Letter of Charles Darwin to Francis GaltonDec. 23, 1869

following the publication of Galton’s Hereditary Genius (1869)

Dec. 23Down

BeckenhamKent, S.E.

My dear Galton,I have only read about 50 pages of your book (to the Judges), but I must exhale myself, else something will go wrong in my inside. I do not think I ever in all my life read anything more interesting and original, and how well and clearly you put every point! George, who has finished the book, and who expressed himself…

…just in the same terms, tells me that the earlier chapters are nothing in interest to the later ones! It will take me some time to get to these latter chapters, as it is read aloud to me by my wife, who is also much interested. — You have made a convert of…

…of an opponent in one sense, for I have always maintained that, excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal and hard work; and I still think this is an eminently important difference. I congratulate you on producing what I am convinced will prove a memorable work. I look forward with…

…intense interest to each reading, but it sets me thinking so much that I find it very hard work; but that is wholly the fault of my brain and not of your beautifully clear style — Yours most sincerely,[Signed] Ch. Darwin

• Four sheets of paper?• White space• Variable line weight• Handwriting• Errors & emendations• Tone

Postal System• Prepaid postage (beg. 1840)• Envelope• Consumer culture• Growth and speed of postal

system(Golden)

Notable Features

(Google Maps)

Galton’s Response

42 Rutland Gate S.w.Dec. 24, 1869

My dear Darwin,It would be idle to speak of the delight your letter has given me, for there is no one in the world whose appreciation in these matters can have the same weight as yours. …I always think of you in the same way as converts from barbarism think of the teacher who first relieved them from the intollerable burden of their superstition.

Who is Francis Galton?

• 1822–1911• Attended Cambridge (mathematics)• Traveled in Africa and the Middle

East, publishing articles in The Journal of the Royal Geological Society

• Member of Royal Geographical Society

• From 1865 on, he dedicated himself to studying the laws of inheritance, using statistical methods (e.g. regression lines, percentiles)

• In 1869, he published…

(Keynes ix)

Who is Francis Galton?

Letter of Charles Darwin to Francis GaltonDec. 23, 1869

following the publication of Galton’s Hereditary Genius (1869)

“Anthropometry Card of Francis Galton.” 1893. University College London. “Image Archive of the American Eugenics Movement.” Coldspring Harbor Laboratory. Web 8 Oct. 2013.

Darwin, Charles. Letter to Francis Galton. Dec. 23, 1969. Pearson, Karl. The Life, Letters and Labours of Francis Galton. 1914. New York: Cambridge, 2011. Google Books Preview.Transcription from The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Ed. Frederick Burkhardt et al. Vol. 17:

1869. New York: Cambridge, 2009. Print. (530–1)“Composite -- group of Irish high school students.” n.d. The Harry H. Laughlin Papers, Truman State

University. “Image Archive of the American Eugenics Movement.” Coldspring Harbor Laboratory. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.

“Fingerprint Cards of Jewish Males.” 1891. University College London. “Image Archive of the American Eugenics Movement.” Coldspring Harbor Laboratory. Web 8 Oct. 2013.

Furse, Charles Wellington. Portrait of Francis Galton. 1903. American Philosophical Society. “Image Archive of the American Eugenics Movement.” Coldspring Harbor Laboratory. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.

Galton, Francis. Hereditary Genius. London: Macmillan and Co., 1869. Google Books. 8 Oct. 2013.Galton, Francis. Letter to Charles Darwin. Dec. 24, 1969. “Correspondence of Francis Galton.”

Galton.org. Tredoux, Gavan, ed. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.Transcription from The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. (532)

Golden, Catherine J. “The Victorian Revolution in Letter Writing.” The Victorian Web. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.

London 1857. Drawn & Engraved Expressly For The Post Office Directory. London: Kelly & Co., 1857. David Hale, Map and Plan Collection Online (mapco.net). Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

Queen Victoria Line Engraved 1d Black Stamp. 1840. Bill Barrell Ltd. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.Sir Francis Galton, FRS: The Legacy of His Ideas. Ed. Milo Keynes. London: Macmillan, 1993. Print.

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