To Charles James Fox Bunbury [20 March 1855]
Summary
CD hopes to have an hour’s talk with CJFB before CD leaves London.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th baronet |
| Date: | [20 Mar 1855] |
| Classmark: | John Hay Library, Brown University |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13784 |
To Roderick Impey Murchison 3 June [1855]
Summary
Accepts invitation for the 20th.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 3 June [1855] |
| Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13831 |
To ? 7 December [1855–7?]
Summary
Concerning specimens he wants collected in the Azores.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | 7 Dec [1855-7] |
| Classmark: | DAR 249: 93 (photocopy) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13867A |
From [J. B. Innes] [after 8 February – August 1855]
Summary
Provides another case of apparently pure bred pointers producing litter with one setter puppy. Correspondent was told that this occurred in several litters; gives names of owners and others who can corroborate the information.
| Author: | John Brodie Innes |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 8 Feb – Aug 1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR 163: 5 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13870 |
To William and Julius Fairbeard [October 1855 – May 1856]
Summary
Five questions on variability in peas.
W & JF recommended to CD by Mr Cattell.
CD planted an experimental pea garden this summer.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William & Julius Fairbeard |
| Date: | [Oct 1855 – May 1856] |
| Classmark: | DAR 206: 38 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1467 |
From J. D. Dana [before 6 December 1855]
Summary
Responds to CD’s criticism of his use of word "Kingdom" in discussing geographical distribution of Crustacea.
| Author: | James Dwight Dana |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 6 Dec 1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR (CD library – Dana, J. D. 1853) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1544 |
From Bartholomew James Sulivan 2 February [1855]
Summary
The only mainland vegetation he saw on Falkland Island shores were trees. Remembers no strange birds there, but on journey home saw a woodcock more than 500 miles from the nearest land.
| Author: | Bartholomew James Sulivan |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 2 Feb [1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 251 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1551 |
To Francis Galton 22 February [1855]
Summary
Thanks for FG’s note and trouble in searching out pigeons.
Is obliged to FG for obtaining C. J. Andersson’s offer of information about breeds of cattle in South Africa.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | 22 Feb [1855] |
| Classmark: | National Library of South Africa, Cape Town |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1554F |
From Francis Galton to Charles John Andersson [after 22 February 1855]
Summary
Sends on CD’s list of enquiries about native breeds of animals in South Africa.
| Author: | Francis Galton |
| Addressee: | Charles John (Carl Johann) Andersson |
| Date: | [after 22 Feb 1855] |
| Classmark: | National Library of South Africa, Cape Town |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1554G |
From Charles Cardale Babington [c. June 1855]
Summary
Reports that he sees the oxlip, cowslip, and primrose as really distinct species; hybrids are formed between any two.
| Author: | Charles Cardale Babington |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [c. June 1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 1 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1584 |
DCP-LETT-1618
Summary
Cancelled: part of 1757. Has examined a specimen of [of what he had previously described as the ovaria of Lepadidae, see Living Cirripedia 1: 57-8]. Could not find cells resembling ovigerms. When THH has seen the organ in different states, and can say positively that in none could ovigerms be in formation, CD will 'give up the ghost handsomely and entirely'.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Date: | [1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR 145: 161, 222 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1618 |
From Arthur Edward Knox [c. March 1855–7?]
Summary
CD has suggested an explanation of how pike were introduced to a remote lake in Ireland by cormorants [carrying pike spawn on their feet or in their gullets].
| Author: | Arthur Edward Knox |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | Mar 1855-7 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 243 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1624 |
From G. R. Waterhouse [after 2 March 1855]
Summary
Gives instances of sexual differences in the number of tarsi within species of Coleoptera and also variation in the number of tarsi between related species.
| Author: | George Robert Waterhouse |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 2 Mar 1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR 47: 133–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1625 |
To Charles Lyell 10 January [1855]
Summary
Discusses views of Daniel Sharpe on foliation and cleavage. Recalls his own previous discussion [in South America].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 10 Jan [1855] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.110) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1626 |
To Francis Galton 1 January [1855]
Summary
Thanks FG for book [The art of travel (1855)].
Is looking for a house in London for a month.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Galton |
| Date: | 1 Jan [1855] |
| Classmark: | UCL Library Services, Special Collections (GALTON/1/1/9/5/7/3) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1627 |
To J. W. Lubbock 10 January [1855]
Summary
Reports that his intercession with Folliott Baugh [Rector of Chelsfield, Kent] has had no effect. Baugh still believes Farnborough’s rights have not been attended to if entire fund is applied to the school at Down.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John William Lubbock, 3d baronet |
| Date: | 10 Jan [1855] |
| Classmark: | The Royal Society (LUB: D21) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1628 |
To Charles Lyell 14 January [1855]
Summary
Has found a house on Baker Street to take for a month.
Mentions Daniel Sharpe’s study of the Grampians.
Association of various metamorphic rocks and relationship of their foliation to their dip and strike. Discusses foliation of schists and its origin. Comments on fluidity of gneiss and schists.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 14 Jan [1855] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.111) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1630 |
To J. W. Lubbock 15 [January 1855]
Summary
CD called on Baugh but found him adamant; he has already laid the case before the [Charity] Commissioners and if necessary will take it to a Court of Equity.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John William Lubbock, 3d baronet |
| Date: | 15 [Jan 1855] |
| Classmark: | The Royal Society (LUB: D22) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1631 |
To Charles Lyell [21 January – 11 February 1855]
Summary
Relationship of schists to alternating beds of slate in western Tierra del Fuego and the Chonos Islands.
Comments on Sharpe’s theory of curved cleavage planes.
Example of metamorphosis in a "clay-slate porphyry region". Importance of previous lines of cleavage and stratification in foliation of metamorphosed rock.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Date: | [21 Jan – 11 Feb 1855] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.112) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1633 |
From John Davy 30 January 1855
Summary
Responds to CD’s letter. The ova of Salmonidae exposed to air, if kept moist, will stay alive up to 72 hours.
| Author: | John Davy |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 30 Jan 1855 |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 227 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1634 |
| Darwin, C. R. | (140) |
| Blyth, Edward | (12) |
| Watson, H. C. | (7) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (4) |
| Davy, John | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (49) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (28) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (17) |
| Fox, W. D. | (12) |
| Gardeners’ Chronicle | (10) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (189) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (32) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (18) |
| Blyth, Edward | (12) |
| Fox, W. D. | (12) |
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: 19 hits
- … to various ends. THE CONCURRENCE OF BOTANISTS: 1855 In which Darwin initiates a long …
- … his University) and is much less his own man. A letter from England catches his attention …
- … ‘Arct. Asia’… GRAY: 9 May 22 nd 1855. Harvard University. My Dear Sir, I …
- … 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. …
- … full relief from all anxiety. Darwin shows Gray’s letter to Hooker. DARWIN: …
- … back. JANE GRAY: 189 [Jane Gray. Letter to her sister. Fall, 1868.] Mr Darwin …
- … DARWIN: 192 My dear Gray. When I look over your letter[s] … and see all the things you …
- … me, and yet was most anxious till two days ago, when I got a letter from him in excellent spirits. …
- … JANUARY 1844 8 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 25 APRIL 1855 9 A GRAY TO C DARWIN, …
- … 24 AUGUST 1856 17 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 8 JUNE 1855 18 C DARWIN TO A …
- … 1857 22 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, 18 JULY 1855 23 JD HOOKER TO C DARWIN, …
Biogeography
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Observations aboard the Beagle During his five year journey around the world on HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin encountered many different landscapes and an enormous variety of flora and fauna. Some of his most…
Matches: 6 hits
- … chapters 11 and 12 Papers Darwin, Charles. 1855. "Does sea-water kill seeds? …
- … Nature 25:529-530. Letters Letter Packet: Biogeography …
- … which seeds will be easily killed in salt water. Letter 1669 —Charles Darwin to JD …
- … particular make-up of a specific plant community. Letter 1680 —Charles Darwin to JD …
- … seed experiment than the question of germination. Letter 1681 —Charles Darwin to JD …
- … of Darwin’s work. The first experiment mimicked Darwin’s 1855 work on seeds and salt-water. The …
Schools Gallery: Using Darwin’s letters in the classroom
Summary
English| History| Science English Pupils in Cumbria lead the way Year 9 English pupils at Ulverston Victoria High School spent several weeks studying Darwin’s letters, including comparing sections from Darwin’s ‘Voyage of the Beagle’ to letters…
Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants
Summary
Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…
Matches: 28 hits
- … purposes’ (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1862] , and …
- … for his botanical work, at Down House since the winter of 1855–6 (see CD’s Classed account book …
- … its sensitivity to touch (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December …
- … his employer’s hothouses over the previous two years. In a letter of 24 December [1862] ( …
- … he had had, he would ‘probably have made a mess of it’ (letter to G. H. Turnbull, [16? February …
- … adding ‘I shall keep to curious & experimental plants’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January …
- … of Westerham, with whom he had dealt over many years. In his letter to Hooker, Darwin mentioned that …
- … of the plants you want before going to Nurserymen’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, [15 January 1863] ) …
- … I shall avoid[,] of course I must not have from Kew’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 30 January [1863] ) …
- … him: ‘I long to stock it, just like a school-boy’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 February [1863] ). …
- … which I wished for, but which I did not like to ask for’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, [21 February …
- … in a particular mixture of moss, peat, and charcoal (see the letter from Henrietta Emma Darwin to …
- … of his plants, proffering further advice on cultivation (see letter from J. D. Hooker, [6 March …
- … sh d . not see such transcendent beauty in each leaf’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February …
- … to envision the tropics (see Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Caroline Darwin, [28 April 1831] …
- … of my old friends again’ ( Correspondence vol. 1, letter to Catherine Darwin, May–June [1832] …
- … of the tropics ( Correspondence vol. 3, letter to Charles Lyell, 8 October [1845] ). …
- … to identify the families to which they belonged. In his letter to Hooker of 5 March [1863] , he …
- … for experiments, which seem to me really worth trial’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 February [1863] …
- … [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March 1864 …
- … Tait that he had ‘4 houses of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869 …
- … to the greenhouses ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, [25 January 1864] ). …
- … out’ on that list the plants he could not supply (see letter from J. D. Hooker, [16 February 1863] …
- … ‘Gloxinia droopy & upright’ both in this list and in his letter to J. D. Hooker, 15 February …
- … Treviranus 1863a, which he received in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February …
- … that Darwin made of the plants sent to him by Hooker (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 5 March [1863] …
- … as having been sent to Darwin from Kew. Darwin said in the letter to Hooker of 5 March [1863] …
- … Treviranus and to Treviranus 1863a, p. 10. See also letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] …
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: 10 hits
- … naturalists whom he believed deserved recognition. In 1855, he nominated John Obadiah Westwood for …
- … in his health was indicated by his comment in a letter to Hooker on 29 [May 1854] : ‘Very far …
- … large-scale geological changes. As he told Hooker in a letter of 5 June [1855] , ‘it shocks my …
- … he had written to Hooker ( Correspondence vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 [June 1850] ), …
- … fertility of hybrids, Darwin began in the spring of 1855 a series of hybridising experiments with …
- … of specialists in his cirripede study, so Darwin began in 1855 to establish a comparable, yet even …
- … travelogues that described unusual domestic breeds. Early in 1855, following the advice of William …
- … interested in animal breeding. As Darwin told Fox in a letter of 27 March [1855] , the object of …
- … wish it Throughout the correspondence of 1854 and 1855, the overwhelming impression given …
- … ‘all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 7 May [1855] ). But …
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: 23 hits
- … and colonial authorities. In the nineteenth-century, letter writing was one of the most important …
- … in times of uncertainty, controversy, or personal loss. Letter writing was not only a means of …
- … botanist Asa Gray. Darwin and Hooker Letter 714 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, 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, …
- … and their approach to information exchange. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D …
- … first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … ends with a discussion of lamination of gneiss. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
- … up his doubts about Darwin’s doctrines. In his second letter he talks about his visit with Falconer. …
- … was on the Beagle voyage and afterwards. Letter 152 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. …
- … is Henslow’s “bounden duty to lecture me”. Letter 196 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, C. R. …
- … sends home a copy of his notes on the specimens. Letter 249 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, …
- … sends news of Cambridge and mutual friends. Letter 251 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S …
- … illness and specimens are sent to Henslow. Letter 272 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, J. S. …
- … collection and plans to cross the Cordilleras. Letter 1189 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
- … Hermann Müller. Darwin and Lubbock Letter 1585 — Darwin, C. R. to Lubbock, John, …
- … and it has reawakened his passion for entomology. Letter 1720 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … 1751 — Darwin, C. R. to Tegetmeier, W. B., 31 Aug [1855] Darwin thanks W. B. Tegetmeier for …
- … 1788 — Darwin, C. R. to Tegetmeier, W. B., [2 Dec 1855] Darwin raises queries resulting …
What is an experiment?
Summary
Darwin is not usually regarded as an experimenter, but rather as an astute observer and a grand theorist. His early career seems to confirm this. He began with detailed note-taking, collecting and cataloguing on the Beagle, and edited a descriptive zoology…
Matches: 6 hits
- … ‘all kinds of facts’ across a wide range of fields ( letter to W. D. Fox [25 January 1841] ). He …
- … men, with a curb on make far the best observers’ ( letter to C. H. L. Woodd , 4 March 1850 ). He …
- … speculation there is no good & original observation’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 December …
- … of an engineer on his early experiments with Drosera ( letter to Edward Cresy, 12 December …
- … ‘I have become very fond of little experiments’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [21 March 1857] ; …
- … at Science … & am never happy except when at work’ ( letter to J. M. Herbert, 25 December [1880 …
Darwin's bad days
Summary
Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and experimenting, even Darwin had some bad days. These times when nothing appeared to be going right are well illustrated by the following quotations from his letters:
Matches: 1 hits
- … Despite being a prolific worker who had many successes with his scientific theorising and …
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: 29 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 …
- … on the shores of mountain lakes in Pennsylvania. Letter 3681 - Wedgwood, M. S. to …
- … 1701 - Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855] Margaretta Hare Morris …
Scientific Practice
Summary
Specialism|Experiment|Microscopes|Collecting|Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of scientific communication, rather than as integral to knowledge making. This section shows how correspondence could help to shape the practice of science, from…
Matches: 24 hits
- … | Microscopes | Collecting | Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of …
- … with detailed correspondence about barnacles. Letter 1514 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. …
- … of one idea. – cirripedes morning & night.” Letter 1480 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, …
- … on embryological stages than Huxley thinks. Letter 1592 — Darwin, C. R. to Huxley, T. H …
- … and difficulties of botanical experimentation. Letter 4895 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J …
- … on Anelasma which he thinks seems probable. Letter 5173 — Müller, J. F. T. to …
- … and on some plants which seem to be dichogamous. Letter 5429 — Müller, J. F. T. to …
- … and crossed with pollen of other species. Letter 5480 — Müller, J. F. T. to Darwin, C. …
- … Claus, Die freilebenden Copepoden [1863]. Letter 5551 — Darwin, C. R. to Müller, J. …
- … on the use and importance of the microscope. Letter 207 — Darwin, C. R. to Fox, W. D., …
- … with a microscope ranks second only to geology. Letter 1018 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, …
- … “take advantage of your wicked offer of assistance”. The letter is full of observations on barnacles …
- … ed., Manual of scientific enquiry (1849)]. Letter 1167 — Darwin, C. R. to Henslow, …
- … finds this microscope “wonderfully superior”. Letter 1174 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … specimens and information for his barnacle book. Letter 1140 — Darwin, C. R. to Ross, J …
- … to the Arctic in search of Sir John Franklin. Letter 1262 — Darwin, C. R. to Hancock, …
- … discusses Lithotrya and its burrowing habits. Letter 1495 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … at his collection to check on his suspicions. Letter 1370 — Darwin, C. R. to Covington, …
- … only one specimen is known to exist in the world. Letter 1251 — Darwin, C. R. to Gould, …
- … between theory and practice in natural history. Letter 1202 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, …
- … first describer’s name to specific name. Letter 1220 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, C. R., …
- … perpetuity of names in species descriptions. Letter 1260 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … with the former and deferring the species paper. Letter 1319 — Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, …
- … have progressed but Hooker is not converted. Letter 1339 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
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: 26 hits
- … [Reimarius 1760] The Highlands & Western Isl ds letter to Sir W Scott [MacCulloch 1824 …
- … 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] …
- … Life of Sheridan [T. Moore 1825] Huc’s China [Huc 1855] —read } recom by Erasmus. Watt …
- … Rev d Baden Powel on the Unity of Worlds [Powell 1855]—discusses Vestiges [Chambers] 1847], must …
- … 172] D r . Young’s Life by Peacock [Peacock 1855] praised by Erasmus.— Read …
- … 12. Begin vol. 13. 98 Huc’s “Chinese Empire” [Huc 1855] several Dogs & Cats described. (read) …
- … Impériale et Centrale d'Horticulture de Paris ] vol. 1 1855. (I have read p. 209 to 268.) …
- … recommends me to read Alexander Blain on Intellect [Bain 1855] 102 Eytons work on the …
- … Soc.? Maury sailing directions 18 55 [Maury 1855]. must be studied. Lyell has.— …
- … Horn [Castelnau 1846], or his Botanist [Weddell 1855–7] Brit. Mus. Catalogue. Ungulates …
- … [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
- … 27. Gmelin Flora Siberica [Gmelin 1747–69] 1855. Wollastons Insecta Maderensia [Wollaston …
- … 1845]. 25. The Angler Piscator D r Davy [J. Davy 1855] Ap 27 th Zoologist [ …
- … ] Vol: 3. 1848–50. [DAR 128: 11] 1855. Sydney Smith life [S. Smith 1855] …
- … (good) Sept Private life of an E. King [Knighton] 1855]. (good) Dec 13 Wabash [Beste …
- … 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, …
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 …
3.2 Maull and Polyblank photo 1
Summary
< Back to Introduction The rise of professional photographic studios in the mid nineteenth century was a key factor in the shaping of Darwinian iconography, but Darwin’s relationship with these firms was from the start a cautious and sometimes a…
Matches: 5 hits
- … invited for a sitting in their London studio, probably in 1855. Portrait photography of this kind …
- … look atrociously wicked’. Hooker himself acknowledged in a letter of 1864 that the existing …
- … family or by other sympathisers from the 1860s onwards. The 1855 photograph, at first available only …
- … photographers date of creation 1854 or early 1855 computer-readable date …
- … Polyblank, NPG P106. Letters from Darwin to Hooker, 27 May [1855] (DCP-LETT-1688) and 17 Dec. [1860] …
Hermann Müller
Summary
Hermann (Heinrich Ludwig Hermann) Müller, was born in Mühlberg near Erfurt in 1829. He was the younger brother of Fritz Müller (1822–97). Following the completion of his secondary education at Erfurt in 1848, he studied natural sciences at Halle and Berlin…
Matches: 4 hits
- … at the University of Jena and was awarded his PhD in 1855. On a trip to the Carniolan Alps (now in …
- … scientific paper (Müller 1856). In the autumn of 1855, Müller was appointed as an assistant …
- … Darwin initiated a correspondence with Müller, but that letter has not been found; however, Müller …
- … gaining access. In October 1867, Müller sent Darwin a letter describing his discovery of …
Before Origin: the ‘big book’
Summary
Darwin began ‘sorting notes for Species Theory’ on 9 September 1854, the very day he concluded his eight-year study of barnacles (Darwin's Journal). He had long considered the question of species. In 1842, he outlined a theory of transmutation in a…
Matches: 7 hits
- … well ’, he fretted at the time. However, by March 1855, he was immersed in the preparatory stages …
- … however, the pigeon house constructed at Down in April 1855 did not look ‘ very ugly ’, the …
- … delight to his young daughter Henrietta . In April 1855, at the same time as Darwin began …
- … to the entire natural history community by sending a letter to the Gardeners’ Chronicle , …
- … While there, he wrote to Wallace. Praising Wallace’s 1855 article on species, and commenting on the …
- … it adequately. On 18 June 1858, Darwin received a now lost letter from Wallace enclosing his essay …
- … I had, however, quite resigned myself & had written half a letter to Wallace to give up all …
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 19 hits
- … an illustration of how selection might work in nature ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1–2 May 1856, n. …
- … the real structure of varieties’, he remarked to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 September [1856 …
- … ‘& I mean to make my Book as perfect as ever I can.’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 8 February [1857] …
- … experiments on plants. Expanding projects set up during 1855 and 1856 (see Correspondence vol. 5 …
- … plants, he asked Asa Gray, vary in the United States ( letter to Asa Gray, 2 May 1856 )? What …
- … plants pretty effectually’ complained Darwin in 1857 ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [2 May 1857] ). …
- … John Lubbock that his method of calculation was wrong ( letter to John Lubbock, 14 July [1857] ). …
- … ‘Darwin, an absolute & eternal hermaphrodite’ ( letter to to T. H. Huxley, 1 July [1856] ), …
- … (see Correspondence vol. 3), he had begun in 1855 a series of researches designed to explain how …
- … of his study was the series of experiments begun in 1855 based on soaking a wide variety of seeds in …
- … which the bird had naturally eaten have grown well.’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 December [1856] …
- … he wrote to Syms Covington in New South Wales ( letter to Syms Covington, 9 March 1856 ). …
- … his work on species and the preparation of his manuscript ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 1 May 1857 ) …
- … in this area, for Charles Lyell thought that Wallace’s 1855 paper implied some kind of belief in …
- … a preliminary sketch was apparently first made in a letter written by Lyell from London on 1–2 May …
- … and went up to London to see Lyell to discuss it further ( letter to Charles Lyell, 3 May [1856] ) …
- … Hearing about the party afterwards, Lyell reported in a letter to his brother-in-law that, ‘When …
- … so far, and not embrace the whole Lamarckian doctrine.’ ( letter from Charles Lyell, 1–2 May 1856, …
- … in his views to explain them in explicit detail in a long letter to Asa Gray ( letter to Asa Gray, …
Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 7 hits
- … Darwin began the ice treatment on 20 May 1865. In his letter to Chapman of 7 June 1865, he reported …
- … week of July, he had evidently given up the treatment (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. …
- … gout’ by Henry Holland in 1849 ( Correspondence vol. 4, letter to W. D. Fox, 6 February [1849]). …
- … and inflammation of the joints (see, for example, Holland 1855, p. 233, and Garrod 1863, pp. 263-4). …
- … by William Brinton, William Jenner, and George Busk (see letter to J. D. Hooker, [7 January 1865], …
- … 11, Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December [1863]). In his letter to J. D. Hooker, 10 [November 1863] …
- … with dietary restrictions (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 April [1864], …
Darwin’s Photographic Portraits
Summary
Darwin was a photography enthusiast. This is evident not only in his use of photography for the study of Expression and Emotions in Man and Animal, but can be witnessed in his many photographic portraits and in the extensive portrait correspondence that…
Matches: 6 hits
- … They took this now well-known photograph of Darwin in 1855 for their Literary and Scientific …
- … to the copy he had sent five years previously in his 1860 letter to Hooker , Darwin exclaimed …
- … Charles Darwin, by Maull & Polyblank, albumen print, circa 1855, NPG P106(7), mw01725, © …
- … gaze. These photographs were rarely included in a Darwin letter, save for perhaps a very few close …
- … taken for public consumption. Responding to a letter from a German translator – Adolph …
- … which you do me the honour to wish to possess.” As the letter and photograph had to travel from Down …
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: 12 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 …
- … the modification to the change of circumstances. The author (1855) has treated Psychology on the …
- … the Rev. Baden Powell, in his Essays on the Unity of Worlds, 1855. Nothing can be more striking than …
- … of Origin ( Origin 3d ed., pp. 363–6). See also letter from John Lubbock, [after 28 April …
Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
Matches: 7 hits
- … Government grant was exhausted ( Correspondence vol. 2, letter to A. Y. Spearman, 9 October 1843, …
- … are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [11 January 1844] ). …
- … the essay of 1844 to read (see Correspondence vol. 4, letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 [February 1847]) …
- … himself: as he told his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of [24 April 1845] , he felt he …
- … Natural selection Perhaps the most interesting letter relating to Darwin’s species theory, …
- … Darwin not only used his personal notes and records but, by letter, marshalled the resources of …
- … of the laws of creation, Geographical Distribution’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 February 1845] ) …
