The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online (or Darwin Online) is a freely-accessible website containing the complete print and manuscript works of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

, as well as related supplementary material.

Overview

Darwin Online is a research project and website based at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

. It aims to provide all available print and manuscript material except unpublished letters, which are being made available separately by the

Darwin Correspondence Project The British naturalist Charles Darwin corresponded with his extended family and with an extraordinarily wide range of people from all over the world. The letters, over 15,000 in all, provide many insights on issues ranging from the origins of ...

. In addition Darwin Online includes the largest bibliographical list of Darwin's publications and the largest union catalogue of Darwin papers and manuscripts worldwide. The site also provides an extensive collection of related materials such as reviews of Darwin's books, descriptions of his Beagle specimens, obituaries and recollections and works cited or read by Darwin. There is also general history and commentary—some from published sources and some prepared for the project. The project began in 2002 and first produced a pilot website, ''The writings of Charles Darwin on the web'', replaced in October 2006 by the new website. The launch was widely reported, and the project has been widely reviewed by professional publications in biology, and librarianship. The site contains at least one copy of all known Darwin publications, both as searchable text (98,000 pages) and full colour images (80,000 images). Most of this material was not previously available on the internet – or never even reproduced in any form. New items are still being found and added, along with further editions, translations and transcriptions of Darwin's handwritten papers. In April 2008 Darwin's private papers were launched. The event marked the largest release of new materials by and about Darwin ever published. The collection covers c. 20,000 items across c. 90,000 electronic images. One notable item is the Diary of Emma Darwin (1808–1896), Darwin's wife.Diaries of Darwin's wife to be published online
''Telegraph'' March 13, 2007 The site is accessible

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

free of charge. It is copyright, with permission for non-commercial use.

Sponsorship

The project was privately funded by the founder and Director,

John van Wyhe John van Wyhe (born 1971) is a British historian of science, with a focus on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, at the National University of Singapore. He holds various academic and research positions, ranging from founder and director of ...

, from 2002-5. From 2005-8 the project was sponsored by the United Kingdom

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts an ...

. The principal grantees John van Wyhe of Christ's College.

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

is Director of the project; James Secord of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science,

and

Janet Browne Elizabeth Janet Browne (née Bell, born 30 March 1950) is a British historian of science, known especially for her work on the history of 19th-century biology. She taught at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University Coll ...

of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

Centre for the History of Medicine,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

were the principal investigators for the grant. The project is now supported by private donation.

References

External links

Darwin Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online Biological literature Biological evolution Discipline-oriented digital libraries Works by Charles Darwin Charles Darwin Singaporean digital libraries