The Autobiography of Charles Darwin

The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin
	Cover of the original edition of 1887.
Author	Charles Darwin, edited by Francis Darwin
Country	England
Language	English
Publisher	John Murray, London
Publication date	1887

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is an autobiography by the English naturalist Charles Darwin.

Darwin wrote the text, which he entitled Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character, for his family. He states that he started writing it on about May 28, 1876 and had finished it by August 3.

The text was published in 1887 (five years after Darwin's death) by John Murray as part of The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter. The text printed in Life and Letters was edited by Darwin's son Francis Darwin, who removed several passages about Darwin's critical views of God and Christianity.^[1]

The omitted passages were later restored by Darwin's granddaughter Nora Barlow in a 1958 edition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species.^[2] This edition was published in London by Collins under the title of The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882. With the original omissions restored. Edited and with appendix and notes by his granddaughter Nora Barlow.

References[]

^ Darwin 1958, pp. 11–14.
^ Darwin 1958, pp. 84–96.

Bibliography[]

Darwin Online: Life and Letters and Autobiography
Darwin, C.R. (ed by Barlow, N) ;The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. ISBN 0-393-31069-8 (1993 paperback edition)
Darwin, Charles (1887), Darwin, Francis (ed.), The life and letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter, London: John Murray, ISBN 0-404-08417-6, retrieved 2008-11-04
Darwin, Charles (1958), Barlow, Nora (ed.), The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809–1882. With the original omissions restored. Edited and with appendix and notes by his granddaughter Nora Barlow, London: Collins, retrieved November 5, 2019
Darwin, Charles (2006), "Journal", in van Wyhe, John (ed.), [Darwin's personal 'Journal' (1809-1881)], Darwin Online, CUL-DAR158.1-76, retrieved 2008-12-20

External links[]

Barlow, Nora ed. 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882. at darwin-online.org.uk
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin at Project Gutenberg
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin public domain audiobook at LibriVox
A review by evolutionary biologist R.A. Fisher

[1] Darwin 1958, pp. 11–14.

[2] Darwin 1958, pp. 84–96.

[1]

[2]

v t Charles Darwin
Life	Darwin–Wedgwood family Erasmus Darwin Josiah Wedgwood Education Voyage on HMS Beagle Inception of theory Development of theory Publication of theory Reactions to On the Origin of Species Orchids to Variation Descent of Man to Emotions Insectivorous Plants to Worms Religious views Health Women Portraits of Darwin (caricatures)
Writings	Extracts from Letters to Henslow The Voyage of the Beagle Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection" On the Origin of Species Fertilisation of Orchids Geological Observations on South America Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Insectivorous Plants The Power of Movement in Plants The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms Autobiography Correspondence The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin More Letters of Charles Darwin List of described taxa
Related	Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation History of evolutionary thought Pangenesis Darwin Industry Commemoration things named for Darwin Darwinism Neural Darwinism Quantum Darwinism Social Darwinism Universal Darwinism Alternatives Eclipse HMS Beagle Darwin Medal Darwin Awards