To John Scott 12 April [1863]
Summary
Encourages JS to publish on sterility of orchids and to experiment on Passiflora.
Doubted Hooker’s poppy case.
Describes case of primrose with three pistils: when pulled apart allowed pollen to be placed directly on ovules. This supports JS’s explanation of H. Crüger’s case.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Scott |
Date: | 12 Apr [1863] |
Classmark: | DAR 93: B59, B77–8 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4084 |
To Roland Trimen 31 January [1863]
Summary
Thanks RT for his letter and MS.
Is astonished by the different forms of orchids he describes.
Urges RT to describe and experiment with two or three of the more distinct genera.
"I believe, or am inclined to believe in one or very few primordial forms, from community of structure and early embryonic resemblances in each great class."
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Roland Trimen |
Date: | 31 Jan [1863] |
Classmark: | Royal Entomological Society (Trimen papers, box 21: 78) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3956 |
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 John Scott 25 and 28 May [1863]
Summary
CD does not think he could be wrong about the stigma of Bolbophyllum.
Will not write up Drosera for years.
Praises JS’s experiments. Invites him to send a paper to Linnean Society.
L. C. Treviranus says all species of Primula present two forms except P. longiflora.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Scott |
Date: | 25 and 28 May 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 93: B41–4 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4185 |
To John Scott 1 and 3 August [1863]
Summary
Thanks JS for orchid paper [Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 7 (1863): 543–50]. JS presents excellent new facts on sterility of orchids.
His argument that coloured primroses are not hybrids is good, as is idea of discovering primrose parentage by breeding for colours.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Scott |
Date: | 1 and 3 Aug 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 93: B24, B27–8, B70; DAR 147: 455 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4260 |
To Asa Gray 2 January [1863]
Summary
Thanks AG for Cypripedium and Mitchella.
Plans to investigate pollination of Cypripedium.
Has finished Linum paper [Collected papers 2: 93–105].
Would welcome facts on "bud-variations".
Hears that Cinchona is dimorphic.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 2 Jan [1863] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (56) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3897 |
From John James Aubertin 27 April 1863
Summary
Reminds CD of their acquaintance at Ilkley Wells; encloses portrait of self;
describes the topography, trade, commerce, produce, and population of São Paulo province.
Sends pieces of rock blasted for railway for CD to analyse.
Author: | John James Aubertin |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 27 Apr 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 159: 123 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4129 |
From John Scott 6 January 1863
Summary
Sends Primula scotica and P. farinosa.
So far cannot fertilise Gongora atropurpurea although it is similar to Acropera luteola.
Experimenting on intergeneric hybrids to test CD’s view that sterility is not a special endowment.
Scott’s personal history.
Acropera capsule grows.
Plans for experiments CD has suggested on Primula, peloric Antirrhinum, and Verbascum.
Asks about Gärtner’s experiments on maize.
Aware of Anderson-Henry’s failures.
Through kindness of J. H. Balfour and James McNab, enjoys facilities for research. JS is in charge of the propagating department. Balfour almost engaged him to be superintendent of the Madras Horticultural Garden.
Author: | John Scott |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 6 Jan 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 177: 81, 83 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3904 |
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 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Grisebach, August Heinrich Rudolph. 1845. …
From Robert Swinhoe 14 April 1863
Summary
Difference in plumage of Ardeola, a species of heron, in summer and winter. [See Descent 2: 190.]
Author: | Robert Swinhoe |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 14 Apr 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 84.1: 18–19 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4094 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Hall, Philip B. 1987. Robert Swinhoe (1836–1877), FRS, FZS, FRGS: a Victorian naturalist …
From Daniel Oliver 22 January 1863
Summary
The number of "aquatic" flowers is reduced if one considers only those that expand under water.
Lecturing at Norwich.
Author: | Daniel Oliver |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 22 Jan 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 173: 19 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-3937 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Müller, Phillipp Jacob. 1861. Rubologische …
To W. E. Darwin [5 May 1863]
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Date: | [5 May 1863] |
Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 110 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4140 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Lecoq, Henri. 1854–8. Études sur la géographie …
From T. H. Huxley 2 July 1863
Summary
Too busy to examine specimen. Will ask W. H. Flower to do it. Long catalogue of what keeps him busy and concerned.
C. Carter Blake, "a jackal of Owen’s", is the reviewer in Edinburgh Review and Anthropological Review [see 4223]. Has sent back his diploma of Hon. Fellowship to Anthropological Society.
Author: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 2 July 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 166: 298 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4228 |
From Robert Swinhoe 29 July 1863
Summary
Describes the similarity in plumage changes between Japanese and Chinese birds on the one hand and British and continental birds on the other. Suggests the changes are due to the warm gulf streams around both islands.
Author: | Robert Swinhoe |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 29 July 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 47: 176–7 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4257 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Hall, Philip B. 1987. Robert Swinhoe (1836–1877), FRS, FZS, FRGS: a Victorian naturalist …
From John Scott [after 12] April [1863]
Summary
Thanks for CD’s Linum paper [Collected papers 2: 93–105].
Has not published much because he would be ignored as a gardener; hence he is looking for a foreign appointment.
Has prepared orchid sterility paper at CD’s suggestion [Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 7 (1863): 543–50].
Author: | John Scott |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | [after 12] Apr [1863] |
Classmark: | DAR 177: 87 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4087 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … 2d edition, revised. London: John Murray. 1877. ‘Two forms in species of Linum ’: On the …
To John Scott 2 July [1863]
Summary
CD’s great interest in JS’s work on fertility of Primula crosses.
Thanks for Passiflora trials.
"By no means modify even in slightest degree any result."
CD wishes he had counted rather than weighed Primula seeds.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | John Scott |
Date: | 2 July [1863] |
Classmark: | DAR 93: B79; Linnean Society of London (Quentin Keynes collection) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4229 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Koch, Wilhelm Daniel Joseph. 1843–4. …
To Asa Gray 26 June [1863]
Summary
Thanks AG for references about phyllotaxy
and information on marriage laws.
Has been looking for dimorphism in Phlox and Euonymus.
Has observed the irritability of tendrils of Echinocystis with great interest. Was also struck by the rotating movements of the leading shoots, which he proposes to investigate.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Asa Gray |
Date: | 26 June [1863] |
Classmark: | Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (82) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4222 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. [Harcourt, William Vernon. ] 1863. Letters …
To Daniel Oliver 28 [November 1863]
Summary
Fertile flowers of violets, except Viola tricolor, require insect visits.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Daniel Oliver |
Date: | 28 [Nov 1863] |
Classmark: | DAR 261.10: 54 (EH 88206037) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4350 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Mohl, Hugo von. 1863. Einige Beobachtungen …
From Isaac Anderson-Henry 16 May 1863
Summary
Sends sprig of Linum luteum corymbiflorum [?]. CD is right about its being dimorphic.
Will try some odd strawberry crosses this summer.
Author: | Isaac Anderson; Isaac Anderson Henry |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 16 May 1863 |
Classmark: | DAR 110: 24 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4168 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Medical directory : The London medical …
From Charles and Emma Darwin to William Erasmus Darwin [4 May 1863]
Summary
Glad to hear of the plant; CD instructs WED to make further observations. If it is a good case he will insist on WED’s sending a communication to the Linnean Society.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin; Emma Wedgwood; Emma Darwin |
Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
Date: | [4 May 1863] |
Classmark: | DAR 219.1: 55 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4139F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877. Freeman, Richard Broke. 1978. Charles …
letter | (53) |
Darwin, C. R. | (24) |
Scott, John | (6) |
Darwin, W. E. | (5) |
Gray, Asa | (5) |
Hooker, J. D. | (5) |
Anderson Henry, Isaac | (3) |
Anderson, Isaac | (3) |
Anderson, James (c) | (1) |
Aubertin, J. J. | (1) |
Crocker, C. W. | (1) |
Crüger, Hermann | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (53) |
Darwin, Emma | (1) |
Darwin, W. E. | (7) |
Falconer, Hugh | (1) |
Gardeners’ Chronicle | (1) |
Gray, Asa | (8) |
Hance, H. F. | (1) |
Hildebrand, Friedrich | (1) |
Hooker, J. D. | (5) |
Huxley, T. H. | (1) |
Oliver, Daniel | (2) |
Scott, John | (10) |
Swinhoe, Robert | (2) |
Thwaites, G. H. K. | (2) |
Trimen, Roland | (3) |
Walker, Francis | (1) |
Wedgwood, Emma | (1) |
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 28 hits
- … , Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and …
- … from a family that the Darwins had befriended. The year 1877 was more than usually full of honours. …
- … of a very heavy shower’, William wrote on 24 August 1877 . ‘The leaves were not at all depressed; …
- … gardeners ( letter from W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 25 August 1877 ). At Down House, Darwin and …
- … a delicate twig’ ( letter to R. I. Lynch, 14 September 1877 ). Research on movement would continue …
- … of some Infusoria’ ( letter from F. J. Cohn, 5 August 1877 ). Francis’s paper eventually appeared …
- … wrote to the editor, George Croom Robertson, on 27 April 1877 , ‘I hope that you will be so good …
- … had written to the editor Ernst Ludwig Krause on 30 June 1877 , ‘I have been much interested by …
- … the German debate (letters to W. E. Gladstone, 2 October 1877 and 25 October [1877] ). …
- … and lively’ ( letter from W. E. Gladstone, 23 October 1877 ). Gifts of German and Dutch …
- … Darwin and Ernst Haeckel). Writing to Darwin on 11 March 1877 , Krause declared the journal ‘an …
- … the director, Adriaan Anthoni van Bemmelen, on 12 February 1877 : ‘I suppose that every worker at …
- … of his 70th year. Darwin was in fact 68 on 12 February 1877. Distinguished guests and …
- … & smooth as butter’ ( letter to C. E. Norton, 16 March 1877 ). Hooker was asked repeatedly by …
- … & me to dejeuner!!!’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 June 1877 ). Darwin was staying in …
- … centuries to come’ ( letter from C. C. Graham, 30 January 1877 ). Graham then gave a lengthy …
- … man and of societies’ ( letter from Marcellin de Bonnal, [1877] ). A similar complaint came from …
- … by a duke!’ ( letter to J. M. Rodwell, 3 June 1877 ). Back home, he learned from his brother that …
- … order of the day’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 27 January [1877] ). Carlyle’s remarks were …
- … . In a letter from an unknown correspondent on 13 June 1877 , he was criticised for having quoted …
- … monstrosity ( letter from C. T. E. Siebold, 10 October 1877 ). An American banker, William Burrows …
- … back our civilization’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 17 May 1877 ). Bowles proposed that such …
- … of humanity beneath’ ( letter from W. B. Bowles, 18 May 1877 ). More transitional human …
- … inflexible tails ( letter from Arthur Mellersh, 1 January 1877 ). The American physician Jesse …
- … (Trollope 1867; letter to G. J. Romanes, [1 and 2 December 1877] ). Dispute and …
- … George and Francis. He wrote to Francis on 24 September 1877 about his forthcoming work, Life …
- … value’, he confessed in a letter of 25 November 1877 that the book had ‘resolved itself into a …
- … physical’ ( letter from W. M. Moorsom, 10 September 1877 ). Darwin was doubtful of the elephant …
1877 letters now online
Summary
Flowers, bloom, a son married . . . and a suspended monkey in Cambridge at Darwin's honorary LLD ceremony. The transcripts and footnotes of over 600 letters written to and from Darwin in 1877 are now online. Read more about Darwin's life in 1877…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of over 600 letters written to and from Darwin in 1877 are now online. Read more about Darwin& …
Photograph album of German and Austrian scientists
Summary
The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade, and contained 165 portraits of German and Austrian scientists. The work was lavishly produced and bound in blue velvet with metal embossing. Its ornate…
Matches: 7 hits
- … album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade …
- … have ever received ( Letter to Ernst Haeckel, 16 February 1877 ) …
- … the start of his 70th year, but Darwin was only 68 in 1877. Despite this oversight, the album …
- … world.— ( Letter from Leonard Blomefield, 12 March 1877 ) Familiar faces Ernst …
- … with the final album. He wrote to Darwin on 9 February 1877 : ‘what will perhaps astonish you is …
- … worth to give you ( Letter from J. V. Carus, 22 March 1877 ) The professor of …
- … scientific work. ( Letter from C. G. Semper, 26 April 1877 ) Carl Kraus, an …
4.25 'Punch' 1877 re. Cambridge doctorate
Summary
< Back to Introduction Punch often ridiculed Darwin by showing him as a monkey or in other animalistic forms, but in 1877, when he at last received an honorary degree from Cambridge University, it paid its tribute to ‘wisdom’. ‘Punch to Dr. Darwin’…
Matches: 3 hits
Photograph album of Dutch admirers
Summary
Darwin received the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the Netherlands. He wrote to the Dutch zoologist Pieter Harting, An account of your countrymen’s generous sympathy in having sent me on my…
Matches: 5 hits
- … the photograph album for his birthday on 12 February 1877 from his scientific admirers in the …
- … lasting pleasure. ( Letter to Pieter Harting, 19 March 1877 ) Harting had also written …
- … it states his ‘69th Birthday’, when in fact he was 68 in 1877. It was arranged in alphabetical order …
- … from A. A. van Bemmelen and H. J. Veth, 6 February 1877 ) Dutch correspondents …
- … ( Letter from C. W. Thomson, 30 June 1877 ) Much earlier, in 1861, Tiberius Cornelis …
German and Dutch photograph albums
Summary
Darwin Day 2018: To celebrate Darwin's 209th birthday, we present two lavishly produced albums of portrait photographs which Darwin received from continental admirers 141 years ago. These unusual gifts from Germany and the Netherlands are made…
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: 6 hits
- … of plants.’ ( From Friedrich Hildebrand, 18 January 1877 ). Hermann Müller enthused that Darwin’s …
- … my book’ ( To Gardeners’ Chronicle , 19 February [1877] ). In contrast, as Hooker told Darwin, …
- … gloats over it' ( From J. D. Hooker, 27 January 1877 ). Darwin was especially pleased with …
- … have quite eviscerated it’ ( To Asa Gray, 18 February [1877] ). By mid-March 1877, the edition was …
- … index a little altered’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 11 December [1877] ). These changes were necessitated by …
- … wheat that he had studied ( From A. W. Rimpau, 10 December 1877 ). By the end of February 1878, …
Capturing Darwin’s voice: audio of selected letters
Summary
On a sunny Wednesday in June 2011 in a makeshift recording studio somewhere in Cambridge, we were very pleased to welcome Terry Molloy back to the Darwin Correspondence Project for a special recording session. Terry, known for his portrayal of Davros in Dr…
Matches: 1 hits
- … tiredness of the later years (e.g. letter to E.M. Dicey, [1877] ). Working …
Language: key letters
Summary
How and why language evolved bears on larger questions about the evolution of the human species, and the relationship between man and animals. Darwin presented his views on the development of human speech from animal sounds in The Descent of Man (1871),…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Letter 11074: Sayce, A. H. to Darwin, C. R., 27 July 1877 Darwin’s study of human nature …
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,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … activity at the site of a Roman villa, 15 November 1877 W. T. Thiselton-Dyer's …
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 …
Charles Harrison Blackley
Summary
You may not have heard of Charles Harrison Blackley (1820–1900), but if you are one of the 15 million people in the UK who suffer from hay fever, you are indebted to him. For it was he who identified pollen as the cause of the allergy. Darwin was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … grains by a dilution method. In his letter of 9 March 1877 , Darwin wrote: ‘Your calculation of …
People featured in the Dutch photograph album
Summary
List of people appearing in the photograph album Darwin received from scientific admirers in the Netherlands for his birthday on 12 February 1877. We are grateful to Hester Loeff for providing this list and for permission to make her research available.…
German poems presented to Darwin
Summary
Experiments in deepest reverence The following poems were enclosed with a photograph album sent as a birthday gift to Charles Darwin by his German and Austrian admirers (see letter from From Emil Rade, [before 16] February 1877). The poems were…
Matches: 6 hits
- … (see letter from From Emil Rade , [before 16] February 1877). The poems were composed by …
- … in Rade’s account of the making of the album (Rade 1877, pp. 39–40), but the others were published …
- … Letter from Emil Rade 1 [before 16] February 1877 2 Münster i./Westf. …
- … From Emil Rade [before 16] February 1877 2 Münster i./Westf. February 1877. …
- … this letter and the letter to Emil Rade, 16 February 1877. 3. The gift was a photograph …
- … Appendix VI. A number of other poems were included in Rade 1877. …
Darwin on race and gender
Summary
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Treat, 5 January 1872 Letter to [E. M. Dicey?], [1877] Letter to C. A. Kennard …
Darwin in public and private
Summary
Extracts from Darwin's published works, in particular Descent of man, and selected letters, explore Darwin's views on the operation of sexual selection in humans, and both his publicly and privately expressed views on its practical implications…
Exercise: Caricatures of Science
Summary
Caricatures provide intriguing insights into both ideals and transgressions of gender. The following six images show caricatured representations of nineteenth-century men and women of science. They provide insight into the boundaries of what was deemed …
Matches: 1 hits
- … Lydia Becker (1877) Caricature of Lydia Becker from …
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…
Floral Dimorphism
Summary
Sources|Discussion Questions|Experiment Floral studies In 1877 Darwin published a book that included a series of smaller studies on botanical subjects. Titled The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species, it consisted primarily of…
Matches: 5 hits
- … | Experiment Floral studies In 1877 Darwin published a book that included a …
- … findings on floral dimorphism were eventually published in 1877, but these experiments and …
- … SOURCES Book Darwin, C. R. 1877. The different forms of flowers on plants of the …
- … experiment, the class read chapter 1 of Charles Darwin’s 1877 T he Different Forms of …
- … Flowers on Plants of the Same Species (London: John Murray, 1877), 16. [2] Ibid., 30. …
1.14 William Richmond, oil
Summary
< Back to Introduction William Blake Richmond’s portrait of Darwin, dating from 1879, celebrated his honorary degree of LL.D (Doctor in Laws), awarded by Cambridge University in 1877. Darwin’s return to his alma mater for the presentation ceremony…