ALS signed “Ch. Darwin,” one page, 5 x 8, Down, Beckenham, Kent letterhead, February 1 [1874]; another hand has struck through Darwin’s date and added “March 9th”). Handwritten letter to leading ophthalmic surgeon William Bowman, asking him to give his vote for Darwin's nephew, Henry Parker, at the next balloting at the Athenaeum. In full: “If you ever attend the Ballotting at the Athenaeum Club, will you give your vote & exert any influence which you properly can in favor of my nephew, Henry Parker. He will be balloted for at the first meeting early in current month.” Another hand has struck through two words of Darwin’s handwriting and added “on the 16th of the.” Darwin continues: “He is a fellow of Oriel College, & I can assure you that he is a fitting man for election from his abilities & in every other respect.” In very good to fine condition, with scattered light foxing, and two stains to the top.
Darwin originally dated this letter February 1st, evidently thinking that Parker’s ballot might take place early that month; the date on the letter was changed to March 9th when Parker’s ballot was scheduled for March 16, 1874; elections at the Athenaeum Club took place on Mondays from February to the end of July, with all ballots invalid unless twenty members took part. To Darwin’s delight, Henry Parker was elected a member of the Athenaeum Club on the scheduled election day of March 16th, news confirmed in a letter from Darwin’s brother, Erasmus, dated March 17, 1874: ‘The Ballot has gone off all right 206 to 5. A great many of your friends put down their names on his card.’ Per the Darwin Correspondence Project, Darwin sent nearly identical letters to several Athenaeum Club members, including botanist George Bentham, chemist Edward Frankland, poet and sculptor Thomas Woolner, physicist John Tyndall, and zoologist Alfred Newton on the same date as the offered letter.
Sir William Bowman, 1st Baronet (1816–1892) was an English surgeon, histologist and anatomist. He is best known for his research using microscopes to study various human organs, though during his lifetime he pursued a successful career as an ophthalmologist.
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