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From H. N. Moseley   24 September 1881

University of London, | Burlington Gardens. W.

Sep 24. 81

Dear Mr Darwin

I am a candidate for the professorship at Oxford rendered vacant by the death of Prof Rolleston and am collecting testimonials with a view to printing them.1 I should be extremely obliged if you would write me one should you feel so disposed testifying to the value of my original work and general ability.2

The chair at present as far as I understand covers the whole of animal biology. After an indefinite time a chair of physiology will be created in the University and then the professorship will become one of human and comparative anatomy, on the death of Prof Westwood the anatomy of invertebrata will be relegated to another separate chair and the Linacre professorship for which I am a candidate will become one of human and vertebrate anatomy only.3

Although most of my published work refers to invertebrates only this is more the result of accident than of my special inclination and caused by what was thrown in my way during the Challenger Expedition.4 I collected turtle and penguin embryos whales &c on the Expedition meaning to work at them but my hands were full of corals &c and these passed to others. During my medical studies I worked a good deal at human anatomy.

My only opponents are as far as I know Cunningham assistant to Prof Turner at Edinburgh and Watso of Owens College.5 A testimonial from you would of course be of the highest value to me.

Hoping you will excuse my troubling you in this matter which is of the greatest importance to me

I remain | yours truly | H N Moseley.

1
George Rolleston had been Linacre Professor of anatomy and physiology at Oxford University; he died on 16 June 1881 (ODNB).
2
CD had been sufficiently impressed by Moseley to act as one of the signatories to his successful nomination for fellowship of the Royal Society of London (see Correspondence vol. 24, letter from George Rolleston, 26 December 1876 and n. 2).
3
Moseley’s application was successful and he was appointed Linacre Professor of human and comparative anatomy; a new chair of physiology was created at the same time (ODNB). John Obadiah Westwood was Hope Professor of zoology at Oxford; he did not die until 1893.
4
Moseley was a member of the scientific staff on HMS Challenger during its scientific expedition around the world, 1872–6. His observations were published in H. N. Moseley 1879.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13354,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13354