Life and Letters of Charles Darwin: the Evolution
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PREFACE
LIFE AND LETTERS OF CHARLES DARWIN.
VOLUME I.
CHAPTER 1.I. — THE DARWIN FAMILY.
CHAPTER 1.II. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
CHAPTER 1.III. — REMINISCENCES OF MY FATHER'S EVERYDAY LIFE.
CHAPTER 1.IV. — CAMBRIDGE LIFE.
CHAPTER 1.V. — THE APPOINTMENT TO THE 'BEAGLE.'
CHAPTER 1.VI. — THE VOYAGE.
CHAPTER 1.VII. — LONDON AND CAMBRIDGE.
1836-1842.
CHAPTER 1.VIII. — RELIGION.
CHAPTER 1.IX. — LIFE AT DOWN.
1842-1854.
CHAPTER 1.X. — THE GROWTH OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.'
Chapter I. "On the kind of intermediateness necessary, and the number
Chapter II. "The gradual appearance and disappearance of organic
Chapter III. "Geographical Distribution." Corresponds to Chapters XI.
Chapter IV. "Affinities and Classification of Organic beings."
Chapter V. "Unity of Type," Morphology, Embryology.
Chapter VI. Rudimentary Organs.
These three chapters correspond to Chapter XII. of the 'Origin.'
Chapter VII. Recapitulation and Conclusion. The final sentence of the
CHAPTER 1.XI. — THE GROWTH OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.'
LETTERS, 1843-1856.
CHAPTER 1.XII. — THE UNFINISHED BOOK.
MAY 1856 TO JUNE 1858.
CHAPTER 1. XIII. — THE WRITING OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.'
JUNE 18, 1858, TO NOVEMBER, 1859.
CHAPTER 1.XIV. — BY PROFESSOR HUXLEY.
ON THE RECEPTION OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.'
VOLUME II.
CHAPTER 2.I. — THE PUBLICATION OF THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES.'
OCTOBER 3, 1859, TO DECEMBER 31, 1859.
CHAPTER 2.II. — THE 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES' (continued).
1860.
CHAPTER 2.III. — SPREAD OF EVOLUTION.
1861-1862.
CHAPTER 2.IV. — THE SPREAD OF EVOLUTION.
'VARIATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS'
CHAPTER 2.V. — THE PUBLICATION OF THE 'VARIATION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS UNDER DOMESTICATION.'
JANUARY 1867, TO JUNE 1868.
CHAPTER 2.VI. — WORK ON 'MAN.'
1864-1870.
CHAPTER 2.VII. — PUBLICATION OF THE 'DESCENT OF MAN.'
WORK ON 'EXPRESSION.'
CHAPTER 2.VIII. — MISCELLANEA
CHAPTER 2.IX. — MISCELLANEA (continued)
CHAPTER 2.X. — FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS.
CHAPTER 2.XI. — THE 'EFFECTS OF CROSS- AND SELF-FERTILISATION
IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.'
CHAPTER 2.XII. — 'DIFFERENT FORMS OF FLOWERS ON PLANTS OF THE SAME SPECIES.'
1877.
CHAPTER 2.XIII. — CLIMBING AND INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS.
CHAPTER 2.XIV. — THE 'POWER OF MOVEMENT IN PLANTS.'
1880.
CHAPTER 2.XV. — MISCELLANEOUS BOTANICAL LETTERS.
1873-1882.
CHAPTER 2.XVI. — CONCLUSION.
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About the author
Charles Robert Darwin ( 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.
Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.
Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh; instead, he helped to investigate marine invertebrates. Studies at the University of Cambridge (Christ's College) encouraged his passion for natural science. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.
Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin began detailed investigations and in 1838 conceived his theory of natural selection. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority. He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay that described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories. Darwin's work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. In 1871 he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.
Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history; he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.
