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Darwin, cats and cat shows
Summary
One of the more unusual invitations Darwin received was to be a patron of the Crystal Palace cat show, the first nationwide cat show in Britain. The man who first came up with the idea for the show, Harrison Weir, was one of Darwin’s correspondents, as…
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- … Although whimsically cautioning Weir against it in case people refused to go and admire ‘ a lot of …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
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- … earthworms, and the variety of strange things he persuaded people to do. Darwin concluded …
About Darwin
Summary
To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But even before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was publicly known through his popular book about the voyage of the Beagle, and he was…
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- … of coral reefs, and witnessed the lifestyles of indigenous people from Tierra del Fuego to Tahiti. …
About Darwin
Summary
To many of us, Darwin’s name is synonymous with his theory of evolution by natural selection. But even before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, he was publicly known through his popular book about the voyage of the Beagle, and he was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of coral reefs, and witnessed the lifestyles of indigenous people from Tierra del Fuego to Tahiti. …
Darwin in letters, 1844–1846: Building a scientific network
Summary
The scientific results of the Beagle voyage still dominated Darwin's working life, but he broadened his continuing investigations into the nature and origin of species. Far from being a recluse, Darwin was at the heart of British scientific society,…
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- … to Darwin for—among other things—they were the first people he turned to when he wished to discuss …
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
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Natural selection
Summary
How do new species arise? This was the ancient question that Charles Darwin tackled soon after returning to England from the Beagle voyage in October 1836. Darwin realised a crucial (and cruel) fact: far more individuals of each species were born than…
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- … then, that Darwin reached his insight while thinking about people. As part of a broader interest in …
5935_4582
Summary
From J. D. Hooker 26[–7] February 1868KewFeby 26th/68Dear Darwin I have been bursting with impatience to hear what you would say of the Athenæum Review & who wrote it— I could not conceive who…
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- … it, yourself. I should not care a farthing were I you what people thought of it— Not one Naturalist …
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Summary
George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…
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- … a thorough and open discussion of a question about which people hitherto felt timid. So the world …
Conrad Martens
Summary
Conrad Martens was born in London, the son of an Austrian diplomat. He studied landscape painting under the watercolourist Copley Fielding (1789–1855), who also briefly taught Ruskin. In 1833 he was on board the Hyacinth, headed for India, but en route in…
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- … to illustrate more extensively the landscape and the people encountered on the voyage. …
Hackathon
Summary
As the final year of the Darwin Correspondence Project loomed, we wanted to make sure we celebrated the creation of a data set almost fifty years in the making as well as the scholarly achievement of the print volumes. Thus was born Hack Darwin! It was…
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- … intense creative exercise, bringing together very different people from across academia and industry …
5873_1488
Summary
From B. J. Sulivan 13 February [1868]f1 Bournemouth Feby. 13. My dear Darwin As Mr Stirling has sent me the recpt. you may as well have it with the Photo of the four Fuegian boys which he wishes me to send you in case you have not seen it. He…
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- … The orphan boy was Mamastugadagenges. For more on the Yahgan people and the British missions to …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
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- … sold in a week. ‘Murray says he is “torn to pieces” by people wanting copies’, Darwin wrote to his …
Darwn's letters from 1878 online
Summary
Investigating the movements and 'sleep' of plants, being entertained by the mental faculties of his young grandson Bernard, finally elected a corresponding member of the French Académie des sciences, trying to secure a government grant to support…
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- … acts; as knowledge increases, so must appreciation of the people & institutions to whom we owe …
William B. Bowles
Summary
As a famous figure in the debates surrounding human evolution, Darwin could be something of a lightning rod for eccentric thinkers with their own ideas about his theories. The idea of a “missing link” compelled one such enthusiast to write to him about the…
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- … Africa; with accounts of the manners and customs of the people, and of the chase of the gorilla, the …
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…
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
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Darwin and vivisection
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Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…
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- … on vivisection were having on ‘sensible & independant people (eg my brother & the …
Scientific Practice
Summary
Specialism|Experiment|Microscopes|Collecting|Theory Letter writing is often seen as a part of scientific communication, rather than as integral to knowledge making. This section shows how correspondence could help to shape the practice of science, from…
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- … collection of letters, Darwin corresponds with a variety of people to secure specimens and …
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…
