From Daniel Oliver 14 April 1863
Summary
The ovule of Primula is amphitropous or what J. Georg Agardh calls apotropo-amphitropous [see Theoria systematis plantarum (1858), tab. 24, fig. 5–6].
| Author: | Daniel Oliver |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Apr 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 173: 21 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4093 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … calls apotropo-amphitropous [see Theoria systematis plantarum (1858), tab. 24, fig. 5–6]. …
- … Bibliography Agardh, Jacob Georg. 1858. Theoria systematis plantarum; accedit familiarum …
- … amphitropal’ is not apparent in Agardh 1858 , but see p. 331 and Tab. XXVII, fig. 1. …
- … Hofmeister, Wilhelm Friedrich Benedict. 1858. Neuere Beobachtungen über Embryobildung der …
- … is to Wilhelm Hofmeister and Hofmeister 1858 , p. 199. Micropetalous: ‘having very small …
- … from the former to the latter’ ( Hofmeister 1858 , p. 119). The endostome was the opening …
From Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure 17 January 1863
Summary
His work on Mexico has some geology, which might interest CD.
He is currently at work on the "filiation des genres des espèces et des moeurs des guepes [hornets]".
| Author: | Henri Louis Frédéric (Henri) de Saussure |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 17 Jan 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 177: 40 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3923 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … wasps formed the fourth part of Saussure 1858–71 . Saussure 1862 . The London bookseller, …
- … reference is to the first volume of Saussure 1858–71 , a memoir on the natural history of …
- … Mexico, the Antilles, and the United States. Saussure 1858 . CD’ …
- … s lightly annotated copy of Saussure 1858 is in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL. …
- … others]. Saussure, Henri Louis Frédéric de. 1858–71. Mémoires pour servir a l’histoire …
- … H. Georg. Saussure, Henri Louis Frédéric de. 1858. Observations sur les mœurs de divers …
From Hugh Falconer 8 January [1863]
Summary
Comments on his elephant paper
and CD’s observations on dimorphism in Melastomataceae.
| Author: | Hugh Falconer |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 8 Jan [1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 164: 11 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3908 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … History 3d ser. 10: 363–70. Leidy, Joseph. 1858. Notice of remains of extinct Vertebrata, …
- … n. 7, below. Falconer refers to Leidy 1858 , pp. 28–9. Joseph Leidy , a North American …
- … of Europe, or of M. sivalensis , of the Sivalic Hills, of India’ ( Leidy 1858 , p. 28). …
- … See also Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1858): 10. …
- … Leidy 1858 was summarised in the January 1863 number of Annals and Magazine of Natural …
From George Bentham 21 May 1863
Summary
Returns CD’s pamphlets.
Wishes CD would work out further what keeps certain species immutable for great periods.
Feels himself a convert, but cannot go all lengths with CD.
Feels some reviewers distort CD’s argument.
| Author: | George Bentham |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 21 May 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 157 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4172 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … Vols. 10,11] Pouchet, Félix Archimède. 1858. Note sur des proto-organismes végétaux et …
- … of Japan and North America ( A. Gray 1858–9 ). Gray’s hypothesis was that an ancient …
- … the northern temperate zone. [Read 14 December 1858 and 11 January 1859. ] Memoirs of the …
- … Félix Archimède Pouchet ( Pouchet 1858 and 1859), which purported to demonstrate the …
- … Linnean Society of London. 1888. Gray, Asa. 1858–9. Diagnostic characters of new species …
To W. E. Darwin [10 May 1863]
Summary
Thanks WED for his botanical specimens and observations.
Discusses Corydalis and the fertilisation of Fumariaceae.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | [10 May 1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 111 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4151 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Gardeners’ Chronicle , [before 13 November 1858] ( Correspondence vol. 7). CD refers to …
- … Corydalis lutea ( Pseudofumaria lutea ) in 1858, 1859, and 1861; his notes are in DAR 76: …
- … pollination mechanisms of Fumariaceae in 1858, after Asa Gray argued that the family was …
- … notes on species of Fumaria , dated 1858, 1861, and 1863, are in DAR 76: 13–21. CD …
From Isaac Anderson-Henry 26–7 January 1863
Summary
Has done extensive plant hybridisation: strawberry, raspberry, Rhododendron.
| Author: | Isaac Anderson; Isaac Anderson Henry |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 26–7 Jan 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 159: 61 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3948 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … Cabinet and Florists’ Magazine 26 (1858): 60–7. ] Bean, William Jackson. 1970–88. Trees …
- … and editor of its journal, in which Jameson 1858 was published. CD was interested in …
- … Gardens, Kew. 1893–1996. Jameson, William. 1858. Excursion made from Quito to the River …
- … is given at length in the 26 th Vol (for 1858) of Harrisons Floricultural Cabinet p 60. My …
- … Anderson[-Henry] 1853 was republished in 1858 in the Horticultural Cabinet and Florists’ …
To J. D. Hooker 12–13 August [1863]
Summary
Doubts Decaisne’s report of larkspur self-fertilisation.
Enthusiastically observes climbing plants. Needs to know how novel his observations are. Finds R. J. H. Dutrochet has made similar observations, so he has wasted some time. [See Climbing plants, p. 1 n.]
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 12–13 Aug [1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 202 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4266 |
To Daniel Oliver 20 [February 1863]
Summary
Having trouble understanding laws of phyllotaxy in order to grasp Hugh Falconer’s objections.
L. C. Treviranus on Primula [see 3980] misses the "prettiness" of the adaptations.
John Scott says P. scotica is never dimorphic.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
| Date: | 20 [Feb 1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 261.10: 41 (EH 88206024) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4052 |
From G. H. K. Thwaites 8 June 1863
Summary
Dimorphism in Linum.
Situation in some of the lower Algae is analogous to that in phaenogams. In some, conjugation occurs between separate filaments, in others between cells of same filament.
Forwards a letter from S. O. Glenie enclosing specimens of Cassia fistula which show the two forms of the anthers.
| Author: | George Henry Kendrick Thwaites |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 8 June 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 121–2 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4208 |
From J. P. Thom 14 January 1863
Summary
Thanks for a gift of £20.
| Author: | John Pringle Thom |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Jan 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 107 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3916 |
To J. D. Hooker 13 January [1863]
Summary
Acquired characteristics.
Huxley’s lectures: good on induction, bad on sterility, obscure on geology.
Asa Gray on slavery.
Falconer’s partial conversion.
Alphonse de Candolle on Origin.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 13 Jan [1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 179 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3913 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Bibliography Bentham, George. 1858. Handbook of the British flora; a description of the …
- … s Handbook of the British flora ( Bentham 1858 ; see n. 13, below). The enclosure for …
- … the whole genus … may prove to consist but of one species’ ( Bentham 1858 , pp. 191–2). …
- … CD’s annotated copy of Bentham 1858 is in the Rare Books Room–CUL (see Marginalia 1: 51). …
From Edward Levett Darwin 7 September 1863
Summary
Glad to find they are cousins.
Sends his book [High Elms (pseud.), The game-preserver’s manual (1858)].
| Author: | Edward Levett Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 7 Sept 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 99: 17–18 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4295 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … are cousins. Sends his book [High Elms (pseud. ), The game-preserver’s manual (1858)]. …
To John Scott 6 June [1863]
Summary
CD has spoken to Hooker of JS’s scientific merit, but has not suggested him for a colonial appointment.
Advice on style of writing.
Making extensive extract of JS’s orchid paper to communicate to Linnean Society [J. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Bot.) 8 (1865): 162–7].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Scott |
| Date: | 6 June [1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 93: B38–40 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4206 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … vol. 9, letter to T. F. Jamieson, 6 September [1861] ). Robert Brown (1773–1858). …
From George Bentham [c. 14 April 1863]
Summary
Asks CD whether he knows of "anything worth looking at" that has appeared abroad on his theory of the origin of species.
| Author: | George Bentham |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [c. 14 Apr 1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 155 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4096 |
From J. D. Hooker [12 January 1863]
Summary
Huxley’s lectures [Man’s place in nature (1863)]; he would be a scientific H. T. Buckle, if he were more careful.
Asks CD what the evidence is for inheritance of acquired characteristics.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [12 Jan 1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 101: 98 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3892 |
To J. D. Hooker 17 March [1863]
Summary
Lyell’s Antiquity of man lacks originality.
Statements in Lyell provoke CD to determine exact publication date of Origin and JDH’s introductory essay [to Flora Tasmaniae].
CD now believes in repeated periods of global cooling and migration.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 17 Mar [1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 187 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4048 |
To Asa Gray 31 May [1863]
Summary
AG’s review of Alphonse de Candolle’s paper [Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 35 (1863): 430–44] is excellent.
Does not AG consider that orchids oppose Oswald Heer’s view that species arise suddenly by monstrosities?
Infers that AG cannot explain the angles of phyllotaxy; has been looking at Carl Nägeli on the subject.
Reports Gaston de Saporta’s belief that natural selection will ultimately triumph in France.
Is working slowly at Variation.
Reports his observations on the imperfect flowers of Viola and Oxalis.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Asa Gray |
| Date: | 31 May [1863] |
| Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (84) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4196 |
To Charles Lyell 12–13 March [1863]
Summary
[On Antiquity of man] CD is "convinced that at times … you have … given up immutability". "A clear expression from you, if you could have given it, would have been potent with the public."
Objects to CL’s description of CD’s view "as a modification of Lamarck’s doctrine". Quotes Henrietta [Darwin]’s observations on this description.
Comments on CL’s controversy with Owen concerning the human brain.
The controversy between Falconer and CL.
The "wretched" review of CL [Antiquity of man, Athenæum 14 Feb 1863, pp. 219–21] and Huxley [Man’s place in nature].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
| Date: | 12–13 Mar [1863] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.290) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4038 |
From George Henry Kendrick Thwaites 17 February 1863
Summary
Replies to CD’s letter: dimorphism common in Ceylon Rubiaceae. [See Forms of flowers, p. 286.]
| Author: | George Henry Kendrick Thwaites |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 17 Feb 1863 |
| Classmark: | DAR 109: A94 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3994 |
To J. D. Hooker 29 May [1863]
Summary
CD’s encouragement of John Scott, who has found a case of self-incompatibility in orchids, like William Herbert’s in Crinum.
Nägeli on phyllotaxy.
CD’s observations on broom fertilisation.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Date: | 29 May [1863] |
| Classmark: | DAR 115: 195 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4191 |
| letter | (56) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (29) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (6) |
| Bentham, George | (2) |
| Oliver, Daniel | (2) |
| Thwaites, G. H. K. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (27) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (9) |
| Lyell, Charles | (3) |
| Oliver, Daniel | (2) |
| Anderson Henry, Isaac | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (56) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (15) |
| Oliver, Daniel | (4) |
| Lyell, Charles | (3) |
| Anderson Henry, Isaac | (2) |
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: 11 hits
- … 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 …
- … dated Down, September 5th, 1857.” (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 50). The text comprises the second …
- … 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 …
- … few years, or at most a few centuries’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 51). 17 At this point in …
- … not hold the progeny of one pair’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 51). 18 The printed version …
- … printed version reads: ‘far more’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 52). 21 The printed version …
- … by struggling with other organisms’ (Darwin and Wallace 1858, p. 52). 22 The printed version …
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: 19 hits
- … Charles Lyell, 25 [November 1859] ) The year 1858 opened with Darwin hard at work …
- … on hybridism, on 29 December 1857, Darwin began in January 1858 to prepare the next chapter, ‘Mental …
- … facts on record.—’ (letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). In addition to behaviour such as …
- … occurred in nature (see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and Natural selection , p. 161). …
- … you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have been forced to …
- … much of his research completed, Darwin began in mid-June 1858 to write up the results of his study …
- … of my Chapters.’ (letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). As was his custom, Darwin did …
- … endorsement, the editors have dated the letter 18 [June 1858]. However, the accuracy of Darwin’s …
- … Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same day that another letter …
- … 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 Darwin–Wallace papers at the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858. It also includes an unpublished …
- … days immediately following his letter to Lyell. On 18 June 1858, his eldest daughter, Henrietta Emma …
- … did not attend the meeting of the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858. After the theory of natural …
- … a ‘small volume’ (letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 October [1858] ). Begun while he was in Sandown on …
- … detailed sections for his ‘big book’. In September 1858 he finished his manuscript discussion of …
- … experiments on bees’ cells continued through the autumn of 1858, even though he had completed a …
- … of publishing (see ‘Journal’; Appendix II). Twice in 1858 and three times in 1859 he had gone to …
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: 14 hits
- … of reaching.’ (Letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 10 February 1858 .) By now not only …
- … together. (Letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 13 February 1858 .) In April 1858, Darwin went to …
- … discussion in a memorandum to W. H. Miller, [15 April 1858] , summarising his position as follows …
- … by other cells (letter from G. R. Waterhouse, 17 April 1858 ). Waterhouse also told Darwin …
- … piece of honeycomb (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, [21 April 1858] ); however, it had been mislaid. …
- … beginnings of the comb (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 9 May [1858] ). He suspected that the first …
- … manner of building’ (letter to W. E. Darwin, [26 May 1858] .) To Tegetmeier, he explained in more …
- … cylindrical cells (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 5 June [1858] ). Tegetmeier suggested putting a …
- … and buying a swarm (letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 8 [June 1858] ). (Articial wax is probably …
- … 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 …
- … latest controversies in his letter to Darwin of 2 August 1858 . The notion that the theory of …
- … with the least possible expenditure of wax, but in September 1858 Tegetmeier was able to give Darwin …
- … of cells. (Letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 8 September [1858] .) In Origin , in November …
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: 25 hits
- … The years 1858 and 1859 were, without doubt, the most momentous of Darwin’s life. From …
- … of organic change at the Linnean Society of London in July 1858 and prompted the composition and …
- … 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 …
- … facts on record.—’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 31 January [1858] ). In addition to behaviour such as …
- … occurred in nature ( see letter to Asa Gray, 4 April [1858] , and Natural selection , p. 161). …
- … you have seen,’ he told Hooker in his letter of 8 [June 1858] , ‘yet I have been forced to …
- … 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 …
- … of my Chapters.’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). As was his custom, Darwin did …
- … endorsement, the editors have dated the letter 18 [June 1858]. However, the accuracy of Darwin’s …
- … Darwin received Wallace’s letter and manuscript on 3 June 1858, the same day that another letter …
- … 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 publication of …
- … full well you will be dreadfully severe.—’ On 18 [May 1858], he again tells Hooker: ‘There is not …
- … the Darwin–Wallace papers at the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858, including a letter from Wallace to …
- … days immediately following his letter to Lyell. On 18 June 1858, his eldest daughter, Henrietta Emma …
- … did not attend the meeting of the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858. The writing of Origin …
- … a ‘small volume’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 October [1858] ). Begun while he was in Sandown on …
- … detailed sections for his ‘big book’. In September 1858 he finished his manuscript discussion of …
- … experiments on bees’ cells continued through the autumn of 1858, even though he had completed a …
- … the most difficult challenge to his views. In November 1858, he communicated a long summary of his …
- … letter to Gardeners’ Chronicle, [before 13 November 1858] ), in which he presented the evidence for …
- … of publishing (see ‘Journal’; Appendix II). Twice in 1858 and three times in 1859 he had gone to …
- … we run two horses’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 6 October [1858] ). Visitors to Down and trips to …
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: 6 hits
- … manuscript, begun in May 1856, was nearly completed by June 1858. At that point Darwin was …
- … theory of transmutation ( letter to Charles Lyell, 18 [June 1858] ). Darwin recorded in his …
- … 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: 5 hits
- … Letter 2226 —Frederick Smith to Darwin, 26 Feb 1858 In this letter, Smith, a prominent …
- … Letter 2235 —Darwin to Frederick Smith, [before 9 Mar 1858] This letter contains a list of …
- … Letter 2413 —Charles Darwin to Emma Darwin, [25 Apr 1858] Written from Moor Park, a …
- … 2265 —Charles Darwin to William Erasmus Darwin, [26 Apr 1858] Writing to his eldest son, …
- … Letter 2306 —Charles Darwin to Joseph Hooker, 13 [July 1858] In this famous letter to …
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: 4 hits
- … and gratefully Charles Darwin. CREED AND FEVER: 1858 In which Gray expresses his …
- … Origin of Species…’ FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH: 1857-1858 In which Gray and Hooker begin …
- … 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 …
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…
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 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…
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…
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: 6 hits
- … Letter 2285 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 18 [June 1858] Darwin writes to Lyell and …
- … Letter 2294 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, [25 June 1858] Darwin writes to Lyell saying …
- … Letter 2295 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 26 [June 1858] Darwin writes to Lyell and …
- … Hooker, J. D. & Lyell, Charles to Linnean Society, 30 June 1858 Hooker and Lyell write …
- … Letter 2306 — Darwin, C. R. to Hooker, J. D., 13 [July 1858] Darwin writes to Hooker, saying …
- … Letter 2337 — Wallace, A. R. to Hooker, J. D., 6 Oct 1858 Darwin thanks Hooker and Lyell for …
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 …
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: 1 hits
- … Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. …
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…
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: 5 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 …
- … was writing his essay on the flora of Australia in December 1858, he asked to borrow Darwin’s ‘ …
- … convert. ’ Making the book By mid-October 1858, Darwin had expected that his abstract …
- … was having, and the fulfilment of his stated aim in July 1858 when he began to write his abstract: ‘ …
On the Origin of Species
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…
Orchids
Summary
Why Orchids? Darwin wrote in his Autobiography, ‘During the summer of 1839, and, I believe, during the previous summer, I was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my…
2.26 Linnean Society medal
Summary
< Back to Introduction In 1908 the Linnean Society celebrated the jubilee of ‘the greatest event’ in its whole history, which had occurred on 1 July 1858: the presentation by Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker of papers by Darwin and Alfred Russel…
Matches: 3 hits
- … event’ in its whole history, which had occurred on 1 July 1858: the presentation by Charles Lyell …
- … of thanks recalled the momentous reading of the papers in 1858, and the stunned or bemused reactions …
- … is inscribed round the rim on both sides ‘LINN.SOC.LOND: 1858–1908’. The ‘Objects exhibited in the …
