Boston Flora

Tag: On the Origin of Species

  • Monday, April 30, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – When Darwin Met Thoreau

    Each winter, Director William (Ned) Friedman and the Arnold Arboretum present the Director’s Lecture Series, featuring nationally recognized experts addressing an array of topics related to Earth’s biodiversity and evolutionary history, the environment, conservation biology, and key social issues associated with current science. The Director’s Lecture Series is open to current Arnold Arboretum members only; visit http://arboretum.harvard.edu for information on becoming a member. Lectures take place in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall. Parking will be available along the Arborway and in front of the Hunnewell Building on lecture nights.

    Randall Fuller, PhD, Herman Melville Distinguished Professor of American Literature, University of Kansas, will speak on Monday, April 30 at 7 pm. On January 1, 1860, Henry David Thoreau learned about a new work of science entitled On the Origin of Species. Within a month, he had read the book, taken extensive notes, and begun to incorporate Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection into his understanding of nature. In this talk, Professor Randall Fuller will recount Thoreau’s deep engagement with what remains one of the most important concepts of the nineteenth century. Fuller is the author of The Book that Changed America.

    Register online at https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/directors-lecture-series/

  • Sunday, May 22 – Tuesday, May 31 – Gracious Gardens & Architectural Gems of London, Sussex & Hampshire

    Yale Educational Travel announces an exclusive trip, Gracious Gardens & Architectural Gems of London, Sussex & Hampshire, featuring Yale Faculty Linda Peterson and Fred Strebeigh, May 22 to May 31. This unforgettable journey through the English countryside in late spring, when glorious gardens are in full bloom, will provide a privileged look at great houses built by the English aristocracy – many carefully restored by the families who live there.  You will, by special arrangement, attend the celebrated Chelsea Flower Show on Members’ Day, a visit to Down House, where Charles Darwin worked on his scientific theories and wrote On the Origin of Species, and 17th century Bateman’s, home to Rudyard Kipling from 1902 – 1936..  Then, travel south to East Sussex, including a visit to Scotney Castle, whose gardens are renowned for spectacular displays of rhododendrons and azaleas.  In Hampshire, you will stop en route at Petworth House, a late 17th century mansion housing a fine collection of works by Turner and Van Dyck.  You will also visit Firle Place, an intriguing mix of Tudor and Georgian style, and Highclere Castle, a Victorian home in high Elizabethan style, with a park designed by Capability Brown, and Osborne House (below) on the Isle of Wight.  $6,995 per person, double occupancy, with a single supplement of $1,125. For a brochure and complete information, call 203-432-1952, or make a reservation on line at www.YaleEdTravel.org/england11.

  • Monday, January 31, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – A Darwinian Look at Darwin’s Evolutionist Ancestors

    NEW DATE: The Arnold Arboretum presents an exciting lecture series in 2011: the new Director’s Lecture Series at the Hunnewell Lecture Hall, 125 The Arborway in Boston.  The lectures are free but advance registration is required.

    On Monday, January 31, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Ned Friedman, newly-appointed  Director of the Arnold Arboretum, will speak on A Darwinian Look at Darwin’s Evolutionist Ancestors. Is Darwin truly deserving of his place in history? Examine the question of what set Darwin apart from the dozens of theorists who preceded him. For over a century before the publication of On the Origin of Species, naturalists, theologians, atheists, horticulturalists, medical practitioners, poets, and philosophers had advanced evolutionary concepts for the diversification of life through descent with modification. The early history of evolutionary thought will be examined through the lens of Charles Darwin’s highly personal views of his evolutionist ancestors.

    Contact Pamela Thompson, 617.384.5277. http://calendar.arboretum.harvard.edu/index.php

  • Thursday, October 21, 6:00 pm – Corresponding Naturalists: Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, and the Making of American Botany

    Asa Gray’s extensive correspondence with naturalists shaped the early years of exploration and botanical research in North America. These letters brought Gray into contact with Charles Darwin, who became a close friend. With the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, Gray soon emerged as the key proponent and defender of natural selection in the U.S.  On Thursday, October 21, beginning at 6 pm, Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard, will discuss their letters , which reflect a warm personal relationship as well as the making of an intellectual revolution. Free and open to the public, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Part of the Asa Gray Bicentennial series.  For more information, log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.