘whereas the baboon is as the Creator made it’ ( letter from George Morrish, 18 March 1871 ). …
- … could also redeem the wayward author of Descent ( letter from a child of God, [after 24 …
- … with the most deep and tender religious feeling’ ( letter from F. E. Abbot, 20 August 1871 ). The …
- … charges of atheism amongst his ‘clerical brethren’ ( letter from George Henslow, 5 December 1871 ) …
- … from one and the same catarrhine monkey !’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 21 December 1871 ). …
- … review as ‘a windbag full of metaphysics & classics’ ( letter to John Murray, 13 April [1871] …
- … law &c’, and transmitted by culture, not biology ( letter from John Morley, 30 March 1871 ). …
- … dog when it was confronted by the presence of its master. ( Letter from Hensleigh Wedgwood, [3–9 …
- … sense was especially troubling to Emma, as indicated in a letter that she wrote to Cobbe on 25 …
- … was emotionally and morally bound. In one particularly long letter to Wedgwood, Darwin alluded to …
- … ‘Every point of agreement is a satisfaction to me’ ( letter to Hensleigh Wedgwood, 9 March 1871 ). …
- … Darwin had delivered at the Geological Society of London in 1837, would culminate in Darwin’s last …
John Stevens Henslow
Summary
The letters Darwin exchanged with John Stevens Henslow, professor of Botany and Mineralogy at Cambridge University, were among the most significant of his life. It was a letter from Henslow that brought Darwin the invitation to sail round the world as…
