CHARLES DARWIN
BY
G. T. BETTANY
LONDON
WALTER SCOTT
24 WARWICK LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW
1887
| CONTENTS. | ||
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| [CHAPTER I.] | ||
| PAGE | ||
Darwin’s ancestry; his grandfather, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, asuccessful physician, and author of “The Botanic Garden,” “TheTemple of Nature,” &c.; his father, Robert Waring Darwin, alsoa successful physician; his maternal grandfather, JosiahWedgwood, the celebrated potter; his mother’s education andtraining; Charles Robert Darwin, born at Shrewsbury, Feb. 12,1809; Mrs. Darwin dies in July, 1817; her eldest son, Erasmus,friend of the Carlyles; Charles Darwin’s education by Mr. Case,and at Shrewsbury Grammar School; his character as a boy; issent to Edinburgh University in 1825 | 11 | |
| [CHAPTER II.] | ||
Darwin a member of the Plinian Society, of Edinburgh; makesnatural history excursions; his first scientific paper readMarch 27, 1827; friendship with Dr. Grant; Jameson’s lectureson zoology; Darwin enters Christ’s College, Cambridge, in 1828;his friendship with Prof. Henslow; his account of Henslow;Darwin at this time specially an entomologist; his excursionswith Henslow; takes B.A. degree in 1831, M.A. in 1837; voyageof Beagle proposed, and Darwin appointed as naturalist; theBeagle sails on Dec. 27, 1831; Darwin’s letters to Henslowpublished 1835; 1832, Darwin at Teneriffe, Cape de VerdeIslands, St. Paul’s Rocks, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro (April);excursions into interior and amusing adventures; hisexperiences and horror of slavery; at Monte Video, July;Maldonado, Rio Negro; visit to Tierra del Fuego, Dec.1832—Jan. 1833; rencontre with General Rosas; many extinctanimals discovered; Buenos Ayres, Sept. 1833; excursion toSanta Fé; Port Desire, Dec. 1833; Port St. Julian, Jan. 1834;Valparaiso, July 1834; expeditions to the Andes, Santiago, &c.;Chiloe, Nov. 1834; the Chonos Archipelago, Dec. 1834; Valdivia,Feb. 1835; an earthquake experience; expedition across theCordillera in March, 1835; voyage across the Pacific commencedin September; the Galapagos Archipelago and its interestinganimals; Tahiti, Nov. 1835; Darwin’s opinion of Englishproducts, and of the influence of Christian missionaries; NewZealand, Dec. 1835; Port Jackson, Jan. 1836; Tasmania, Feb.;the Keeling Islands, April; the homeward journey; Falmouthreached, Oct. 2, 1836; Capt. Fitzroy’s opinion of Darwin;Darwin’s first impression of savages | 22 | |
| [CHAPTER III.] | ||
Darwin elected F.G.S.; Lyell’s high opinion of him; secretaryof the Geological Society, Feb. 1838-41; reads numerous papersbefore the Society; elected F.R.S., Jan. 24, 1839; marries hiscousin, Miss Wedgwood, early in 1839; “Journal of Researches,”published 1839, highly praised in Quarterly Review;publication of zoology of the Beagle (1839-43); extraordinaryanimals described therein; other results of the voyage; plantsdescribed by Hooker and Berkeley; work on “Coral Reefs”published 1842; Darwin’s new theory at once accepted;subsequent views of Semper, Dana, and Murray; second and thirdparts of Geology of Beagle (“Volcanic Islands” and “SouthAmerica”); other geological papers; Darwin settles at DownHouse, near Beckenham, 1842; appears at Oxford meeting ofBritish Association, 1847; contributes chapter on Geology toHerschel’s manual of Scientific Enquiry; publishes great workson recent and fossil cirripedia, 1851-4; receives Royal Medalof Royal Society, 1853, and Wollaston Medal of GeologicalSociety, 1859 | 51 | |
| [CHAPTER IV.] | ||
Confusion in description of species; labours of Professors Owenand Huxley; Darwin’s ideas on the origin of species germinatedduring the voyage of the Beagle; he collected facts,1837-42; drew up a sketch, 1842; enlarged it in 1844; previousspeculations on the subject; views of Erasmus Darwin, GeoffroySt. Hilaire, and Lamarck; Darwin’s opinion of Lamarck;influence of Lyell; influence of South American experience;reads Malthus on Population; “Vestiges of Creation”; Mr.Herbert Spencer and evolution; Lyell’s letters; Sir JosephHooker on species; Mr. A. R. Wallace communicates his views toDarwin; Lyell and Hooker persuade Darwin to publish his viewstogether with those of Wallace; introductory letter by Lyelland Hooker to Linnean Society, June 30, 1858; Darwin’s andWallace’s papers, read July 1, 1858; Sir J. Hooker announceshis adhesion to Darwin’s views, 1859 | 64 | |
| [CHAPTER V.] | ||
Analysis of the “Origin of Species,” published Nov. 1859;special notes of Darwin’s personal experiences; remarkablegrowth of morphology and embryology since its publication;opposition to the new views; criticisms of leading journals andreviews; second edition of “Origin,” called for in six weeks;third, in March 1861; historical sketch of progress of opinionprefixed; alterations in successive editions; sixth edition,1872; foreign translations | 79 | |
| [CHAPTER VI.] | ||
Darwin’s physical appearance, habits, distinguished visitors;his kindliness; attachment of friends; his family; he readsimportant botanical papers before the Linnean Society;publishes the “Fertilisation of Orchids,” 1862; analysis of thebook; Darwin receives Copley Medal of Royal Society, 1864;“Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants,” 1865; “Variation ofAnimals and Plants under Domestication,” 1868; the hypothesisof pangenesis not favourably received | 100 | |
| [CHAPTER VII.] | ||
“The Descent of Man,” 1871; Darwin’s varied use of personalexperiences; his views on the differences between men andwomen; his views on happiness and its promotion in mankind;reception of the “Descent of Man”; Punch, the Quarterlies,The Saturday Review | 113 | |
| [CHAPTER VIII.] | ||
“Expression of the Emotions,” 1872; Darwin’s methods ofstudying the question; his personal experiences; studies ofchildren; reminiscences of South American travel; studies ofmonkeys; his wide study of novels; his influence on mentalscience | 126 | |
| [CHAPTER IX.] | ||
“Insectivorous Plants,” 1875; how Darwin was led to study them;analysis of the book; “Effects of Cross andSelf-Fertilisation,” 1876; competitive germination and growth;“The Different Forms of Flowers,” 1877; “The Power of Movementin Plants,” 1880 | 136 | |
| [CHAPTER X.] | ||
Honours bestowed on Darwin; his reception at Cambridge in 1877;portraits by Richmond and Collier; Haeckel’s and De Candolle’sdescriptions of visits to Darwin; “The Formation of VegetableMould by Earthworms,” 1881; the long series of experiments onwhich it was based; obligations of archæologists to worms;gradual exhaustion in 1882; his death on April 19, 1882 | 146 | |
| [CHAPTER XI.] | ||
Darwin buried in Westminster Abbey, April 26, 1882; quotationfrom The Times; subscriptions to Darwin memorial; largenumber of subscriptions from Sweden; statue executed by Mr.Boehm, placed in Museum of Natural History, South Kensington,unveiled by Prince of Wales, June 9, 1885; remainder of fundhanded to Royal Society to promote biological research; TheSaturday Review on Darwin; his geniality and humour; hisinfluence on others; his lack of prejudice; extracts from hisletters; letter on experiments on living animals; Darwin as anexperimenter; his attitude towards Christianity and revelation;his literary style; his imagination; Prof. Huxley on Darwin;Dr. Masters on his influence on horticulture; Messrs. Sully andWinchell on his philosophy; conclusion | 154 | |
| [INDEX] | 171 | |
NOTE.
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