DARWIN AND PALEONTOLOGY 



BY 

 HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN 



On March 4, 1860, Charles Darwin wrote ^ to 

 Joseph Leidy of Philadelphia: — 



" Your note has pleased me more than you could 

 readily believe; for I have during a long time heard all 

 good judges speak of your paleontological labours in 

 terms of the highest respect. Most paleontologists 

 (with some few good exceptions) entirely despise my 

 work, consequently approbation from you has gratified 

 me much ; all the older geologists with the one exception 

 of Lyell, whom I look at as a host in himself, are even 

 more vehement against the modification of species than 

 are even the paleontologists. I have, however, been 

 equally surprised and pleased at finding that several of 

 the younger geologists, who are now doing such good 

 work in our own geological survey go with me and are 

 as strong as I can be on the imperfections of geological 

 record. 



" Your sentence that you have some interesting facts 

 ' in support of the doctrine of selection, which I shall 



' Darwin's letter to Dr. Leidy is under date of March 4, 1860, in 

 reply, as he states, to Leidy's letter of December 10, 1859. 



On March 27, 1860, upon the recommendation of Isaac C. Lea 

 and Dr. Joseph Leidy, Darwin was elected a corresponding 

 member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. It is 

 probable that to the Philadelphia Academy belongs the honor of 

 having been the first foreign society to accord this great work 

 official recognition. This recognition was appreciated by Darwin, 

 as is shown by his reference to it in a letter to Sir Charles Lyell, 

 dated May 8, 1860. 



The original letter is in the collection of Dr. Joseph Leidy of 

 Philadelphia, nephew of the great anatomist. 



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