Do blondes have more fun? Aug 11, 2008
Dr Alison Pearn, assistant director of the Darwin Correspondence Project at Cambridge University Library, said that Darwin took the blonde question quite seriously, and had made extensive notes and calculations on the letters sent to him from the doctor. "Darwin was fascinated by questions of hair colour and the role it might play in choosing sexual partners. He was keen to test whether English blondes really were more likely to stay single, with a resulting decrease in blonde hair in subsequent... (India Times, India)
Darwin's dilemma: blonde or brunette? Aug 11, 2008
Dr Alison Pearn, assistant director of the Darwin Correspondence Project at Cambridge University Library, said Darwin seemed to treat the blonde question quite seriously, and had made extensive notes and calculations on the letters the doctor sent him. Darwin received three letters from Dr John Beddoe in 1869 which contained data from the doctor's observations of female patients coming into the hospital. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Darwin's private papers on Net Apr 18, 2008
Comprising some 20,000 items and 90,000 images, the is the largest in history, according to the organisers from Cambridge University Library which holds all the Darwin papers. "This release makes his private papers, mountains of notes, experiments, and research behind his world-changing publications available to the world for free," said John van Wyhe, director of the project. (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution drafts go online Apr 17, 2008
For decades one of the most important collections of primary materials in the history of science was available only to scholars at Cambridge University Library, which had been given the 90,000 papers and images by the Darwin family in 1942. Highlights of the collection include Darwin s sketch of the Tree of Life, a recipe for boiling rice and observations on the creatures he encountered on the Galapagos Islands, such as giant tortoises. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Letters reveal Darwin's caring, comic side - in between agonising about his theory May 18, 2007
"We are incredibly fortunate that so much of this material has survived," said Alison Pearn at the Darwin Correspondence Project, based at Cambridge University Library (). "There's a huge interest in Darwin and one of the great things about the letters, unlike the published work, is that they are very accessible, so it is a very good route in for all sorts of people.". (Guardian Unlimited -- Life)
The academic life — as others live it Apr 30, 2007
I'm working hard again, on what I hope will be described in much the same way as Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, legendarily said to the historian of the Roman Empire, "Another damned thick book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh, Mr. Gibbon?" Every day I spend long hours in the Rare Book Room of the Cambridge University Library, reading books so obscure that even Firestone doesn't have them. But the Rare Book Room has wi-fi; and the splendid room where I work has... (The Daily Princetonian, NJ)
