Ɛpsilon

To C. W. Thomson   10 October 1870

Down. | Beckenham. | Kent. S.E.

Oct 10 1870

My dear Sir

I am very glad to hear that you are a candidate for the Chair of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh.1 You have my sincere good wishes for your success, for to the best of my judgment you have proved yourself well fitted for the post by what you have done in science & by the course of your recent investigations.2

Should you succeed, you will have an admirable opportunity for bringing forward & encouraging new recruits in science, & as I believe you will do your utmost I cordially wish you success.

I remain my dear Sir | yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

To | Prof. Wyville Thomson

LS(A)

1
See Correspondence vol. 18 and vol. 24 Supplement, letter from C. W. Thomson, 7 October 1870. A draft of this letter was published in Correspondence vol. 18 with the date [after 7 October 1870]; a version from a pamphlet containing a copy of Thomson’s application for the post of professor of natural history at Edinburgh together with the testimonials that accompanied it (C. W. Thomson 1870) was published in Correspondence vol. 24 Supplement.
2
Thomson participated in the voyages of HMS Lightning and HMS Porcupine; these gathered physical data and biological specimens from the sea floor (ODNB; see also Carpenter and Thomson 1868). For some of Thomson’s recent publications, see Correspondence vol. 18, letter from C. W. Thomson, 7 October 1870 and n. 2. Thomson was appointed to the position on 7 November 1870 (see Swinney 1999, p. 57).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

3.1 To … Thomson] in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7337,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7337