Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Apache Server at dcp-public.lib.cam.ac.uk Port 443
Search:
in keywords
27 Items
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 22 hits
- … during his periods of severe illness. Yet on 15 January 1875 , Darwin confessed to his close …
- … On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & that will do me some good, if I …
- … mouthpiece of ‘Jesuitical Rome’ ( Academy , 2 January 1875, pp. 16–17). ‘How grandly you have …
- … .’ Hooker also directed some of his anger toward John Murray, the publisher of the …
- … that I should give the cold shoulder to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( …
- … Instead of supporting her, he worked closely with Huxley and John Burdon Sanderson to draft an …
- … Edward Emanuel Klein, a German histologist who worked with John Burdon Sanderson at the Brown Animal …
- … learned of Klein’s testimony from Huxley on 30 October 1875 : ‘I declare to you I did not believe …
- … carried out on live animals in laboratories. In January 1875, he received details of experiments by …
- … of the book’s appeal to readers, for he warned Murray on 29 April that it might ‘sell very …
- … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
- … in a review of the book in the Academy , 24 July 1875, by Ellen Frances Lubbock: ‘in Utricularia …
- … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
- … plants 2d ed. was delayed until November, allowing Murray to advertise it at his annual sale. In …
- … further research on the effects of grafting by George John Romanes. A scientific friendship had …
- … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
- … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
- … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
- … signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
- … 24 December , Emma wrote triumphantly to the former vicar, John Brodie Innes, that a new reading …
- … both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
- … within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). Finally it …
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: 15 hits
- … was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, …
- … series of guides and also published travel books. Successive John Murrays ran the publishing house; …
- … University Library a similar number of letters from John Murray and Robert Cooke, his cousin and …
- … end of 1845, Darwin was not happy with Colburn’s terms ( Letter 856 ). Instead he asked his friend …
- … had proved to be a scientific best-seller for the second John Murray, to open negotiations with his …
- … have transacted the business with me’ (27 August [1845] Letter 908 ). Thus began the business …
- … Navy: and adapted for travellers in general edited by John Herschel, but there was an error at …
- … 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 …
- … his ‘big species book’; on 18 June 1858, he received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace with the …
- … 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 …
- … more about the wide distribution of my books’ (29 June [1875] Letter 10035 ). When the book went …
- … & lo & behold we have sold some 1700 Copies!!!’ (3 July 1875 Letter 10040 ). In all 3000 …
- … plants , but even so only 130 were left by the end of 1875 ( Letter 10297 ). The following year …
Cross and self fertilisation
Summary
The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…
Matches: 17 hits
- … 17 March [1867] ). He noted another factor in a letter to Gray, remarking, ‘I am going on with my …
- … 11 March [1873] ). In April 1873, the publisher John Murray announced in the Athenæum …
- … plagued by foreign Translators, Reviewers, &c.’ ( To John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). In reply to …
- … [1873] ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly …
- … on this subject. ( To J. V. Carus 7 February 1875 ). In fact, Darwin had planned a new set of …
- … fact seems to me all important.’ ( To Asa Gray, 30 May [1875] ). In earlier papers on plants with …
- … any material aid to plants in fertilization?’ (Meehan 1875) prompted Darwin to inform him that he …
- … to plants to intercross’ ( To Thomas Meehan, 3 October 1875 ). Hermann Müller had also read Meehan …
- … obscure this matter’ ( From Hermann Müller, 23 October 1875 ). The Italian botanists were …
- … plants that crossing was of little importance (Pedicino 1875; Comes 1875). Darwin was philosophical, …
- … Kölreuter’s papers’ ( To Hermann Müller, 26 October 1875 ). Darwin’s copy of Johann Kölreuter’s …
- … in the conditions’ ( To Ernst Haeckel, 13 November 1875 ). He added on a darker note, ‘What I …
- … papers in the same book ( To J. V. Carus, 25 December 1875 ). As Darwin continued to write …
- … not expect that more than 6 or 700 would sell.’ ( To John Murray, 15 November 1876 ). In fact, …
- … A. R. Wallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long …
- … ( From R. F. Cooke, 16 March 1877 ). In November 1877, Murray suggested stereotyping the book, but …
- … W. Rimpau, 10 December 1877 ). By the end of February 1878, Murray was ready to print the second …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 27 hits
- … be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August …
- … pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such …
- … And … one looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
- … was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
- … inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October …
- … in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
- … that Mr Williams was ‘a cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
- … his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874 …
- … Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). …
- … not retract his criticism in his own second edition (Dana 1875, p. 274). Descent …
- … had been in two volumes and had cost twenty-four shillings.) Murray’s partner, Robert Francis Cooke, …
- … Quarterly Review discussing works on primitive man by John Lubbock and Edward Burnett Tylor. It …
- … of anonymous reviews. Its proprietor was none other than John Murray, Darwin’s publisher. So …
- … wording of both the letter to the editor and the letter to Murray to accompany it. The depth of …
- … a new publisher’ and advised that Darwin should not push Murray to the point of cutting off …
- … [6 or 7 August 1874] ). When the letter was finally sent to Murray, Darwin referred only to their …
- … ‘asking a favour ‘. He explained why he had written to Murray and not the editor of the Quarterly …
- … to review me in a hostile spirit’ ( letter to John Murray, 11 August 1874 ). Darwin was …
- … number of the Review & in the same type’ ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). George …
- … anonymous reviews. While staying with Hooker over Christmas, John Tyndall, professor at and …
- … as ‘the natural outflow of his character’ ( letter from John Tyndall, 28 December 1874 ). …
- … (Correspondence vol. 23, from J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1875] ), preferring to attack Mivart in …
- … Anthropogenie in the Academy (2 January 1875; see Appendix V, pp. 644–5) . The affair …
- … wrote a polite, very formal letter to Mivart on 12 January 1875 , refusing to hold any future …
- … to purchase the wooded land, which he had been renting from John Lubbock, led to a straining of …
- … the sale was agreed in April for £300 ( letter from John Lubbock, 2 April 1874 ), a high price …
- … and a second French edition was published in January 1875 ( letter from C.-F. Reinwald , 4 February …
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: 24 hits
- … on a paper on Verbascum (mullein) by CD’s protégé, John Scott, who was now working in India. …
- … also a serious dispute between two of Darwin’s friends, John Lubbock and Charles Lyell . These …
- … 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] …
- … Appendix II). In May, he invited a new doctor, John Chapman, to Down and began a course of Chapman’s …
- … 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] ). …
- … Variation . In March Darwin wrote to his publisher, John Murray, ‘Of present book I have 7 …
- … will be ready for the press in the autumn’ ( letter to John Murray, 4 April [1865] ). In early …
- … ‘I am never idle when I can do anything’ ( letter to John Murray, 2 June [1865] ). It was not …
- … questions and suggesting new lines of research. John Scott A similar, though not so …
- … effort took place in the beginning of the year when John Scott, a protégé of Darwin’s whom Darwin …
- … varieties (see Correspondence vol. 10, letter to John Scott, 19 November [1862] ). Darwin had …
- … in 1863 (see Correspondence vol. 11, letter from John Scott, 21 September [1863] ), and wrote …
- … 1864, despite suffering from sea-sickness ( letter from John Scott, 21 July 1865 ). This may have …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 16 hits
- … by the prospect of animals suffering for science. In a letter to E. Ray Lankester, he wrote: ‘You …
- … another word about it, else I shall not sleep to-night’ ( letter to E. R. Lankester, 22 March [1871 …
- … pangenesis. Darwin was taken aback, and swiftly replied in a letter to Nature , insisting that he …
- … deserved credit for his ‘ingenuity and perseverance’ ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] …
- … for further cross-circulation and ‘Siamesing’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 13 September 1871 ). …
- … was sought in another set of experiments by George John Romanes. This time the creatures were plants …
- … Some of the results were promising, but inconclusive (see letter from G. J. Romanes, 14 July 1875 …
- … results will be necessary to convince physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 July 1875 ). …
- … for your work; & I suppose birds can be chloroformed (letter to G. J. Romanes, 27 December …
- … into close contact with England’s leading physiologists, John Scott Burdon Sanderson, Thomas Lauder …
- … branded physiologists as ‘demons let loose from hell’ ( letter to F. B. Cobbe, [14 January 1875] ) …
- … detail here . He stated his position most frankly in a letter to Henrietta, 4 January [1875] . …
- … point of view I have rejoiced at the present agitation. ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January …
- … science of Physiology as doomed to death in this country. ( letter To T. H. Huxley, 14 January 1875 …
- … are now in the position of a persecuted religious sect’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 June [1876] ) …
- … of the utility of experiment amongst people in general’ ( letter from T. L. Brunton, 12 February …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Were women a target audience? Letter 2447 - Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859] …
- … chapters of Origin of Species to his publisher, John Murray. He hopes that his views are …
- … her to read to check that she can understand it. Letter 7312 - Darwin to Darwin, F. …
- … from all but educated, typically-male readers. Letter 7124 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E …
- … he seeks her help with tone and style. Letter 7329 - Murray , J. to Darwin, [28 …
- … in order to minimise impeding general perusal. Letter 7331 - Darwin to Murray, …
- … he uses to avoid ownership of indelicate content. Letter 8335 - Reade, W. W. to …
- … so as not to lose the interest of women. Letter 8341 - Reade, W. W. to Darwin, …
- … which will make it more appealing to women. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to …
- … Darwin’s female readership Letter 5391 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [6 February …
- … of the Manchester Ladies Literary Society . Letter 6551 - Becker, L. E . to …
- … the chapter on pangenesis, which is a revelation. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. …
- … Darwin assumes that 'A. B. Blackwell' is a man. Letter 7177 - Cupples, G. to …
- … him to the psychology of Herbert Spencer. Letter 7624 - Bathoe, M . B. to Darwin …
- … his statements on a lack of reasoning in animals. Letter 7644 - Barnard, A. to …
- … during a visit to an asylum with her father. Letter 7651 - Wedgwood, F. J. to …
- … on any comments that she feels might be suitable. Letter 7411 - Pfeiffer, E. J. to …
- … and beauty in the process of sexual selection. Letter 8055 - Hennell, S. S. to Darwin, …
- … of a woman’s natural thinking”. Letter 8778 - Forster, L. M . to Darwin, H. …
- … and the showing of teeth in Expression . Letter 10072 - Pape, C. to …
- … and hopes Darwin will complete her questionnaire. Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. …
- … - Innes, J. B. to Darwin, [31 August 1868] John Innes reports that he has read …
St George Jackson Mivart
Summary
In the second half of 1874, Darwin’s peace was disturbed by an anonymous article in the Quarterly Review suggesting that his son George was opposed to the institution of marriage and in favour of ‘unrestrained licentiousness’. Darwin suspected, correctly,…
Matches: 15 hits
- … to an end. The dispute was not resolved until early 1875, and, even then, not to Darwin’s complete …
- … July 1874, Mivart published an anonymous review of works by John Lubbock and Edward Burnett Tylor in …
- … also wondering whether he should break off relations with John Murray, his own publisher and also …
- … it for publication in the next issue of the Quarterly ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 29 July 1874 …
- … paper, which Darwin pointed out was not the kind of thing Murray would be likely to wish to …
- … them explicitly, he might be thought to endorse them ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 5 August 1874 ). …
- … of encouraging licentiousness. A postscript to Darwin’s letter, which may belong to another letter, …
- … on board Darwin’s comments and sent a fair copy of his letter with his letter of 6 [August] 1874 …
- … courteous response, agreeing to all he asked ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). …
- … dangerous and pernicious. Darwin thanked Murray for sending him the issue of the …
- … having been used in a Pickwickian sense’ ( letter to John Murray, 18 October 1874 ). In other …
- … the president, George Allman: he had already spoken to John Tyndall ( letter from John Tyndall, 28 …
- … book Anthropogenie , in the Academy , 2 January 1875. ‘Possessed by a blind animosity against …
- … (Mivart was a Catholic convert.) On 12 January 1875 , Darwin finally wrote to Mivart, …
- … article in a letter published in the Academy , 16 January 1875, p. 66, signed, ‘The Quarterly …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 26 hits
- … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
- … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
- … In January, Darwin corresponded with George John Romanes about new varieties of sugar cane produced …
- … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
- … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
- … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
- … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
- … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
- … find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
- … Quarterly Review , owned by Darwin’s publisher John Murray, carried an anonymous article on the …
- … 1882, p. 179). Darwin commented at length on the review to Murray. He was pleased by ‘the few first …
- … sooner or later write differently about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The …
- … leaves into their burrows ( Correspondence vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 …
- … on the summit, whence it rolls down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The …
- … light on it, which would have pleased me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, …
- … Darwin had a less heated discussion with the painter John Collier on the topic of science and art. …
- … himself to so dreadful a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 February 1882 ). Collier had …
- … be the same without my consciousness?’ ( letter from John Collier, 22 February 1882 ; T. H. Huxley …
- … had taken a strong interest in the vivisection debate in 1875, and had even testified before a Royal …
- … and admirers. One of the most touching was from John Lubbock, whose interest in natural history at …
- … we adjourned as a small tribute of respect’ (letter from John Lubbock to Francis Darwin, 20 April …
- … pigeon breeder: ‘Skins are on their road to me sent by Mr. Murray from Persia, & I hope to get …
- … ). Darwin’s former mentor at University of Cambridge, John Stevens Henslow, was not a …
- … Origin, a number of Darwin’s friends, Huxley, John Lubbock, and Charles Lyell, each addressed the …
- … for divorce’ ( letter to H. K. Rusden, [before 27 March 1875] ). In Descent of man , p. 103, …
- … vol. 23, letter from Charlotte Papé, 16 July 1875 ). She now addressed Francis, who could best …
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
Matches: 23 hits
- … preparing a second edition, which eventually appeared in 1875. In the same year, Darwin published a …
- … had considered combining the works in a single volume ( letter to J. V. Carus, 7 February 1875 ). …
- … , a plant that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from R. I. Lynch, [before 28 July …
- … the woodblock using photography for scientific accuracy ( letter from J. D. Cooper, 13 December …
- … lost colour, withered, and died within a couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin, 28 February …
- … how their observations could have been so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879 …
- … the botanist Gaetano Durando, to find plants and seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February – 8 …
- … only the regulator & not cause of movement ’. In the same letter, Darwin discussed terminology, …
- … to replace Frank’s ‘Transversal-Heliotropismus’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 10 February [1880] ). …
- … experiments and devised a new test, which he described in a letter to his mother, ‘ I did some …
- … and it appeared in 1880 (F. Darwin 1880b). In the same letter, Francis revealed the frustration of …
- … on holiday in the Lake District, Darwin received a long letter from De Vries detailing his latest …
- … described as ‘little discs’ and ‘greenish bodies’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 29 October 1879 …
- … of cotton that he had not been able to observe earlier ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 20 …
- … might have been too weak to lift the weight of the seed ( letter from Asa Gray, 3 February 1880 ). …
- … germination occurred, the plant would be killed by frost ( letter from Asa Gray, 4 April 1880 ). …
- … Movements of Plants’, he told Robert Cooke of John Murray publishers, before suggesting ‘The …
- … Phytographie (A. de Candolle 1880). In his letter of thanks for the book, Darwin promised to send …
- … about the number of copies they should print ( letter to John Murray, 10 July 1880 ). Moreover, …
- … good deal more’ than any of Darwin’s previous works, Murray was willing to publish on the usual …
- … as soon as stereotypes of the text were available from Murray ( letter from D. Appleton & Co., …
- … publication will not cost me quite so much as I expected. Murray has sold 800 copies. The Times …
- … to his son George, ‘ Hurrah for the old bloody Times, Murray says 500 copies urgently required ’. …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 26 hits
- … ‘my wife … poor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
- … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
- … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
- … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
- … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
- … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
- … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
- … him ‘basely’ and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
- … end of the previous year. He had been incensed in December 1875 when the zoologist Edwin Ray …
- … disgrace’ of blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
- … must have been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February …
- … The controversial issue had occupied Darwin for much of 1875. In January 1876, a Royal Commission …
- … had been founded in March 1876 by the London physiologist John Scott Burdon Sanderson to discuss how …
- … to Insectivorous plants , which was published in July 1875, with a US edition published later …
- … her questions were ‘too silly to deserve an answer’ ( letter from S. B. Herrick, 12 February 1876 …
- … on Dionaea ‘to test the insect eating theory’ ( letter from Peter Henderson, 15 November 1876 …
- … sending Darwin small amendments to his results ( letter from Moritz Schiff, 8 May 1876 ). …
- … in February 1876 (despite bearing a publication date of 1875), Darwin must have been gratified by …
- … to get positive results in this year’s experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March …
- … in the Encyclopaedia Britannica the previous year ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [after 4 September …
- … and to promote work he admired. He was so interested in a letter from Fritz Müller in Brazil …
- … with the ants that inhabited the trunk that he sent the letter to Nature for publication. ‘It …
- … Darwin, who had communicated the paper to the society in 1875 at Tait’s request, with the ‘awful job …
- … Darwin rejoiced to hear that the Cambridge astronomer John Couch Adams not only approved of George’s …
- … at the pre-publication sale dinner held by his publisher, John Murray ( letter to John Murray, 15 …
- … ). In England, the clergyman botanist George Henslow, son of John Stevens Henslow, Darwin’s …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 26 hits
- … would culminate in two books, Insectivorous plants (1875) and Cross and self fertilisation …
- … I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
- … work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
- … Thomas Lauder Brunton, a specialist in pharmacology, and John Scott Burdon Sanderson, a professor at …
- … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
- … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
- … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
- … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
- … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
- … on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
- … “he would fly at the Empr’s throat like a bulldog” ( letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, …
- … force & truth of the great principle of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 …
- … the heavy breathing that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish …
- … with up lines; & sadness & decay with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April …
- … with the advance of civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). …
- … have never felt an inclination to have a second dose” ( letter from Robert Swinhoe, 26 March 1873 …
- … of an orbital one produces snapping of the jaws” ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 16 April 1873 …
- … with leading physiologists such as David Ferrier and John Hughlings Jackson. Darwin declined to …
- … that illustrated the physiognomy of the disease ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 30 December 1873 …
- … fund was first suggested in early April by Katharine Murray Lyell in conversation with Emma Darwin, …
- … A group of Huxley’s close friends, including Hooker, John Lubbock, Herbert Spencer, John Tyndall, …
- … edition was called for. There were commercial advantages for Murray in bringing out a substantially …
- … your own power & usefulness”, citing the examples of John Stuart Mill and Charles Lyell, who …
- … from Ernst Meitzen, 17 January 1873 ). A poor-law officer, John Farr, wrote: “Faith like Species, …
- … more permanent than species are permanent” ( letter from John Farr, 7 July 1873 ). Further …
- … closer to home, when he was graced by an invitation from John Jenner Weir to act as a patron of the …
Insectivorous Plants
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Plants that consume insects Darwin began his work with insectivorous plants in the mid 1860s, though his findings would not be published until 1875. In his autobiography Darwin reflected on the delay that…
Matches: 10 hits
- … mid 1860s, though his findings would not be published until 1875. In his autobiography Darwin …
- … 1 The resulting volume, Insectivorous Plants (1875), was one in a series of works in which …
- … Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter. London; John. Murray. You can download the …
- … SOURCES Books Darwin, Charles. 1875. Insectivorous Plants. London: John …
- … Scott's objection to Natural Selection. Letter 2951 - Charles Darwin to Daniel …
- … ammonia as a substitute for flies on Drosera . Letter 2932 - Charles Darwin to J.S. …
- … teacher during Darwin's students days at Cambridge. In this letter Darwin asks Henslow whether …
- … the Drosera is a known or common phenomenon. Letter 8113 - Mary Treat to Charles …
- … observations in gratitude for Darwin's own work. Letter 9005 - Charles Darwin to …
- … of utricularia expressed by Mary Treat in an 1874 letter to Charles Darwin: I …
Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics
Summary
On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…
Matches: 28 hits
- … On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species , …
- … learn that the book was on sale even in railway stations ( letter to Charles Lyell, 14 January …
- … the book, thinking that it would be nice easy reading.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860] ). …
- … he told Hooker, did not at all concern his main argument ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] …
- … his theory would have been ‘ utterly smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A …
- … from right principles of scientific investigation.—’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). …
- … a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 18 February [1860] ). …
- … phenomena it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] …
- … . Fawcett asserted that Darwin’s theory accorded well with John Stuart Mill’s exposition of the …
- … natural selection did not necessarily lead to progression ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [and 19 …
- … of species to join that of divergence. Andrew Murray challenged the explanation of the origin and …
- … considered it more a failure than a success ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 February [1860] ). …
- … naturalists because more accustomed to reasoning.’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 18 May 1860 ). …
- … two physiologists, and five botanists ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 March [1860] ). Others, like …
- … tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 3 April [1860] ). By the …
- … favour of change of form’, namely those of embryology ( letter to Asa Gray, 10 September [1860] ). …
- … his study of the geographical distribution of species ( see letter from T. H. Huxley, 6 August 1860 …
- … ‘man is in same predicament with other animals’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 10 January [1860] )— he …
- … book had become ‘topics of the day’ at the meeting in a letter from Hooker written from Oxford. …
- … to hear Samuel Wilberforce, the bishop of Oxford, reply to John William Draper’s paper giving a …
- … Darwin ‘master of the field after 4 hours battle’ (letter from J. D. Hooker, 2 July 1860). Other …
- … that ‘this row is best thing for subject.—’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). Further …
- … if the whole were already proved) to his own views.—’ ( letter from J. S. Henslow to J. D. Hooker, …
- … 12 December [1860] ). This work was not published until 1875, when Insectivorous plants …
- … His work was also halted abruptly late in November when Murray again called for a new edition of …
- … I shall improve the Book considerably.—’ ( letter to John Murray, 5 December [1860] ). Although he …
- … to convert people under 20 year,’ he told his friend John Innes, ‘though firmly convinced now …
- … good judge coming some little way with me.’ ( letter to John Innes, 28 December [1860] ). …
Forms of flowers
Summary
Darwin’s book The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, published in 1877, investigated the structural differences in the sexual organs of flowers of the same species. It drew on and expanded five articles Darwin had published on the…
Matches: 8 hits
- … results of similar work carried out by correspondents like John Scott . Scott had been studying …
- … earlier papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants. In early 1875, he briefly considered adding this …
- … (p. 82) and clarified the meaning to Fritz Müller in a letter in September 1866, ‘ What I meant in …
- … hinted at the possibility of functional differences, but by 1875 he had completed Insectivorous …
- … than in the short-styled form ’, Darwin annotated this letter, wondering, ‘Would it be worth while …
- … to write Forms of flowers . He contacted his publisher John Murray in early April 1877, …
- … wish to complete the series ’. He seemed unsure that Murray would publish the book on his usual …
- … to Darwin), so asked for it to be published on commission if Murray did not want to take the risk. …
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: 26 hits
- … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
- … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
- … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
- … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
- … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
- … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
- … a very long period before the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] …
- … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
- … I d have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
- … completed revisions of the ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was …
- … him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
- … with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
- … and amphibians, while Roland Trimen in South Africa and John Jenner Weir in London sent more …
- … doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
- … weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
- … with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
- … in an additional & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 …
- … orang-utan, and the bird of paradise (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ) …
- … does himself an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
- … geological structures of the South American cordillera ( letter to Charles Lyell, 20 May 1869 ), …
- … of the same species that Darwin had investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February …
- … contributed to Insectivorous plants , published in 1875. Prompted by a request from a …
- … and broadening the forums in which Darwinism was discussed. John Murray brought out the first issue …
- … a higher tone of Criticism than that now prevailing’. Here Murray was alluding particularly to the …
- … wish your Periodical all success’, Darwin wrote to Murray, ‘I wish it had been weekly, as then …
- … that to me would have been a pleasing sight’ ( letter to John Murray, [after 18 September 1869] ). …
Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers
Summary
In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…
Matches: 24 hits
- … in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
- … memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
- … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
- … the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
- … whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
- … eager to send his draft to the printers without delay, asked John Murray, his publisher, to make an …
- … about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
- … laboratory. The Lake District may have reminded Darwin of John Ruskin, who lived there. Sending the …
- … for more suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March …
- … supposed he would feel ‘less sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The …
- … dead a work falls at this late period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). …
- … conversation with you’, a Swedish teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), …
- … add, however little, to the general stock of knowledge’ ( letter to E. W. Bok, 10 May 1881 ). …
- … regular ‘bread-winners’ ( Correspondence vol. 30, letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). …
- … any future publication & to acknowledge any criticism’ ( letter to C. G. Semper, 19 July 1881 …
- … view of the nature & capabilities of the Fuegians’ ( letter to W. P. Snow, 22 November 1881 ). …
- … the kindly protection of the high priests of science’ ( letter from Francisco de Arruda Furtado, 29 …
- … Nature , which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In …
- … minds, without being in the least conscious of it’ ( letter to Alexander Agassiz, 5 May 1881 ). …
- … this produced about the year 1840(?) on all our minds’ ( letter to John Lubbock, [18 September 1881 …
- … big one’ and had ‘gone much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling …
- … not have read the evidence given by physiologists to the 1875 Royal Commission for the regulation of …
- … on 27 May . Romanes assured Darwin that the artist, John Collier, Huxley’s son-in-law, was ‘such a …
- … Darwin told his old Cambridge University friend John Price on 27 December . As Darwin rejoiced in …
Darwin and the Church
Summary
The story of Charles Darwin’s involvement with the church is one that is told far too rarely. It shows another side of the man who is more often remembered for his personal struggles with faith, or for his role in large-scale controversies over the…
Matches: 21 hits
- … scientific interests. Indeed, Darwin’s Cambridge mentor, John Stevens Henslow, and his friend and …
- … & I can see it even through a grove of Palms.—’ (letter to Caroline Darwin, 25–6 April [1832] …
- … wrote to the contrary: ‘I am sorry to see in your last letter that you still look forward to the …
- … near the British Museum or some other learned place’ (letter from E. A. Darwin, 18 August [1832] …
- … it is a sort of scene I never ought to think about—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, [9–12 August] 1835 ). …
- … the work of Non-conformist preachers in the village. John Brodie Innes Many of the …
- … However, what remains is cordial; in the first extant letter of the correspondence, Darwin wrote to …
- … (a local charity), which he administered from 1848 to 1869 (letter to J. B. Innes, [8 May 1848] …
- … he would make an excellent Guardian [of the Poor Fund]’ (letter to J. W. Lubbock, 28 March [1854] …
- … club the use of his own lawn for its meetings (Moore 1985; letter to J. S. Henslow, 17 January …
- … the family’s dog, Quiz, when he moved away from Down (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 December [1861] ) …
- … was considered to be a cross between a cow and a red deer (letter from J. B. Innes, 7 December …
- … ancestor. Please think of my request favourably—’ (letter from J. B. Innes, 26 May 1871 ). Indeed …
- … and leaves Moses to take care of himself. Letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 …
- … take care of the financial complications he left behind (letter from S. J. O’H. Horsman, 2 June …
- … seemed to have made off with the church’s organ fund (letter to J. B. Innes, 15 June [1868] ). So …
- … by Horsman relating to the Down school and organ funds (letter to J. B. Innes, 13 January 1871 ). …
- … Dissenters’ chapel, rather than the Down parish church (letter to J. B. Innes, 1 December 1868 ). …
- … in the Parish, but preaches, I hear, very dull sermons’ (letter to J. B. Innes, 18 January [1871] …
- … to such strained relations that Darwin’s neighbour, John Lubbock, was forced to send a series of …
- … chapter . Edited by Francis Darwin. 3 vols. London: John Murray. 1887–8. Moore, James. 1985. …
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: 25 hits
- … scientific books in Darwin’s library were catalogued in 1875, and this manuscript catalogue is in …
- … [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 …
- … The Emigrant, Head [F. B. Head 1846] St. John’s Highlands [C. W. G. Saint John 1846] …
- … 1766] Count Dandalo on silk worm Eng. Translat 1825—Murray [Dandolo 1825] /good/ M rs …
- … M rs Fry’s Life [Fry 1847] Horace Walpoles letter to C t . of Ossory [Walpole 1848] …
- … B.M. 6. 6. Black Edin. Longman [Ramsay 1848] St. John’s Nat. Hist. of Sutherlanshire, Murray …
- … Liebigs Lectures on Chemistry [Liebig 1851]. Sir John Davies. China during the War and Peace …
- … Asiatic Society ]—contains very little Macleay’s letter to D r Fleming [Macleay 1830] …
- … ] to end of Vol: XVIII & Part I. of V. 19 (1843) 25. Murray Domestic Poultry.— Domestic …
- … d . Series. vol 3. p. 1 to 312 30 th Colquhoun (John) The Moor & the Loch [Colquhoun …
- … Buffon [Milne-Edwards 1834–40]. March 5 th St. John’s Highlands [Saint John 1846] 8 …
- … Tone Autobiography [Tone 1826] very amusing March 10 John Galt Autobiography [Galt 1833] poor …
- … 1848] Madam Malguet [Torrens] 1848] —— Lives of John & Alex. Belthune [?Bethune 1840 and …
- … [Heer 1854].— Hooker has it.— Very important Hookers letter Jan. 1859 Yules Ava [Yule 1858] …
- … many vols. I have read.— [DAR *128: 149] Murray Geograph. Distrib. Price William …
- … 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 …
- … up the River Amazon, including a residence at Pará . (Murray’s Home and Colonial Library.) …
- … Translated from the German and French by Lady Duff Gordon. (Murray’s Home and Colonial Library.) …
- … in DAR 71: 180–91.] *119: 22v.; 119: 22a Murray, Andrew. 1866. The geographical …
- … Leveson Gower [afterwards Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere]. (Murray’s Home and Colonial Library.) London. …
- … of H. Steffens. Translated from the German. (Murray’s Home and Colonial Library.) London. 119: …
1.6 Ouless oil portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction The first commissioned oil portrait of Darwin was painted by Walter William Ouless, who was given sittings at Down House in March 1875. The idea for such a portrait came from Darwin’s son William, who as far back as 1872 had…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Ouless, who was given sittings at Down House in March 1875. The idea for such a portrait came from …
- … the resulting picture was shown at the Royal Academy in May 1875, the Times reviewer noted …
- … of his father that had been produced, but others preferred John Collier’s portrait of 1881 for the …
- … Walter William Ouless date of creation March 1875 computer-readable date …
- … The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin , 3 vols (London: John Murray, 1887), vol. 3, pp. 195, 223. …
