The University of Cambridge is sponsoring the Darwin Correspndence Project. Founded in 1974 by Frederick Burkhardt and Sydney Smith, the initial goal of the project was to “locate, research and publish” Charles Darwin’s letters. The project later grew to include all letters written to Darwin, they have thus far located approximately 14,500 letters and new letters still being to be discovered. The letters range from 1821 to 1882 when Darwin died. This is an invaluable resource for scholars of history, evolution, genetics, and religion.
The project is celebrating the launch of their redesigned website, which features a full-text database of 5,000 letters written by and to Charles Darwin. Darwin’s correspondents include Emma Darwin (his cousin and wife), Robert Fitzroy (captain of the Beagle), and Alfred Russel Wallace (another evolution scholar). The site also contains a special section that deals Darwin’s religious beliefs, meant to provide clarity in the evolution vs. creation debate.
There are also two other websites for those interested in Darwin:The Darwin Digital Library, run by the American Museum of Natural History; and The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, another University of Cambridge project.
Explore and Enjoy,
Steve