Contents of Darwin’s library completely reconstructed

The contents of the library of British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) have been fully reconstructed and made publicly available online for the first time. The National University of Singapore (NUS) announced on Monday that the 300-page list included 7,400 titles with a total of 13,000 volumes, including books, writings and journals. It also contains 9,300 links leading to free copies of the works.

The project was led by science historian John van Wyhe of NUS’s Institute of Life Sciences, who runs a website with extensive information and resources about Darwin’s life and work.

“This unprecedented, detailed overview of Darwin’s entire library makes possible more than ever the understanding 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 of people. says Van Wyhe according to the statement about the catalogue, which has now also been published on the website darwin-online.org.uk.

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

The majority of these are scientific works, especially in the fields of biology and geology. Others dealt with agriculture, the breeding of animals, their behavior and their ranges, as well as philosophy, religion and other topics that interested Darwin. These include art, history, travel and languages. The majority of the works are written in English, but almost half are also written in other languages, especially German, French and Italian. (sda/dpa)