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212 Items
To George Bentham 27 January [1858]
Summary
Asks GB to vote for "a distant connexion of mine" at Athenaeum, and to mention this to Hooker.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Bentham |
| Date: | 27 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Bentham Correspondence, Vol. 3, Daintree–Dyer, 1830–1884, GEB/1/3: f. 676) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13778 |
From John Innes 9 January [1858–9]
Summary
Sends record of pigeon flight from London to Antwerp. [Lord W. Lennox, Merrie England (1857), p. 185.]
| Author: | John Brodie Innes |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 9 Jan [1858-9] |
| Classmark: | DAR 205.2: 242 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13818 |
To W. B. Tegetmeier 7 March [1858]
Summary
Wrote some weeks ago about Burmese fowl-skins; is willing to send them, carriage paid.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Bernhard Tegetmeier |
| Date: | 7 Mar [1858] |
| Classmark: | Christie’s, London (dealers) (15 July 2015, lot 176) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1504F |
From H. C. Watson [after 23 March 1858]
Summary
Extracts from MS of vol. 4 of HCW’s Cybele Britannica [1847–59] showing the diversity of views on species among botanists.
| Author: | Hewett Cottrell Watson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [after 23 Mar 1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 45: 16–17 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1808 |
To William Benjamin Carpenter 26 January [1858]
Summary
Asks WBC to plant some kidney beans [on Holy Island near Arran] and to see whether they are ever visited by bees. If no bees visit the island, it would be "curious" to observe what plants grow there.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Benjamin Carpenter |
| Date: | 26 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | Harris Manchester College Library, Oxford (Letter book D and Letter book D Add.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2043 |
To Skeffington Poole 13 October [1858]
Summary
Asks about Indian horses. Encloses questions.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Skeffington Poole |
| Date: | 13 Oct [1858] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2152 |
From Erasmus Alvey Darwin [May–June 1858]
Summary
Calculations relating to bees’ cells.
| Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [May–June 1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 48: B18 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2195 |
From H. C. Watson 3 January 1858
Summary
Discusses the ranges and distribution of varieties relative to the type species.
| Author: | Hewett Cottrell Watson |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Jan 1858 |
| Classmark: | DAR 98: A19–20 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2199 |
To a librarian [c. June 1858 or later]
Summary
Will return Benjamin Jowett’s Epistles of St Paul (Jowett 1855) and requests several books, of which the latest is Hugh Miller’s Cruise of the Betsey (Miller 1858).
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Librarian |
| Date: | [c. June 1858 or later] |
| Classmark: | Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection: Edward G. and Hortense R. Levy Autograph Collection, Part 2 (OSB MSS 137) Box 25, folder 1188) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2199F |
From Edward Blyth [8 January 1858]
Summary
Zebra-striped asses.
Markings of a Bengal jungle cock.
Refers to some of his own articles on birds in India.
Reports the arrival of the "glorious garrison of Lucknow". The "wonderful superiority of the European to the Asiatic" made the success of the insurrection inconceivable.
| Author: | Edward Blyth |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [8 Jan 1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 98: A144–5 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2200 |
To J. D. Hooker 12 January [1858]
Summary
On papilionaceous flowers and CD’s theory that there are no eternal hermaphrodites. Connects this theory to absence of small-flowered legumes in New Zealand and the absence of small bees as pollinators.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 12 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 220 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2201 |
To E. W. V. Harcourt 13 January [1858]
Summary
Went to the show and saw EWVH’s birds.
Thinks he will give up his pigeons at the end of the summer.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Edward William Vernon Harcourt |
| Date: | 13 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | Bodleian Libraries, Oxford (MS. Harcourt dep. adds. 346, fols. 265–8) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2201F |
To W. D. Fox 14 January [1858]
Summary
Asks to borrow W. C. Hewitson’s book [British oology, 2 vols. (1831–44)].
CD is searching for reliable information on slight variations in the degree of perfection of nests of the same species of birds.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | 14 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 108) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2202 |
To J. D. Hooker 15 January [1858]
Summary
CD has never doubted probability of Bering Strait land connection.
Family illness.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 15 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 221 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2203 |
From J. D. Hooker 15 January 1858
Summary
Has gone over to CD’s side on the fertilisation of clover in New Zealand by bees.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 15 Jan 1858 |
| Classmark: | DAR 100: 120–1; L. Huxley ed. 1918, 1: 453 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2204 |
To William Bernhard Tegetmeier 17 January [1858]
Summary
Has received Burmese fowls’ skins from Walter Elliot.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Bernhard Tegetmeier |
| Date: | 17 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | Archives of the New York Botanical Garden (Charles Finney Cox Collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2205 |
To John Stevens Henslow 25 January [1858]
Summary
Mrs Henslow’s death stirs reminiscences of happier days.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Stevens Henslow |
| Date: | 25 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 93: A50–1 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2207 |
To W. D. Fox 31 January [1858]
Summary
Thanks WDF for information on blackbirds’ nests [see Natural selection, p. 505].
Problem of choosing from among the load of curious facts for chapter on "Instinct" [Natural selection, ch. 10; Origin, ch. 7] perplexes him.
Asks about behaviour of chicks in danger and whether crossed animals are wilder than either parent.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Darwin Fox |
| Date: | 31 Jan [1858] |
| Classmark: | Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 109) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2208 |
To J. D. Hooker [17 February 1858]
Summary
General success of survey makes CD very concerned about sources of error. Wants to meet JDH for an important talk about big genera. Arranges meeting.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | [17 Feb 1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 222 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2209 |
To J. D. Hooker 4 [February 1858]
Summary
Returns books by Candolle and Robert Brown.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 4 [Feb 1858] |
| Classmark: | DAR 114: 219 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2210 |
Author
| Darwin, C. R. | (156) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (12) |
| Darwin, E. A. | (5) |
| Coe, Henry | (4) |
| Waterhouse, G. R. | (4) |
Addressee
| Agassiz, Louis | (1) |
| Babington, C. C. | (2) |
| Bentham, George | (2) |
| Blomefield, Leonard | (4) |
| Busk, George | (1) |
| Carpenter, W. B. | (1) |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | (1) |
| Covington, Syms | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (52) |
| Darwin, Emma | (2) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (14) |
| Egan, James | (2) |
| Elliot, Walter | (1) |
| Eyton, T. C. | (3) |
| Falconer, Hugh | (1) |
| Fox, W. D. | (12) |
| Gardeners’ Chronicle | (1) |
| Gould, A. A. | (2) |
| Gray, Asa | (5) |
| Harcourt, E. W. V. | (1) |
| Henslow, J. S. | (3) |
| Higgins, John | (2) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (46) |
| Hooker, W. J. | (1) |
| Huxley, T. H. | (4) |
| Jenyns, Leonard | (4) |
| Kippist, Richard | (1) |
| Leighton, W. A. | (1) |
| Librarian | (1) |
| Linnean Society | (2) |
| Lubbock, John | (3) |
| Lyell, Charles | (5) |
| Miller, W. H. | (1) |
| Murchison, R. I. | (2) |
| Paget, James | (1) |
| Phillips, John | (1) |
| Poole, Skeffington | (4) |
| Reeks, Trenham | (2) |
| Rolfe, R. M. | (1) |
| Royal Society of London | (3) |
| Shaw, H. N. | (1) |
| Smith, Frederick (a) | (1) |
| Spencer, Herbert | (1) |
| Tegetmeier, W. B. | (15) |
| Thwaites, G. H. K. | (1) |
| Unidentified | (1) |
| Wedgwood, Emma | (2) |
Correspondent
| Darwin, C. R. | (208) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (58) |
| Tegetmeier, W. B. | (15) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (14) |
| Fox, W. D. | (13) |
Search:
in keywords
54 Items
Abstract of Darwin’s theory
Summary
There are two extant versions of the abstract of Darwin’s theory of natural selection. One was sent to Asa Gray on 5 September 1857, enclosed with a letter of the same date (see Correspondence vol. 6, letter to Asa Gray, 5 September [1857] and enclosure).…
Matches: 10 hits
- … was sent to Asa Gray on 5 September 1857, enclosed with a letter of the same date (see …
- … includes minor alterations and corrections by Darwin. The letter and enclosure are in Gray’s …
- … sent to Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker in June 1858 as part of Darwin’s contribution to the …
- … manuscript and the printed text of Darwin and Wallace 1858 have been noted. For CD’s work on the …
- … 1 The printed version is headed: “Abstract of a Letter from C. Darwin, Esq., to Prof. Asa Gray, …
- … printed version reads: ‘astounded’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 50). 3 The printed version …
- … carpets, of another for cloth, &c.’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 51). 10 The printed …
- … external appearances, but who could’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 51). 11 The manuscript …
- … should go on selecting for one object’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 51). 13 The printed …
- … was changed from ‘C.D.’ to ‘C. Darwin’. See letter to J. D. Hooker, [29 June 1858] . The verso of …
The writing of "Origin"
Summary
From a quiet rural existence at Down in Kent, filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on the transmutation of species, Darwin was jolted into action in 1858 by the arrival of an unexpected letter (no longer extant) from Alfred Russel Wallace outlining a…
Matches: 16 hits
- … whole has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.— (letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November …
- … on hybridism, on 29 December 1857, Darwin began in January 1858 to prepare the next chapter, ‘Mental …
- … to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
- … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature (see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
- … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
- … much of his research completed, Darwin began in mid-June 1858 to write up the results of his study …
- … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
- … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
- … Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors have dated the letter 18 [June 1858]. However, the …
- … McKinney has suggested that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same …
- … Brooks maintains that Darwin received Wallace’s letter even earlier, perhaps as early as 14 May. …
- … of the Peninsular & Oriental Company, and assuming that the letter to Darwin was posted at the …
- … 2). The correspondence between mid-May and mid-June 1858 provides some circumstantial …
- … of anxiety. He says in a letter to Syms Covington, 18 May [1858] , that he expects the …
- … full well you will be dreadfully severe.—’ On 18 [May 1858] , he again tells Hooker: ‘There is …
The evolution of honeycomb
Summary
Honeycombs are natural engineering marvels, using the least possible amount of wax to provide the greatest amount of storage space, with the greatest possible structural stability. Darwin recognised that explaining the evolution of the honey-bee’s comb…
Matches: 18 hits
- … principles and the proximity of other cells. Darwin’s letter has not been found, but from Waterhouse …
- … were not subject to the space constraints of other cells. (Letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 14 April …
- … diameter being determined by her power of reaching.’ (Letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 10 February …
- … were exercising their minds on the problem. In his next letter, Waterhouse described wasps’ nests …
- … formal constraints as a group of bees working together. (Letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 13 February …
- … discussion in a memorandum to W. H. Miller, [15 April 1858] , summarising his position as follows …
- … mind on the subjects of wasp’s nests. He sent another long letter to Darwin on the subject, this …
- … the other straight sides that were bounded by other cells (letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 17 April …
- … arranged to look at Tegetmeier’s piece of honeycomb (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, [21 April 1858] …
- … has not correctly described their manner of building’ (letter to W. E. Darwin, [26 May 1858] .) …
- … hardly been begun; & all must be very minute. ( See the letter ) Darwin was …
- … asked Tegetmeier to look out for isolated cylindrical cells (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 5 June …
- … ordering another hive from Tegetmeier, and buying a swarm (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 8 [June …
- … result is shown in the photograph below. In August 1858, Waterhouse’s remarks at the 5 April …
- … At a meeting of the Entomological Society on 7 July 1858 ( Proceedings of the Entomological Society …
- … Waterhouse reviewed the latest controversies in his letter to Darwin of 2 August 1858 . The …
- … of bee cell sizes might have a simple explanation. (Letter to Richard Hill, 8 August [1859] .) …
- … with the least possible expenditure of wax, but in September 1858 Tegetmeier was able to give Darwin …
Darwin in letters, 1858-1859: Origin
Summary
The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From a quiet rural existence filled with steady work on his ‘big book’ on species, he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace…
Matches: 17 hits
- … The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From …
- … he was jolted into action by the arrival of an unexpected letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. This …
- … of organic change at the Linnean Society of London in July 1858 and prompted the composition and …
- … has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes.—’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ). …
- … from these years. The 'big book' The year 1858 opened with Darwin hard at …
- … on hybridism, on 29 December 1857, Darwin began in January 1858 to prepare the next chapter, ‘Mental …
- … to choose from the load of curious facts on record.—’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). …
- … as evidence for what actually occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and …
- … throwing away what you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have …
- … best.—’ Other topics discussed in the letters of 1858 also relate to questions that Darwin …
- … much of his research completed, Darwin began in mid-June 1858 to write up the results of his study …
- … his work was interrupted by the arrival of the now-famous letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, …
- … selection. Darwin’s shock and dismay is evident in the letter he subsequently wrote to Charles Lyell …
- … Even his terms now stand as Heads of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). …
- … on Charles Lyell’s endorsement, the editors have dated the letter 18 [June 1858]. However, the …
- … McKinney has suggested that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same …
- … 2). The correspondence between mid-May and mid-June 1858 provides some circumstantial …
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Dates of composition of Darwin's manuscript on species
Summary
Many of the dates of letters in 1856 and 1857 were based on or confirmed by reference to Darwin’s manuscript on species (DAR 8--15.1, inclusive; transcribed and published as Natural selection). This manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by…
Matches: 5 hits
- … manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by June 1858. At that point Darwin was …
- … 10 9 March 1858 Mental powers and the instincts of …
- … [4] 12 June 1858 [3] [Discussion on large genera and …
- … [6] 12 June 1858 [Correcting chapter 6] (DAR 10.2: 26a- …
- … intended to be added to chapter 4 was completed on 14 April 1858. Stauffer considers the alterations …
Instinct and the Evolution of Mind
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Slave-making ants For Darwin, slave-making ants were a powerful example of the force of instinct. He used the case of the ant Formica sanguinea in the On the Origin of Species to show how instinct operates—how…
Matches: 9 hits
- … Notebook M , p. 46, 52-59 Letters Letter Packet: Instinct and the …
- … to his network of correspondents; in this way he used his letter-writing as a tool for gathering …
- … the questionnaire is directed only to Smith. Letter 2456 —Frederick Smith to Darwin, 30 …
- … Darwin’s queries on ants (this is not the same list as in Letter 2235a). He gives Darwin more advice …
- … discussion of slave-making ants in Origin . Letter 2413 —Charles Darwin to Emma …
- … the species outside its known habitat in Britain. Letter 2265 —Charles Darwin to William …
- … own hills and strangers from other communities. Letter 2306 —Charles Darwin to Joseph …
- … frankly about the impact of Alfred Russell Wallace’s letter on his work. Darwin reveals that Wallace …
- … in observing the behavior of F. sanguinea . Letter 3266 —Charles Darwin to H. W. …
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: 18 hits
- … 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 …
- … and gratefully Charles Darwin. CREED AND FEVER: 1858 In which Gray expresses his …
- … 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. …
- … Origin of Species…’ FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH: 1857-1858 In which Gray and Hooker begin …
- … 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. …
- … 1856 24 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, 13 JULY 1858 25 C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER, …
- … OF COMMON PRAYER 47 C DARWIN TO A GRAY, 4 JULY 1858 48 C DARWIN TO LYELL …
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 …
- … Letter 2345 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [20 October 1858] Darwin describes to Joseph …
Alfred Russel Wallace’s essay on varieties
Summary
The original manuscript about varieties that Wallace composed on the island of Gilolo and sent to Darwin from the neighbouring island of Ternate (Brooks 1984) has not been found. It was sent to Darwin as an enclosure in a letter (itself missing), and was…
Matches: 4 hits
- … not been found. It was sent to Darwin as an enclosure in a letter (itself missing), and was …
- … below. Wallace’s essay was written in February 1858. He recollected the events surrounding …
- … next post, which would leave in a day or two. I wrote a letter to him in which I said that I hoped …
- … and habits which they exhibit. Ternate, February, 1858. Note 1 In CD’s …
Controversy
Summary
The best-known controversies over Darwinian theory took place in public or in printed reviews. Many of these were highly polemical, presenting an over-simplified picture of the disputes. Letters, however, show that the responses to Darwin were extremely…
Matches: 22 hits
- … him as a bitter enemy. Darwin and Sedgwick Letter 2525 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … of a spirit of bravado, but a want of respect. Letter 2548 — Sedgwick, Adam to Darwin, …
- … of brotherly love and as his true-hearted friend. Letter 2555 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … classes of facts”. Darwin and Owen Letter 2526 — Owen, Richard to Darwin, C. …
- … the nature of such influences as “heterodox”. Letter 2575 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his book “the law of higgledy-piggledy”. Letter 2580 — Darwin, C. R. to Owen, Richard, …
- … his views now depends on men eminent in science. Letter 2767 — Darwin, C. R. to Gray, …
- … prevail without such aggressive tactics. Letter 5500 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, E. P. …
- … reader to take the side of the attacked person. Letter 5533 — Haeckel, E. P. A. to …
- … of the matter, a vigorous attack is essential. Letter 5544 — Darwin, C. R. to Haeckel, …
- … political, and religious differences. Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 …
- … MS, but Darwin will offer to send it to journal. Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … his views from anything Darwin wrote to him. Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, …
- … he does not feel this alters the justice of case. Letter 2299 — Hooker, J. D. & …
- … reasons for arranging the joint presentation. Letter 2306 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. …
- … is now planning a 30-page abstract for a journal. Letter 2337 — Wallace, A. R. to …
- … paper public unaccompanied by his own views. Letter 6024 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
- … of minute variations and sexual selection. Letter 6033 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, …
- … George Darwin’s notes on Wallace’s argument. Letter 6045 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, C. …
- … and form new species without being isolated. Letter 6058 — Darwin, C. R. to Wallace, A. …
- … relating to sterility that they will never agree. Letter 6095 — Darwin, C. R. to …
- … cannot be increased through natural selection. Letter 6104 — Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, …
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 ones, …
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 and Fatherhood
Summary
Charles Darwin married Emma Wedgwood in 1839 and over the next seventeen years the couple had ten children. It is often assumed that Darwin was an exceptional Victorian father. But how extraordinary was he? The Correspondence Project allows an unusually…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin as mentor
Summary
Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…
Matches: 13 hits
- … of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 …
- … sweeping conclusions on insufficient grounds. Letter 3934 - Darwin to Scott, J., [21 …
- … how to make the material worthy of publication. Letter 4185 - Darwin to Scott, J., [25 …
- … indefatigable worker you are!”. Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March …
- … memorial” in memory of the book. Letter 8140 - Darwin to Darwin, W. E., [3 …
- … how he made so many observations without aid. Letter 8146 - Darwin to Treat, M., [5 …
- … “in some well-known scientific journal”. Letter 8171 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L., [21 …
- … that Lucy is worth her weight in gold. Letter 9005b - Darwin to Treat, M., [12 …
- … flies until he had repeated the experiment. Letter 9580 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H. D., …
- … should not yet be submitted to the publisher. Letter 9613 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., …
- … and thinks that it ought to be published. Letter 10523 - Darwin to Treat, M., [1 June …
- … in the pursuit of her “admirable work”. Letter 11096 - Darwin to Romanes, G. J., [9 …
- … her manuscript to Nature for publication. Letter 13414 - Darwin to Harrison, L., …
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 …
John Murray
Summary
Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…
Matches: 20 hits
- … end of 1845, Darwin was not happy with Colburn’s terms ( Letter 856 ). Instead he asked his friend …
- … John Murray, to open negotiations with his own publisher ( Letter 824 ). Lyell’s talk with Murray …
- … have transacted the business with me’ (27 August [1845] Letter 908 ). Thus began the business …
- … copies some pages in Darwin’s chapter were transposed ( Letter 1244 ). Darwin was anxious lest an …
- … & make the poor workman some present’ (12 June [1849] Letter 1245 ). Darwin’s next …
- … into what he called his ‘big species book’; on 18 June 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel …
- … to be read at the Linnean Society of London on 1 July 1858, and Darwin began reworking his ‘big …
- … asked Lyell to act as his intermediary with John Murray ( Letter 2437 ), who, without even reading …
- … not repent of having undertaken it’ (15 October [1859] Letter 2506 ). Murray decided on a retail …
- … proud at the appearance of my child’ ([3 November 1859] Letter 2514 ). In the event, all Murray’s …
- … – and a second edition was immediately called for ( Letter 2549 ). In the end Murray paid Darwin …
- … (Variation ), but work progressed slowly ( Letter 3078 ); meanwhile in 1862 Murray published On …
- … Murray only offered Darwin half profits for this title ( Letter 3261 ); it was never a best-seller …
- … ‘I fear it can never pay’ (3 January [1867] Letter 5346 ). In the end Murray decided to print …
- … to Brazil, the beginning of a life-long correspondence ( Letter 4881 ). Subsequently Darwin …
- … the risk himself. Murray suggested printing 750 copies ( Letter 6597 ), but Darwin decided on 1000 …
- … fail, I think, to be much read’ (28 September [1870] Letter 7329 ). Murray decided to print 2500 …
- … hope to Heaven book will sell well’ (12 January [1871] Letter 7438 ). A second printing was …
- … America, of St George Mivart‘s Genesis of species ( Letter 7907 ) ; this was Darwin’s …
- … By November of that year, fourteen copies had been sold ( Letter 8044 ). Meanwhile, Darwin was …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 23 hits
- … that he was ‘unwell & must write briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a …
- … persevered with his work on Variation until 20 July, his letter-writing dwindled considerably. The …
- … from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
- … ‘I declare I never in my life read anything grander’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 26 [February 1863] …
- … than Origin had (see Correspondence vol. 8, letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] ). …
- … from animals like the woolly mammoth and cave bear ( see letter from Jacques Boucher de Perthes, 23 …
- … leap from that of inferior animals made him ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … out that species were not separately created’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 17 March [1863] ). Public …
- … book he wished his one-time mentor had not said a word ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February …
- … I respect you, as my old honoured guide & master’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). …
- … against stronger statements regarding species change ( letter from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). …
- … thinking, while Huxley’s book would scare them off ( see letter from Asa Gray, 20 April 1863 ). In …
- … change of species by descent put him ‘into despair’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 11 May [1863] ). In the …
- … disaffected towards Lyell and his book. In a February letter to the Athenæum , a weekly review of …
- … find great difficulty in answering Owen unaided ’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
- … of so much of Lyell’s book being written by others’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [23 February 1863] …
- … is wretched to see men fighting so for a little fame’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 March [1863] ). …
- … overt act, and I shall watch for a fitting opportunity’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] …
- … God demented Owen, as a punishment for his crimes… ?’ ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January [1863] …
- … Darwin’, a transitional form between reptiles and birds ( letter from Hugh Falconer, 3 January …
- … a significant gap had been filled in the fossil record ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 5 [and 6] January …
- … continued to capture his and others’ attention ( see letter to J. D. Dana, 20 February [1863] , …
- … of the summer, one that he said he owed to Gray’s 1858 paper on the coiling of tendrils in …
Origin
Summary
Darwin’s most famous work, Origin, had an inauspicious beginning. It grew out of his wish to establish priority for the species theory he had spent over twenty years researching. Darwin never intended to write Origin, and had resisted suggestions in 1856…
Matches: 8 hits
- … a similar theory by Alfred Russel Wallace in June 1858. In the aftermath of the first public …
- … a longer abstract of his species theory . On 5 July 1858, Darwin stated his intention to start work …
- … make a large-sized pamphlet. ’ On the 4 October, in a letter to T. C. Eyton explaining his change …
- … was writing his essay on the flora of Australia in December 1858, he asked to borrow Darwin’s ‘ …
- … buoyed up in January 1859, when he received a (now lost) letter from Wallace, expressing …
- … convert. ’ Making the book By mid-October 1858, Darwin had expected that his abstract …
- … his friend George Frederick Pollock. The former, in a long letter to Murray, believed that Darwin …
- … was having, and the fulfilment of his stated aim in July 1858 when he began to write his abstract: ‘ …
Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments
Summary
The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…
Matches: 31 hits
- … The death of Hugh Falconer Darwin’s first letter to Hooker of 1865 suggests that the family …
- … having all the Boys at home: they make the house jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … had failed to include among the grounds of the award ( see letter from Hugh Falconer to Erasmus …
- … his letters to Darwin, and Darwin responded warmly: ‘Your letter is by far the grandest eulogium …
- … may well rest content that I have not laboured in vain’ ( letter to Hugh Falconer, 6 January [1865] …
- … always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 February [1865] …
- … for our griefs & pains: these alone are unalloyed’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 February 1865 …
- … gas.— Sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] ). …
- … added, ‘I know it is folly & nonsense to try anyone’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] …
- … ineffective, and Darwin had given it up by early July ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865] …
- … of anything, & that almost exclusively bread & meat’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 15 August [1865] …
- … better, attributing the improvement to Jones’s diet ( see letter to T. H. Huxley, 4 October [1865] …
- … he was ‘able to write about an hour on most days’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 22 December [1865] ). …
- … others very forward, except the last & concluding one’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 March [1865] …
- … my book will be ready for the press in the autumn’ ( letter to John Murray, 4 April [1865] ). In …
- … however, ‘I am never idle when I can do anything’ ( letter to John Murray, 2 June [1865] ). It was …
- … might be more willing to bear the expense of the woodcuts ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865 …
- … & I loathe the whole subject like tartar emetic’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 January [1865] ) …
- … you will be an unnatural parent, for it is your child’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 19 April 1865 ; …
- … needed for references, probably from the Linnean Society ( letter to [Richard Kippist], 4 June …
- … in or before November 1864 ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to Ernst Haeckel, 21 November [1864 …
- … 1865 that he had just finished hearing it read aloud ( letter to Fritz Müller, 10 August [1865] ). …
- … Linnean Society for publication in Müller’s name ( see letter from Fritz Müller, [12 and 31 August, …
- … so weak that I am not able to do any scientific work’ ( letter to Fritz Müller, 20 September [1865] …
- … coloured varieties (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to John Scott, 19 November [1862] ). …
- … species arising’ ( Correspondence vol. 9, letter to J. D. Hooker, 28 September [1861] ). …
- … experiments in 1863 (see Correspondence vol. 11, letter from John Scott, 21 September [1863] …
- … India in late 1864, despite suffering from sea-sickness ( letter from John Scott, 21 July 1865 ). …
- … though he praised Scott’s ‘industry & ability’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [10 March 1865] ). …
- … that he would take up the work again when he had time ( letter from John Scott, 21 July 1865 ); at …
- … it , a love-story set in the Indian Mutiny of 1857 to 1858 ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [17 June 1865 …
