Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Encyclopedia
Erasmus Alvey Darwin nicknamed Eras or Ras, was the older brother of Charles Darwin
, born five years earlier, and also brought up at the family home, The Mount House
, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
. He was the only other boy in the family, the fourth of six children of Robert and Susannah Darwin (née Wedgwood), and the grandson of Erasmus Darwin
, and of Josiah Wedgwood
, a family of the Unitarian
church. See also Darwin — Wedgwood family
.
1815–1822 as a boarder, and as a frail and studious boy his interest was in books and plants rather than sports. His mother died in 1817 and he was joined at the school by his brother Charles in September 1818. Eras became bored with the classical curriculum and took an interest in chemistry
, with Charles as his assistant. They had a garden shed at their home fitted out as a laboratory
.
In 1822 Eras went on to a medical course at Christ's College
, Cambridge
where he studied Chemistry under Professor James Cumming
. When it came to be time for his one year external hospital
study in 1825 he went to Edinburgh University, accompanying his younger brother who was just starting a course there in medicine. They planned ahead, Erasmus thinking "It will be very pleasant our being together, we shall be as cozy as possible", arriving early at Edinburgh
to make social contact with old friends of the family in Whig
society, and so "we can both read like horses". Erasmus enrolled with John Lizars
, a "charming" and respectable surgeon on the other side of Surgeon's Square from his chief rival as a private tutor, the flamboyant Robert Knox
who two years later became embroiled with the body-snatchers Burke and Hare. At the end of his hospital study year Erasmus enrolled in a London
anatomy school, leaving Charles behind.
By 1828 Erasmus was ready to sit his Bachelor of Medicine exam at the University of Cambridge, and early in the new year he was accompanied to Cambridge by his brother Charles who had given up on medical studies and was now starting a course to qualify as a clergyman. That summer he went on a Continental tour to Munich
, Milan
and Vienna
, and on his return home at the Christmas holiday he and Charles visited London, touring the scientific institutions.
with "an air cushion in his rooms" to allow a visiting Charles to stay with him. The brothers visited the Birmingham
Music Festival for what Charles described as the "most glorious" experience. That Christmas Charles visited Eras in London for three weeks, making use of the air-bed, then again at Easter 1831 before "geologising" in Wales
, but as Erasmus was out of town when the opportunity to join the Voyage of the Beagle
came up, Charles took lodgings in London to make his arrangements. The departure was delayed, and Erasmus visited Plymouth
for a few days to be shown round HMS Beagle
by Charles. He was still on board on the morning of 10 December to say his farewells just before she set out.
There was an open secret in the family in 1833 that Erasmus was carrying on with Fanny Wedgwood, Hensleigh Wedgwood
's wife, and as his sister Catherine wrote to Charles, "Papa continually prophesies a fine paragraph in the Paper about them". The Wedgwoods had a baby, ending his "junkitting at her house", but the affair resurfaced so Erasmus was "paired off" with Emma Wedgwood
to avert "an action in the Papers."
Harriet Martineau
, and telling him that "Erasmus knows her & is a very great admirer & every body reads her little books & if you have a dull hour you can, and then throw them overboard, that they may not take up your precious room."
In October 1836 after Charles returned from the voyage he stayed with his brother in a bustling London, where Erasmus enjoyed a life of literary leisure, his week revolving around intellectual dinner parties, spending his days "driving out Miss Martineau". Their father was concerned that her radicalism
made her unsuitable as a daughter-in-law, and possibly a bad influence on his boys. Charles wrote that "Our only protection from so admirable a sister-in-law is in her working [Eras] too hard. He is beginning to perceive.. he shall be not much better than her 'nigger'. – imagine poor Eras a nigger to so philosophical & energetic a lady... She already takes him to task about his idleness." Charles called on Martineau and remarked that "She was very agreeable, and managed to talk on a most wonderful number of subjects, considering the limited time... I was astonished to find how ugly she is... she is overwhelmed with her own projects, her own thoughts and abilities", though "Erasmus palliated all this, by maintaining one ought not to look at her as a woman."
Eras had a cosmopolitan circle of friends including Martineau and his relative Hensleigh Wedgwood
, and arranged intimate dinner parties with guests such as Charles Lyell
, Charles Babbage
and Thomas Carlyle
. Radical and dissenting "heterodoxy
was the norm". In the Spring of 1837 Charles moved to nearby lodgings where he could readily visit and attend Eras's dinner parties. In April 1838 Charles sent his parents the gossip that Miss Martineau had been "as frisky lately as the Rhinoceros. – Erasmus has been with her noon, morning & night: – if her character is not as secure, as a mountain in the polar regions she would certainly lose it".
Before marrying at the start of 1839 Charles moved to Gower Street, London, astounding Erasmus with the amount of his luggage. In the summer of that year Martineau's health broke down during a visit to the Continent and, fearing a tumour she retired to solitary lodgings in Tynemouth
near her brother. She and Erasmus remained on good terms, writing to each other. Erasmus's social circle drifted apart, while "[Eras] sticks to his opium with many groans." (Opium
was a common medicine at this time.)
made him increasingly reclusive after his move to Downe
, he would still visit Erasmus as one of his relatives and friends who provided safe havens. One such occasion was the Great Exhibition in 1851 when the family came to London and stayed with "Uncle Ras". By 1852 Erasmus had become a confirmed bachelor, languid and melancholic, living alone except for servants, but at parties his "playful wit" made him the universal solvent. That summer he stayed at Down House
with the family, and delighted his nephews and nieces whom he loved dearly, and who adored him. He romped with them, getting down on his hands and knees and becoming their playmate.
As the reaction to Darwin's theory
began following publication of The Origin of Species
at the end of 1859, Erasmus thought it "the most interesting book I have ever read", and sent a copy to his old flame Harriet Martineau who at 58 was still reviewing from her home in the Lake District
. In 1863 he was on the Council of the abolitionist Ethnological Society of London
which at the time of the American Civil War
was engaged in debate with the breakaway pro-slavery Anthropological Society
.
Francis Galton
, having caught the fad for Spiritualism, arranged a séance in January 1874 at Erasmus's house with those attending including Charles, Hensleigh Wedgwood
and Thomas Huxley
. Charles's son George hired the medium Charles Williams, and they sat round the table in the dark, though Charles left to lie down, missing the show. It "took away all their breaths" with a ringing bell, rushing wind, jumping candlestick and the table rising up above their heads. Galton thought it a "good séance" and Erasmus dabbled in "spirit photographs", but Charles remained convinced that it was "all imposture", as Huxley and George proved at a second séance.
By the autumn of 1880 Erasmus was in poorly health, suffering from the effects of time and opium, in constant pain and scarcely able to leave home. In September 1881 Charles stayed with Erasmus while his portrait was painted by John Collier
. Shortly afterwards, Erasmus became gravely ill and died quietly on 26 August. Emma Darwin
broke the news to Charles, who commented that he had seen Erasmus dying slowly "for many years", not "a happy man" but always kindhearted, clearheaded and affectionate. The funeral at Downe on 1 September was taken by their cousin John Allen Wedgwood
, now 85, who had officiated at the wedding of Charles and Emma. Charles, looking "old and ill" in a long black funeral cloak, was a picture of "sad reverie" as the coffin was lowered. A marble slab was arranged, with words by Thomas Carlyle
: "one of the sincerest, truest and most modest of men".
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, born five years earlier, and also brought up at the family home, The Mount House
The Mount, Shrewsbury
The Mount, is the site of a house in Shrewsbury, officially known as Mount House that belonged to Robert Darwin and was the birthplace of his son Charles Darwin.- Overview :...
, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was the only other boy in the family, the fourth of six children of Robert and Susannah Darwin (née Wedgwood), and the grandson of Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
, and of Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
, a family of the Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
church. See also Darwin — Wedgwood family
Darwin — Wedgwood family
The Darwin–Wedgwood family is actually two interrelated English families, descended from the prominent 18th century doctor, Erasmus Darwin, and Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the pottery firm, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, the most notable member of which was Charles Darwin...
.
Education
He attended Shrewsbury SchoolShrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
1815–1822 as a boarder, and as a frail and studious boy his interest was in books and plants rather than sports. His mother died in 1817 and he was joined at the school by his brother Charles in September 1818. Eras became bored with the classical curriculum and took an interest in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, with Charles as his assistant. They had a garden shed at their home fitted out as a laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
.
In 1822 Eras went on to a medical course at Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
where he studied Chemistry under Professor James Cumming
James Cumming
Rev. Prof. James Cumming was the ninth Professor of Chemistry in Cambridge from 1815 to 1860. Cumming is remembered for his research-led teaching and his lectures during which he would literally shock the audience with a galvanic apparatus...
. When it came to be time for his one year external hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
study in 1825 he went to Edinburgh University, accompanying his younger brother who was just starting a course there in medicine. They planned ahead, Erasmus thinking "It will be very pleasant our being together, we shall be as cozy as possible", arriving early at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to make social contact with old friends of the family in Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
society, and so "we can both read like horses". Erasmus enrolled with John Lizars
John Lizars
John Lizars was a Scottish surgeon and anatomist.Educated at the Royal High School and the University of Edinburgh, he worked as a naval surgeon under Admiral Sir Charles Napier, seeing action in the Peninsular Wars....
, a "charming" and respectable surgeon on the other side of Surgeon's Square from his chief rival as a private tutor, the flamboyant Robert Knox
Robert Knox
Robert Knox was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist and zoologist. He was the most popular lecturer in anatomy in Edinburgh before his involvement in the Burke and Hare body-snatching case. This ruined his career, and a later move to London did not improve matters...
who two years later became embroiled with the body-snatchers Burke and Hare. At the end of his hospital study year Erasmus enrolled in a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
anatomy school, leaving Charles behind.
By 1828 Erasmus was ready to sit his Bachelor of Medicine exam at the University of Cambridge, and early in the new year he was accompanied to Cambridge by his brother Charles who had given up on medical studies and was now starting a course to qualify as a clergyman. That summer he went on a Continental tour to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and on his return home at the Christmas holiday he and Charles visited London, touring the scientific institutions.
Retirement
In the summer of 1829 he gave up medicine as his father Doctor Robert Waring Darwin considered that Erasmus's "delicate frame" could not withstand a career "involving, if successful, a severe strain on body & mind" and decided to pension him off. Eras was "very agreeable" to retiring at the age of 26 and planned to live in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with "an air cushion in his rooms" to allow a visiting Charles to stay with him. The brothers visited the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
Music Festival for what Charles described as the "most glorious" experience. That Christmas Charles visited Eras in London for three weeks, making use of the air-bed, then again at Easter 1831 before "geologising" in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, but as Erasmus was out of town when the opportunity to join the Voyage of the Beagle
The Voyage of the Beagle
The Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, bringing him considerable fame and respect...
came up, Charles took lodgings in London to make his arrangements. The departure was delayed, and Erasmus visited Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
for a few days to be shown round HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
by Charles. He was still on board on the morning of 10 December to say his farewells just before she set out.
There was an open secret in the family in 1833 that Erasmus was carrying on with Fanny Wedgwood, Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood was a British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology. Wedgwood was the fourth son of Josiah Wedgwood II and Elizabeth Allen...
's wife, and as his sister Catherine wrote to Charles, "Papa continually prophesies a fine paragraph in the Paper about them". The Wedgwoods had a baby, ending his "junkitting at her house", but the affair resurfaced so Erasmus was "paired off" with Emma Wedgwood
Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, scientist and author of On the Origin of Species...
to avert "an action in the Papers."
Harriet Martineau
In May 1834 Charles got a letter from his sisters recommending Poor Laws and Paupers Illustrated in pamphlet sized parts by the fiercely independent literary WhigBritish Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau was an English social theorist and Whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist....
, and telling him that "Erasmus knows her & is a very great admirer & every body reads her little books & if you have a dull hour you can, and then throw them overboard, that they may not take up your precious room."
In October 1836 after Charles returned from the voyage he stayed with his brother in a bustling London, where Erasmus enjoyed a life of literary leisure, his week revolving around intellectual dinner parties, spending his days "driving out Miss Martineau". Their father was concerned that her radicalism
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
made her unsuitable as a daughter-in-law, and possibly a bad influence on his boys. Charles wrote that "Our only protection from so admirable a sister-in-law is in her working [Eras] too hard. He is beginning to perceive.. he shall be not much better than her 'nigger'. – imagine poor Eras a nigger to so philosophical & energetic a lady... She already takes him to task about his idleness." Charles called on Martineau and remarked that "She was very agreeable, and managed to talk on a most wonderful number of subjects, considering the limited time... I was astonished to find how ugly she is... she is overwhelmed with her own projects, her own thoughts and abilities", though "Erasmus palliated all this, by maintaining one ought not to look at her as a woman."
Eras had a cosmopolitan circle of friends including Martineau and his relative Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood was a British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology. Wedgwood was the fourth son of Josiah Wedgwood II and Elizabeth Allen...
, and arranged intimate dinner parties with guests such as Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
, Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
and Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
. Radical and dissenting "heterodoxy
Heterodoxy
Heterodoxy is generally defined as "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". As an adjective, heterodox is commonly used to describe a subject as "characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards"...
was the norm". In the Spring of 1837 Charles moved to nearby lodgings where he could readily visit and attend Eras's dinner parties. In April 1838 Charles sent his parents the gossip that Miss Martineau had been "as frisky lately as the Rhinoceros. – Erasmus has been with her noon, morning & night: – if her character is not as secure, as a mountain in the polar regions she would certainly lose it".
Before marrying at the start of 1839 Charles moved to Gower Street, London, astounding Erasmus with the amount of his luggage. In the summer of that year Martineau's health broke down during a visit to the Continent and, fearing a tumour she retired to solitary lodgings in Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
near her brother. She and Erasmus remained on good terms, writing to each other. Erasmus's social circle drifted apart, while "[Eras] sticks to his opium with many groans." (Opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
was a common medicine at this time.)
"Uncle Ras"
While Charles Darwin's illnessCharles Darwin's illness
For much of his adult life, Charles Darwin's health was repeatedly compromised by an uncommon combination of symptoms, leaving him severely debilitated for long periods of time...
made him increasingly reclusive after his move to Downe
Downe
Downe is a village in the London Borough of Bromley in London, UK.Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies in a wooded valley, and much of the centre of the village is unchanged; the former village school now acts as the village hall.-Darwin:Charles Darwin...
, he would still visit Erasmus as one of his relatives and friends who provided safe havens. One such occasion was the Great Exhibition in 1851 when the family came to London and stayed with "Uncle Ras". By 1852 Erasmus had become a confirmed bachelor, languid and melancholic, living alone except for servants, but at parties his "playful wit" made him the universal solvent. That summer he stayed at Down House
Down House
Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theories of evolution by natural selection which he had conceived in London before moving to Downe....
with the family, and delighted his nephews and nieces whom he loved dearly, and who adored him. He romped with them, getting down on his hands and knees and becoming their playmate.
As the reaction to Darwin's theory
Reaction to Darwin's theory
The immediate reaction to Darwin's theory followed closely on his publication of On the Origin of Species, and Charles Darwin's book sparked off international debate, though the heat of controversy was less than that over earlier works such as Vestiges of Creation...
began following publication of The Origin of Species
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
at the end of 1859, Erasmus thought it "the most interesting book I have ever read", and sent a copy to his old flame Harriet Martineau who at 58 was still reviewing from her home in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. In 1863 he was on the Council of the abolitionist Ethnological Society of London
Ethnological Society of London
The Ethnological Society of London was founded in 1843 by a breakaway faction of the Aborigines' Protection Society . It quickly became one of England's leading scientific societies, and a meeting-place not only for students of ethnology but also for archaeologists interested in prehistoric...
which at the time of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
was engaged in debate with the breakaway pro-slavery Anthropological Society
Anthropological Society of London
The Anthropological Society of London was founded in 1863 by Richard Francis Burton and Dr. James Hunt. It broke away from the existing Ethnological Society of London, founded in 1843, and defined itself in opposition to the older society...
.
Francis Galton
Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton /ˈfrɑːnsɪs ˈgɔːltn̩/ FRS , cousin of Douglas Strutt Galton, half-cousin of Charles Darwin, was an English Victorian polymath: anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician...
, having caught the fad for Spiritualism, arranged a séance in January 1874 at Erasmus's house with those attending including Charles, Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood was a British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology. Wedgwood was the fourth son of Josiah Wedgwood II and Elizabeth Allen...
and Thomas Huxley
Thomas Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
. Charles's son George hired the medium Charles Williams, and they sat round the table in the dark, though Charles left to lie down, missing the show. It "took away all their breaths" with a ringing bell, rushing wind, jumping candlestick and the table rising up above their heads. Galton thought it a "good séance" and Erasmus dabbled in "spirit photographs", but Charles remained convinced that it was "all imposture", as Huxley and George proved at a second séance.
By the autumn of 1880 Erasmus was in poorly health, suffering from the effects of time and opium, in constant pain and scarcely able to leave home. In September 1881 Charles stayed with Erasmus while his portrait was painted by John Collier
John Collier (artist)
The Honourable John Maler Collier OBE RP ROI , called 'Jack' by his family and friends, was a leading English artist, and an author. He painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style, and was one of the most prominent portrait painters of his generation. Both his marriages were to daughters of Thomas Henry...
. Shortly afterwards, Erasmus became gravely ill and died quietly on 26 August. Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, scientist and author of On the Origin of Species...
broke the news to Charles, who commented that he had seen Erasmus dying slowly "for many years", not "a happy man" but always kindhearted, clearheaded and affectionate. The funeral at Downe on 1 September was taken by their cousin John Allen Wedgwood
John Allen Wedgwood
The Reverend John Allen Wedgwood , normally known as Allen Wedgwood was rector of Maer Staffordshire.Wedgwood was the fifth of six children and the fourth and youngest son of John Wedgwood , and his wife Louisa Jane Allen...
, now 85, who had officiated at the wedding of Charles and Emma. Charles, looking "old and ill" in a long black funeral cloak, was a picture of "sad reverie" as the coffin was lowered. A marble slab was arranged, with words by Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
: "one of the sincerest, truest and most modest of men".