Ɛpsilon

To B. G. Wilder   26 January [1875]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Jan 26.

Dear Sir

I have much pleasure in stating that I have read several of your papers, & have been much struck by the ability shown in many of them, as well as by your great energy in the pursuit of Natural Science. One of your latest investigations, that on the brain of dogs, appears to me particularly valuable.2 As I do not know who your competitors are for the Chair of Comparative Anat & Physiology in Harvard University,3 I cannot of course express any opinion of your claims to fill it but you have my good wishes for your success in all ways.

I remain dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin

To | Dr Burt G. Wilder.

LS(A)

1
The year is established by the reference to the chair of anatomy and physiology at Harvard (see n. 3, below).
2
There is an annotated copy of Wilder’s paper on cerebral variation in domestic dogs (Wilder 1873), along with other papers by Wilder, in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL. CD cited Wilder 1873 in Variation 2d ed. 1: 35 n. 56.
3
The Hersey Professorship of anatomy had been held by Jeffries Wyman, who died in September 1874 (ANB). The chair was left vacant until 1885 (Harvard University catalogue).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.5 Harvard] interl in CD’s hand after del ‘the’
3.1 To … Wilder.] in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9830,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9830