Contents of Charles Darwin’s library have been completely reconstructed

2024-02-12 07:38:22

The contents of the library of British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-82) have been completely reconstructed and made publicly available online for the first time.

The 300-page list compiled contains 7,400 titles with a total of 13,000 volumes including books, writings and magazines, the National University of Singapore (NUS) said on Monday. It also contains 9,300 links that lead to free copies of the works.

The project was led by science historian John van Wyhe from the Institute of Life Sciences at NUS, who runs a website with comprehensive information and sources on Darwin’s life and work. “This unprecedented, detailed view of Darwin’s complete library allows, more than ever, the insight that he was not an isolated figure working for himself, but an expert of his time, drawing on the advanced science, studies and other knowledge of thousands people,” said van Wyhe, according to the statement, regarding the catalog, which has now also been published on the website darwin-online.org.uk.

Previous lists only included 15 percent of the literature that Darwin used. They were supplemented, among other things, by evaluating references in Darwin’s writings and correspondence as well as a handwritten catalog from 1875.

The majority of these are scientific works, particularly in the areas of biology and geology. Others dealt with agriculture, the breeding of animals, their behavior and their distribution areas, as well as philosophy, religion and other topics that interested Darwin. These included art, history, travel and languages. The majority of the works were written in English, but almost half were also in other languages, particularly German, French and Italian.

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