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Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex

Summary

The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…

Matches: 23 hits

  • …   On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, ‘If
  • he ought to do what I am doing pester them with letters.’ Darwin was certainly true to his word. The
  • and sexual selection. In  Origin , pp. 8790, Darwin had briefly introduced the concept of
  • process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864, Darwin claimed that sexual selection wasthe
  • to the stridulation of crickets. At the same time, Darwin continued to collect material on
  • and his immediate circle of friends and relations. In July 1868 Darwin was still anticipating that
  • which was devoted to sexual selection in the animal kingdom. Darwin described his thirst for
  • and not too much’ ( letter to Albert Günther, 15 May [1868] ). My book is horribly
  • as early as 1865, the two-volume work appeared in January 1868. A final delay caused by the indexing
  • Murray to intervene, complaining on 9 January , ‘M r . Dallasdelayis intolerableI am
  • look rather blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). Darwin sympathised, replying on
  • it was by Gray himself, but Darwin corrected him: ‘D r  Gray would strike me in the face, but not
  • … . It is a disgrace to the paper’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 24 February [1868] ). The review was
  • April 1868 . The letter was addressed tothe Rev d  C. Darwin M.d’; Binstead evidently assumed
  • I did not see this, or rather I saw it only obs[c]urely, & have kept only a few references.’ …
  • was remarked upon by other entomologists ( letter from Roland Trimen, 20 February 1868 , and
  • as life he wd find the odour sexual!’ ( letter to A . R. Wallace, 16 September [1868] ). Francis
  • south of France to Sarah Elizabeth Wedgwood on 9 Novembe r, describing sphinx moths that were
  • question of theOrigin of Species”’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 4 October 1868 ). …
  • hands of the enemies of Nat. Selection’ ( letter from A. R. Wallace, 8 [April] 1868 ). …
  • of her two-month old daughter Katherine ( letter from C. M. Hawkshaw to Emma Darwin, 9 February
  • rest mostly on faith, and on accumulation of adaptations, &c) … Of course I understand your
  • … ‘merely a modified, hardly an improved, Gorilla’ ( to Roland Trimen, 14 April [1868] ).  …

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: 25 hits

  • The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, seeing the publication of his
  • book out of my head’. But  a large proportion of Darwins time for the rest of the year was devoted
  • way, and the initial reception of the book in the press. Darwin fielded numerous letters from
  • offered sharp criticism or even condemnation. Darwin had expected controversy. ‘I shall be
  • a bare-faced manner.”‘ The most lively debate centred on Darwins evolutionary account of the
  • taste. Correspondence with his readers and critics helped Darwin to clarify, and in some cases
  • year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression. Darwin continued to investigate the
  • also brought a significant milestone for the family, as Darwins eldest daughter Henrietta was
  • during several past years, has been a great amusement’. Darwin had been working fairly continuously
  • work on species theory in the late 1830s. In recent years, Darwin had collected a wealth of material
  • to human evolution was comparatively small, reflecting Darwins aim of  showing kinship with animals
  • he istorn to piecesby people wanting copies’, Darwin wrote to his son Francis on 28 February
  • letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 March 1871 ). The profits for Darwin were considerable. After
  • man.’ Promoting the book As usual, Darwin did his best to obtain a wide and favourable
  • … (see Correspondence vol. 19Appendix IV). Four of Darwins five sons received a copy, and his
  • received a special acknowledgment in the form of a gift. Darwin credited her for whatever he had
  • and the heavy use of their arms and legs ( letter from C. L. Bernays, 25 February 1871 ). Samples
  • letter from E. J. Pfeiffer, [before 26 April 1871] ). Roland Trimen, a long-time correspondent and
  • of spiritual lifeat some time in the past ( letter from Roland Trimen, 17 and 18 April 1871 ). …
  • is a thing which I sh d  feel very proud of, if anyone c d . say of me.’ After the publication
  • was achieved throughthe medium of opinion, positive law &c’, and transmitted by culture, not
  • in the world except. laughing. crying grinning pouting &c. &c’, he wrote to Hooker on 21
  • so giddy I can hardly sit up, so no more’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 4 August [1871] ). On 23
  • annually on an acre of land at 16 tons (letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [20 November 1871] ). He also
  • … ( letter to Asa Gray, 16 July [1871] , letter to S. R. S. Norton, 23 November [1871] ). …

Darwin 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: 25 hits

  • At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of  The variation of
  • markedly, reflecting a decline in his already weak health. Darwin then began punctuating letters
  • am languid & bedeviled … & hate everybody’. Although Darwin did continue his botanical
  • letter-writing dwindled considerably. The correspondence and Darwins scientific work diminished
  • of the water-cure. The treatment was not effective and Darwin remained ill for the rest of the year. …
  • the correspondence from the year. These letters illustrate Darwins preoccupation with the
  • to mans place in nature  both had a direct bearing on Darwins species theory and on the problem
  • detailed anatomical similarities between humans and apes, Darwin was full of praise. He especially
  • in expressing any judgment on Species or origin of man’. Darwins concern about the popular
  • Lyells and Huxleys books. Three years earlier Darwin had predicted that Lyells forthcoming
  • first half of 1863 focused attention even more closely on Darwins arguments for species change. …
  • … ‘groan’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Darwin reiterated in a later letter that it
  • of creation, and the origin of species particularly, worried Darwin; he told Hooker that he had once
  • letter to J. D. Hooker, 24[–5] February [1863] ). Darwin did not relish telling Lyell of his
  • … ( letter to Charles Lyell, 6 March [1863] ). Nevertheless, Darwins regret was profound that the
  • thebrutes’, but added that he would bring many towards Darwin who would have rebelled against
  • from Charles Lyell, 11 March 1863 ). The botanist Asa Gray, Darwins friend in the United States, …
  • sentence from the second edition of  Antiquity of man  (C. Lyell 1863b, p. 469), published in
  • Primula  crosses, the results of which were published in 1868 ( see letter to John Scott, 25 and
  • of the world. Correspondence was established in 1863 with Roland Trimen, a civil servant in Cape
  • communicated to the Linnean Society ( see letter to Roland Trimen, 23 May [1863] ). Darwin began
  • months. However, the two-volume work was not published until 1868. Roping in the family
  • very slowly recovering, but am very weak’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [29 September? 1863] ). …
  • letter to J. D. Hooker, [223 November 1863] ). He told Roland Trimen in a letter of 25 November
  • Thomass Hospital, London ( letter from George Busk, [ c. 27 August 1863] ). Brinton, who

Have you read the one about....

Summary

... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.

Matches: 1 hits

  • … ... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some …

Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts

Summary

At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of  Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…

Matches: 27 hits

  • At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of  …
  • appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a
  • …  vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868] ). He may have resented the interruption to his
  • material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwins interests remained extremely broad, and
  • plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to
  • Carl von  Nägeli and perfectibility Darwins most substantial addition to  Origin  was a
  • a Swiss botanist and professor at Munich (Nägeli 1865). Darwin had considered Nägelis paper
  • principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägelis theory
  • in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of his response (now
  • are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwins apparent confusion about Nägelis
  • … ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwins uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently
  • pp. 289). In further letters, Hooker tried to provide Darwin with botanical examples he could use
  • problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth
  • now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , and
  • male and female fish, reptiles, and amphibians, while Roland Trimen in South Africa and John Jenner
  • of information which I have sent prove of any service to M r . Darwin I can supply him with much
  • … & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ).  More
  • and the bird of paradise  (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ), and
  • an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
  • species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a
  • genus that he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This
  • on the German translation of  Variation  (Carus trans. 1868). The French translation proved
  • the French edition of  Variation  (Moulinié trans. 1868), and CD now extended his permission for
  • Sweetland Dallass edition of Fritz Müllers  Für Darwin  (Dallas trans. 1869). The book, an
  • creation, if he is not completely staggered after reading y r  essay’. The work received a
  • whole meeting was decidedly Huxleys answer to D r  M c Cann. He literally poured boiling oil
  • Scientific Opinion , launched towards the end of 1868, was one of several periodicals begun in

Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health

Summary

On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’.  Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…

Matches: 24 hits

  • On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July
  • … … of having grown older’. This portrait, the first of Darwin with his now famous beard, had been
  • 52 hours without vomiting!! In the same month, Darwin began to consult William Jenner, …
  • prescribed a variety of antacids and purgatives, and limited Darwins fluid intake; this treatment
  • the dimorphic aquatic cut-grass  Leersia . In May, Darwin finished his paper on  Lythrum
  • he had set aside the previous summer. In October, Darwin let his friends know that on his
  • to the surgeon and naturalist Francis Trevelyan Buckland, Darwin described his symptoms in some
  • November and December were also marked by the award to Darwin of the Royal Societys Copley Medal; …
  • been unsuccessfully nominated the two previous years. As Darwin explained to his cousin William
  • it was conferred, brought a dramatic conclusion to the year. Darwin also wrote to Fox that he was
  • progressin Britain. Challenging convention Darwins concern about the acceptance of
  • …  vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin wrote to Hooker: ‘The only approach to work
  • …  produce tendrils However, the queries that Darwin, describing himself asa broken-down
  • tendrils’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [8 February 1864] ). Darwins excitement about his
  • … ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 June [1864] ). When Darwin asked Oliver whether the tendrils of
  • for his teacherly tone, explaining that he had felt that Darwin had misunderstood some accepted
  • … ( letter from Daniel Oliver, [17 March 1864] ). Though Darwin replied with his typical humility
  • habits of climbing plants’ (‘Climbing plants’), which Darwin submitted to the Linnean Society in
  • oxlip ( P. elatior ), and published his results in an 1868 article (‘Illegitimate offspring of
  • Bonatea speciosa  that he received later in the year from Roland Trimen in South Africa. Darwins
  • seemed only to grow in 1864. In addition to Crügers and Trimens orchid observations, he received, …
  • 5 September 1864 ). Fritz Müeller sent his bookFür Darwin , and Darwin had it translated by a
  • but Lyell says when I read his discussion in the Elements [C. Lyell 1865] I shall recant for fifth
  • on intellectual &ampmoral  qualities’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …

Darwin in letters, 1865: Delays and disappointments

Summary

The year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend and supporter; Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle; and William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and father of Darwin’s friend…

Matches: 19 hits

  • In 1865, the chief work on Charles Darwins mind was the writing of  The variation of animals and
  • letters on climbing plants to make another paper. Darwin also submitted a manuscript of his
  • protégé, John Scott, who was now working in India. Darwins transmutation theory continued to
  • Argyll, appeared in the religious weeklyGood Words . Darwin received news of an exchange of
  • Butler, and, according to Butler, the bishop of Wellington. Darwins theory was discussed at an
  • in the  GardenersChronicleAt the end of the year, Darwin was elected an honorary member of
  • year was marked by three deaths of personal significance to Darwin: Hugh Falconer, a friend of
  • in August. There was also a serious dispute between two of Darwins friends, John Lubbock and
  • jolly’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 7 January [1865] ). Darwin was ready to submit his paper on
  • a sudden illness. Falconer was 56, almost the same age as Darwin himself. Falconer had seconded
  • supported his candidacy, and had tried hard to persuade Darwin to accept the award in person (see  …
  • illness and delay, the book was not published until January 1868. 'Climbing plants' …
  • Darwin had received a copy of Müllers bookFür Darwin , a study of the Crustacea with reference
  • … … inheritance, reversion, effects of use & disuse &c’, and which he intended to publish in
  • manuscript was published as chapter 27 of  Variation  in 1868. The wider debate
  • He wrote to Hooker, ‘I doubt whether you or I or any one c d  do any good in healing this breach. …
  • Hookers behalf, ‘He asks if you saw the article of M r . Croll in the last Reader on the
  • from Frederick William Farrar, writing on language, and from Roland Trimen in Cape Town. His last
  • … ‘As for your thinking that you do not deserve the C[opley] Medal,’ he rebuked Hooker, ‘that I