To ? 2 May [1869 or later]
Summary
"When a man has laboured hard in science & has proved that he is capable of original research, he may [some]times indulge in speculation [&] the public will indulge him. But even in this case it is a common error to speculate too largely, for speculation is far easier than observation or experiments . . ."
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Unidentified |
| Date: | 2 May [1869-82] |
| Classmark: | Sotheby’s (dealers) (28 March 1983) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13866A |
From George M’Ilvaine Ramsey 5 April 1869
Summary
Describes the work he is writing, Cosmology (Ramsay 1870).
| Author: | George M’Ilvaine Ramsey |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 Apr 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 271.6: 3 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6692F |
From G. H. Darwin 14 February 1869
Summary
Explains the point about gravitation and heat that CD does not understand in J. Croll’s letter [6218?].
Cambridge news.
| Author: | George Howard Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Feb 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.2: 7 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6614 |
To Anton Dohrn 25 December 1869
Summary
Thanks AD for his work. CD regrets he is not a better German scholar, but he must endeavour to understand AD’s views.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Felix Anton (Anton) Dohrn |
| Date: | 25 Dec 1869 |
| Classmark: | Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München (Ana 525. Ba 696) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7035 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Christiane, ed. 1982. Charles Darwin 1809–1882, Anton Dohrn 1840–1909: correspondence. …
From A. R. Wallace 23 June [1869]
Summary
Asks whether sexual selection could produce the changing plumules or "battledore" scales on the wings of certain butterflies.
| Author: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 23 June [1869] |
| Classmark: | DAR 106: B81–2 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6797 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. Edited by …
From J. D. Hooker 5 August 1869
Summary
Huxley has shown him the jaws of an Anoplotherium brought from the Gallegos by R. O. Cunningham.
Saw Hallett’s wheat crops at Brighton; results of his selection very striking.
Huxley is assembling his Darwiniana papers for republication.
Has written a crushing reply to Richard Congreve ["The scientific aspects of positivism", Fortn. Rev. n.s. 5 (1869): 653–70] and JDH feels "infantine" beside him.
Comments on Sabine’s being offered and accepting K.C.B.
| Author: | Joseph Dalton Hooker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 Aug 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 103: 25–6 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6853 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. Edited by …
To C. F. Claus 28 January 1869
Summary
Thanks CC for two memoirs [see 6575. The other was possibly "Die Cypris-ähnliche Larve der Cirripedien", Schr. Ges. Beförd Naturw. Marburg (1869)].
Haeckel is too enthusiastic and too bold in drawing conclusions.
CD sees no reason to add to what he says on isolation, in new edition of Origin.
Lists specimens he has available for CC’s intended study of metamorphoses of Lepas.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Carl Friedrich Claus |
| Date: | 28 Jan 1869 |
| Classmark: | Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Slg. Darmstaedter Lc 1859: Darwin, Charles, Bl. 205–207) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6581 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … The autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809–1882. With original omissions restored. Edited …
To James Crichton-Browne 22 May 1869
Summary
Thanks for MS observations on expression. Discusses hair standing on end in terror and rage. Asks JC-B to observe contraction of platysma myoides. "Your description of the grinning and exposure of the canine teeth under furious rage is excellent. I presume that you would not object to my quoting it." Asks about contraction of "grief muscles". Comments on blushing. Offers to send book by G. B. A. Duchenne [Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine (1862)].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | James Crichton-Browne |
| Date: | 22 May 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 143: 327 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6755 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. Edited by …
From L. E. Becker 29 December 1869
Summary
Asks CD to which journal she should send her Lychnis paper and whether she may quote extracts from his letters to her.
| Author: | Lydia Ernestine Becker |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 29 Dec 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 118 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7037 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. Edited by …
To Joseph Henry Gilbert 3 June [1869]
Summary
Declines invitation.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Joseph Henry Gilbert |
| Date: | 3 June [1869] |
| Classmark: | Rothamsted Research (GIL9.6) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6773 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. Edited by …
From Anton Dohrn 30 December 1869
Summary
He has gone through the whole embryology of the Crustacea and has arrived at a pretty well-established genealogy of the whole class; has even tried to write a history of the whole tribe. Finds he cannot adopt the old separation of Orders in the Class; the limits between them are indistinct.
Would like to study embryology of Limulus. Asks CD’s help in obtaining a female specimen.
Outlines his proposal to establish a marine zoological station.
| Author: | Felix Anton (Anton) Dohrn |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 30 Dec 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 204 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7038 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Christiane, ed. 1982. Charles Darwin 1809–1882, Anton Dohrn 1840–1909: correspondence. …
| letter | (11) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (5) |
| Becker, L. E. | (1) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (1) |
| Dohrn, Anton | (1) |
| Hooker, J. D. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (6) |
| Claus, C. F. | (1) |
| Crichton-Browne, James | (1) |
| Dohrn, Anton | (1) |
| Gilbert, J. H. | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (11) |
| Dohrn, Anton | (2) |
| Becker, L. E. | (1) |
| Claus, C. F. | (1) |
| Crichton-Browne, James | (1) |
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
- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the …
- … is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ). His condition worsened in March. …
- … styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 , and letter to Fritz Müller, 4 January …
- … any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January 1882 ). The finished paper, ‘On new …
- … effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). He received a specimen of …
- … one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He wrote to an American in Kansas …
- … experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). While enthusiasm drove him, …
- … affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). Earthworms and evolution …
- … Murray, carried an anonymous article on the book in January 1882. The reviewer’s assessment was …
- … researches themselves’ ( Quarterly Review , January 1882, p. 179). Darwin commented at length on …
- … about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The author was in fact the clergyman …
- … down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The agricultural chemist Joseph …
- … me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, and letter to J. H. Gilbert, 12 …
- … best of the fight’ ( letter from G. F. Crawte, 11 March 1882 ). The battle apparently ended in a …
- … edited by the American educator Emily Talbot (Talbot ed. 1882). His letter to Talbot written the …
- … the newspaper press’ ( letter from A. T. Rice, 4 February 1882 ). Rice looked to Darwin to provide …
- … case greatly suffer’ ( letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ). Kennard’s reply must be read in …
- … inferior, please ( letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 January 1882 ). Automata and vivisection …
- … Collier sent Darwin a copy of his Primer of art (Collier 1882), which seemed to follow Darwin’s …
- … a man, as Huxley’ ( letter to John Collier, 16 February 1882 ). Collier had married Thomas Henry …
- … consciousness?’ ( letter from John Collier, 22 February 1882 ; T. H. Huxley 1881, pp. 199–245). …
- … be overestimated’ ( letter to William Jenner, 20 March [1882] ; see also letter from T. L …
- … complete rest’ ( letter to Anthony Rich, 4 February 1882 ). Horace had settled in Cambridge with …
- … am now 73 years old’ ( letter to A. A. Reade, 13 February 1882 ). Over the month of February, …
- … ‘I have been for some time unwell’ (Darwin pocket diary, 1882, Down House MS). On a visit to Down in …
- … Pepsin mixture’ (letters to W. W. Baxter, 11 March 1882 and 18 March [1882 ]). Detailed …
The full edition is now online!
Summary
For nearly fifty years successive teams of researchers on both sides of the Atlantic have been working to track down all surviving letters written by or to Charles Darwin, research their content, and publish the complete texts. The thirtieth and final…
Matches: 7 hits
- … all the letter texts – more than 15000 between 1822 and 1882 – are now published online. Like …
- … months of Darwin's life in our Life and Letters series, 1882: Nothing too great or too small …
- … run. ’ Letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 In early 1882, Darwin, who …
- … as I am. ’ Letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 Darwin was by now confident …
- … no pain. ’ Letter to T. H. Huxley, 27 March 1882 Darwin wrote this to Thomas …
- … Letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [20 April 1882] Emma Darwin wrote the news of …
- … on 20 April: this letter concludes the correspondence for 1882. The family had expected Darwin to be …
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
- … voyage, to a letter to C. A. Kennard written on 9 January 1882 , only shortly before Darwin’s …
Correspondence with women
Summary
We know of letters to or from around 2000 correspondents, about 100 of whom were women. Using the letter summaries available on this website, the letters can be assigned to rough categories. Included in the count are letters to women in Darwin’s family…
Matches: 1 hits
- … case greatly suffer. (Darwin to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 ) Kennard responded (C. …
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
- … [1877] Letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 Letter from C. A. Kennard, 28 …
4.42 'Punch' Sambourne cartoon 3
Summary
< Back to Introduction Linley Sambourne’s last caricature of Darwin, ‘Man is But a Worm’, was published in Punch’s Almanac for 1882 on 6 December 1881, only four months before Darwin’s death. Like Sambourne’s ‘Punch’s Fancy Portraits. No. 54. Charles…
4.52 'Wasp' caricature
Summary
< Back to Introduction Less than a fortnight after Darwin’s death, an irreverent portrayal of him appeared on the cover of a Californian satirical magazine. The Wasp, based in San Francisco, resembled the better-known New York magazine Puck in its…
3.18 Elliott and Fry photos, c.1869-1871
Summary
< Back to Introduction The leading photographic firm of Elliott and Fry seems to have portrayed Darwin at Down House on several occasions. In November 1869 Darwin told A. B. Meyer, who wanted photographs of both him and Wallace for a German…
Matches: 6 hits
- … the same block was re-used as the frontispiece to the June 1882 issue, which had two obituary …
- … Police News, accompanying a notice of Darwin’s death in 1882. A vignette version of the most …
- … signed by A. Gusman in Le Magasin Pittoresque, c. 1882 (Bridgeman Images), and a painting by …
- … of the Emotions , pp. 434-49, and in vol. 21 (June 1882), as frontispiece, accompanying two …
- … article in a supplement to the same journal (22 April 1882) (DAR 215.22c). It was copied in a …
- … Photographic Studios of Europe (London: Piper and Carter, 1882), pp. 42-5, ‘Messrs Elliott & …
Darwin and Gender Projects by Harvard Students
Summary
Working in collaboration with Professor Sarah Richardson and Dr Myrna Perez, Darwin Correspondence Project staff developed a customised set of 'Darwin and Gender' themed resources for a course on Gender, Sex and Evolution first taught at Harvard…
Matches: 1 hits
- … your private use.” (Letter to Kennard, C.A., 9 Jan 1882 ) In this personal exchange, she finds …
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
Matches: 3 hits
4.37 'Mosquito' satire
Summary
< Back to Introduction The Buenos Aires satirical journal Mosquito published this cartoon in May 1882, shortly after Darwin’s death, with the title ‘El Homenage a Darwin en el Teatro Nacional’ (The tribute to Darwin in the National Theatre). A…
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
- … plants", Collected papers 2: 236–56], 22 February 1882 …
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
- … width="203"] Caricature of John Lubbock (1882)[/caption] …
4.44 'Puck' cartoon 1
Summary
< Back to Introduction In March 1882, a month before Darwin’s death, an admiring image of him appeared in the American comic journal Puck. It was in a cartoon drawn by Joseph Keppler, Puck’s co-publisher, co-editor and chief cartoonist, titled Reason…
1.20 Leopold Flameng etching, after Collier
Summary
< Back to Introduction Almost as soon as Collier’s portrait of Darwin was put on display at the Linnean Society in 1882, requests for permission to reproduce it flooded in, from book and print publishers. Collier himself often felt, with some…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of Darwin was put on display at the Linnean Society in 1882, requests for permission to …
1.7 Ouless replica
Summary
< Back to Introduction Following Darwin’s death in 1882, Walter William Ouless painted a replica of the portrait that had been commissioned from him by the Darwin family in 1875. This replica is signed and dated at lower left ‘W. W. Ouless 1883…
Matches: 1 hits
- … to Introduction Following Darwin’s death in 1882, Walter William Ouless painted a replica …
4.45 'Puck' cartoon 2
Summary
< Back to Introduction In Reason Against Unreason, a cartoon published shortly before Darwin’s death, the American humorous magazine Puck had celebrated him as the embodiment of ‘Reason’. Now, a month after his death, an imaginative drawing in the…
1.18 John Collier, oil in Linnean
Summary
< Back to Introduction By 1881 it was clear to Darwin’s intimates that he was increasingly frail, and that, as he approached death, he had finally escaped from religious controversy to become a heroic figure, loved and venerated for his achievements…
Matches: 4 hits
- … about to be hung in the rooms of the society’ in April 1882, when his death was announced, and …
- … By the time it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in May 1882, Darwin was already dead. Speaking at …
- … 27 May 1881. Correspondence between Darwin and Collier in 1882, DCP-LETT-13689 and DCP-LETT-13701. …
- … ‘The Royal Academy Banquet’, Times (1 May 1882), p. 7. ‘Fine arts and music. Royal Academy – …
Earthworms
Summary
As with many of Darwin’s research topics, his interest in worms spanned nearly his entire working life. Some of his earliest correspondence about earthworms was written and received in the 1830s, shortly after his return from his Beagle voyage, and his…
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…
