Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selection

It is of the utmost interest to trace the influence of Darwin upon Huxley, his great General in the numerous controversial battles which had to be fought before the new views we...

By the kindness of my friend Professor Meldola, and the courtesy of Mr. Francis Darwin, I am enabled to publish for the first time a series of letters written by Charles Darwin...

We now come to consider the succession of invaluable works produced by Darwin after the appearance of the “Origin,” the last of which--that on Earthworms--was published about si...

In the last few months of his life, towards the end of 1881 and beginning of 1882, Darwin began to suffer from his heart, causing attacks of pain and faintness which increased i...

The great periods of Darwin’s scientific career are marked by intimate friendships, which must be taken into account in attempting to trace his mental development. Henslow was h...

“Your leading idea will surely become recognised as an established truth in science--_i.e._ ‘Natural Selection.’ It has the characteristics of all great natural truths, clarifyi...

Darwin reached England October 2nd, 1836, and was home at Shrewsbury October 5th (according to his Letters; the 4th is the date given by Francis Darwin in the “Life and Letters”...

The history of opinion on evolution and natural selection, in the years which followed the publication of the “Origin,” can be traced in the titles of the papers and subjects of...

Hooker wrote on November 21st, speaking of the “glorious book” in the warmest terms. Later on in the year he wrote again in the same spirit, but speaking of the difficulty he fo...

Comparing the essays of these two naturalists, we observe that Darwin here first makes public the phrase “natural selection,” Wallace the “struggle for existence”; although so c...

Darwin’s letters prove that he thought very highly of this hypothesis; and whether the future determine it to be true or erroneous, it must surely rank as among the greatest of...

In dealing with this subject in his “Autobiography,” Darwin tells us of his reflections whilst on the voyage of the _Beagle_, and here mentions another observation which deeply...

From September 14th, 1842, until his death, Darwin resided at Down, living a very retired life, and almost exclusively engaged in his scientific researches. Although Down is onl...

The first section of Darwin’s communication consisted of extracts from the Second Chapter of the First Part of his manuscript essay of 1844. The Part was entitled “The Variation...

Oliver Wendell Holmes, born in the same year, delighted to speak of the good company in which he came into the world. On January 27th, 1894, I had the great pleasure of sitting...

The work on “The Descent of Man” was begun as soon as Darwin had sent the manuscript of “Animals and Plants” to the printers, although notes on the subject had been collected fr...

We have already seen in the earlier part of this volume, the gradual development of the theory of Natural Selection in the mind of Darwin, and the long succession of experiments...

Darwin’s botanical works are referred to separately, and receive more systematic treatment than the others, in the great “Life and Letters.” They form, together with the botanic...

_Varieties_ produced in domesticity are more or less unstable, and often tend to return to the parent form. This is usually thought to be true for all varieties, and to be a str...

In considering the reception of the “Origin of Species,” it will be well first to show its effect upon Darwin’s intimate scientific friends, most of whom had been familiar with...

The history of Darwin’s friendship with Alfred Russel Wallace is of quite unique interest, being brought about by the fact that both naturalists saw in evolution and its causes...

Of Darwin’s boyhood and school-life we only know the facts given in his brief “Autobiography,” written when he was sixty-seven, together with those collected by his son Francis...

Almost immediately after the Linnean Society meeting, and evidently earlier than September, the time mentioned in his “Autobiography,” Darwin began to prepare a longer and more...

About the time of the excursion with Sedgwick (the exact date is uncertain) Professor Henslow received a letter from George Peacock (formerly Dean of Ely and Lowndean Professor...

Although the historic meeting at the Linnean Society appeared to produce but little effect, one distinguished naturalist publicly accepted the theory of natural selection before...

Instinct, and shows how it can be accounted for by natural selection acting upon variation, although allowing some weight to the inheritance of habit. Chapter VIII. deals with H...

This chapter is, in the last edition, succeeded by a new one dealing with many of the difficulties which had been raised or had occurred to Darwin in the interval between the tw...

It is very interesting to separate the two arguments which occur interwoven in the “Origin”--the argument for evolution and the argument for natural selection. The paramount imp...

In Chapter VI. difficulties are considered--partly those in the way of a belief in evolution and partly those which, at first sight, seem to be incapable of explanation on the t...

Existence; in Chapter IV., which Darwin, in writing to his publisher, called “the Keystone of my Arch,” the three preceding chapters are carried to their conclusion, and the ope...