Introduction to Darwin Online

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online (or Darwin Online) began in 2002 to assemble in one scholarly website all of Darwin's published writings and unpublished papers. It does not cover his unpublished letters which were already the focus of the Darwin Correspondence Project.

Darwin Online is by far the largest Darwin publication in history. It contains over 56,000 pages of searchable text and 157,000 electronic images. This site contains at least one exemplar of all known Darwin publications, reproduced to the highest scholarly standards, both as searchable text and electronic images of the originals. The majority of Darwin's publications have been edited and annotated here for the first time. The works reproduced here were lent by helpful institutions and individuals. Some of the books are worth over £100,000 ($196,800), which means that few libraries can afford to collect all of Darwin's works. The site also provides the largest collection of Darwin's private papers ever published: c. 20,000 items in c. 100,000 images, thanks to the kind permission of Cambridge University Library.

Darwin Online is the largest and most widely used Darwin resource ever created. More copies of Darwin's works have been downloaded from Darwin Online than were published in Darwin's lifetime or in the whole of the 19th century.

The pilot website, The writings of Charles Darwin on the web (2002-6), was replaced in October 2006 with the launch of this website. The launch became an international media sensation—reported on television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet, reaching an estimated 400 million people. The site was swamped with millions of hits in the first 48 hours. Since then the site has been accessed by millions of readers and from every country in the world.

All of Darwin's unpublished manuscripts are being scanned, transcribed or both, if reproduction permission can be obtained. All previously published manuscript transcriptions are included (except where reproduction permission could not be obtained). Overall the site provides a the world's largest collection of material on and by Darwin never before seen on the internet or never reproduced before in any form.

The distinguishing features and innovations on Darwin Online are outlined below:

• The first complete collection of all Darwin's publications. Many have never been reproduced and almost all appear online for the first time, including many newly discovered items. See Publications.

• Each text is absolutely complete, nothing is omitted (as so often with online texts). The digitizations on Darwin Online begin with the spine of the book and include every page without exception, including end pages and publishers' advertizements.

• Both fully formatted electronic text and images of the original document are provided. These can be viewed side-by-side. Example. Darwin's works are also provided in PDF format for downloading and printing.

• The most comprehensive bibliography of works written by Darwin ever published (building on the work of R. B. Freeman). Introduction to the Freeman bibliographical database. See also the separate bibliography of works cited on Darwin Online which is the first bibliography of the works cited in Darwin's shorter publications.

• Translations. Darwin's works are also available in Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian and Russian. More languages forthcoming- donations welcome. See Publications.

• Many of the books are signed by Darwin or belonged to his family: Origin, Life of Erasmus Darwin, Coral reefs, Variation or Flowers.

• The largest collection of Darwin's manuscripts and private papers ever published. Click here. Many never before published transcriptions, such as the field notebook used on the Galapagos islands or his Beagle animal notes.

• The largest union catalogue of Darwin's many handwritten manuscripts and private papers ever assembled (based primarily on the Cambridge University Library catalogue by Nick Gill) - but including 20 cooperative institutions around the world. Introduction to the manuscript catalogue.

An extract from Darwin's barnacle notes.

• Added value: Supplementary Works by others which are relevant to studying and understanding Darwin and his context are also provided, such as contemporary reviews of his books (the largest collection ever published) or obituaries and recollections of Darwin (again the largest collection ever published). Darwin Online also contains the most complete list ever published of scientific descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens by other scientists. See specimen descriptions.

• New editorial introductions are being written to help readers understand Darwin's work and context. All of Darwin's shorter publications, the majority of his published items, have been edited and annotated here for the first time.

• New items are still being discovered and added to the site as well as further editions and translations when copies of the originals become available. These and other newly added materials are listed on the what's new page — the site is updated almost daily.

• Although Darwin Online is a scholarly resource, jargon and unhelpful abbreviations have been avoided and a major works page provides a simplified overview of the contents.

• Audio Darwin: Darwin's works available as free mp3 downloads for the blind, vision impaired and audio book readers.

• The site is fully searchable. Searches can be limited by name, date, title and so forth, in addition to a powerful battery of advanced search options. See Search and Search help.

• Page counters on every page. Every document in Darwin Online displays its own hit counter, allowing one to see how often each has been accessed.

• It's completely free of charge!

Darwin Online urgently needs funding to continue its unparalleled achievements. See support.

Many individuals and institutions have helpfully contributed to make Darwin Online possible; for a complete list of contributors and acknowledgements click here.

John van Wyhe

Director of Darwin Online

A virtual bookshelf of Darwin's books. Click on a book to open it.

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Terms of Use. These materials may be freely used for non-commercial purposes and distribution to students; republication in any form requires written permission. Contact: Dr John van Wyhe.

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File last updated 10 July, 2008