Charles Darwin Archive recognised by United Nations Agency
The Charles Darwin Archive has been recognised on the prestigious UNESCO International Memory of the World Register.
The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme is the documentary heritage equivalent of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, protecting invaluable records that tell the story of human civilisation.
A collaboration between Cambridge University Library, the Natural History Museum, the Linnean Society of London, English Heritage’s Down House, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Library of Scotland, the Charles Darwin Archive provides a unique window into the life and work of one of the world’s most influential natural scientists.
The complete archive, comprising over 20,000 items, includes Darwin’s records illustrating the development of his ground-breaking theory of evolution and extensive global travels.
At Cambridge University Library, the Darwin Archive is a significant collection of Darwin’s books, experimental notes, correspondence, and photographs, representing his scientific and personal activities throughout his life.
The collection in Cambridge includes Darwin’s pocket notebooks recording early statements of key ideas contributing to his theory of evolution, notably that species are not stable.
These provide important insights into the development of his thought and feature the iconic ‘Tree of Life’ diagram which he drew on his return from the voyage of the HMS Beagle.
Close up of Darwin's Tree of Life sketch.
Close up of Darwin's Tree of Life sketch.
Fragment from the Origin of Species manuscript draft with children’s drawing (‘aubergine and carrot cavalry’) on the reverse, CUL MS DAR 185:109.6v. Cambridge University Library.
Fragment from the Origin of Species manuscript draft with children’s drawing (‘aubergine and carrot cavalry’) on the reverse, CUL MS DAR 185:109.6v. Cambridge University Library.
Letter from Johann Friedrich Theodor 'Fritz' Müller to Charles Robert Darwin; written at Desterro (Brazil), incomplete, annotated by Darwin, with attached specimen packet, opened. CUL MS DAR 110: B114r-s2. Cambridge University Library.
Letter from Johann Friedrich Theodor 'Fritz' Müller to Charles Robert Darwin; written at Desterro (Brazil), incomplete, annotated by Darwin, with attached specimen packet, opened. CUL MS DAR 110: B114r-s2. Cambridge University Library.
Charles Darwin: Off the Page exhibition at The New York Public Library
Charles Darwin: Off the Page exhibition at The New York Public Library
Visitors at the Darwin in Conversation exhibition at Cambridge University Library. Photo: Mark Box.
Visitors at the Darwin in Conversation exhibition. Photo: Mark Box.
New York Public Library's Darwin exhibition, on tour from Cambridge University Library.
New York Public Library's Darwin exhibition, on tour from Cambridge University Library.
In line with the ideals of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, much of the Darwin Archive can be viewed by the public at the partner organisations.
Through Cambridge University Library, everyone, anywhere, can view thousands of Darwin manuscripts and letters online through the Cambridge Digital Library and the Darwin Correspondence Project.
Cambridge University Library has run public Darwin exhibitions featuring the physical items, both in Cambridge and in New York, and welcomes interest to view items individually for research in the Manuscripts Reading Room. Explore the Darwin collection.
This inscription marks a significant milestone in recognising Darwin’s legacy, as it brings together materials held by multiple institutions across the UK for the first time, ensuring that his work's scientific, cultural, and historical value is preserved for future generations.
The Linnean Society of London holds several of Darwin's letters, manuscripts and books. Here is also home to John Collier’s original iconic portrait of Charles Darwin, commissioned by the Society and painted in 1883 to commemorate the first reading of the theory of evolution by natural selection at a Linnean Society meeting in 1858.
At the Natural History Museum, a letter written to his wife Emma in 1844, provides insight into Darwin’s perceived significance of his species theory research and holds instructions on what she should do in the case of his sudden death. This is alongside other letters to Museum staff and other family members which demonstrate the broad scope of his scientific thinking, research and communication ranging from caterpillars to volcanoes, dahlias to ants and the taking of photographs for his third publication Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
Correspondence with Darwin’s publisher John Murray, held at the National Library of Scotland document the transformation of his research into print, including the ground-breaking On the Origin of Species publication.
At the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, documents include a highly significant collection of 44 letters sent around the HMS Beagle expedition from Darwin to Professor John Stevens Henslow, detailing his travels and the genesis of his theory of evolution as he comes in contact with new plants, wildlife and fossils; as well as a rare sketch of the orchid Gavilea patagonica made by Darwin. Other items include a letter from Darwin to his dear friend Joseph Hooker, Director of Kew, in which he requests cotton seeds from Kew's collections for his research.
Down House (English Heritage) in Kent was both a family home and a place of work where Darwin pursued his scientific interests, carried out experiments, and researched and wrote his many ground-breaking publications until his death in 1882.
The extensive collection amassed by Darwin during his 40 years at Down House paint a picture of Darwin’s professional and personal life and the intersection of the two. This archive includes over 200 books from Darwin’s personal collection, account books, diaries, the Journal of the Voyage of the Beagle MSS, and Beagle notebooks and letters. More personal items include scrapbooks, Emma Darwin’s photograph album and Charles Darwin’s will.
"For all Charles Darwin gave the world, we are delighted by the UNESCO recognition in the Memory of the World of the exceptional scientific and heritage significance of his remarkable archive held within eminent UK institutions. Cambridge University Library is home to over 9,000 letters to and from Darwin, as well as his handwritten experimental notebooks, publications, and photographs which have together fostered decades of scholarship and public enjoyment through exhibition, education for schools, and online access.
"We could not be prouder of UNESCO’s recognition of this remarkable documentary heritage at the University of Cambridge, where Darwin was a student at Christ’s College and where his family connections run deep across the city, and are reflected in his namesake, Darwin College.”
Dr Jessica Gardner, University Librarian and Director of Library Services at Cambridge University Libraries.
Charles Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1831 and was recommended by the Professor of Botany, John Stevens Henslow, to Robert Fitzroy, commander of HMS Beagle, as a naturalist to sail on a hydrographical voyage Fitzroy was to make in South American waters.
By the late 1860s, Darwinism became a powerful ideology across nations and cultures; it remains so to this day.
Darwin is known as a great theorist and careful observer. He was also a rigorous and ingenious experimenter. The archive is a unique resource for reconstructing his working practices and thinking behind his published work.
His theory to explain the origin of all organisms established a new paradigm for the biological sciences, and is one of the most influential scientific theories of all time.
His attention to the dynamic relationships between organisms and their environments, and the co-dependence of organisms with each other, are of great importance to current research on biodiversity, the complexity of habitats, and the fragility of ecosystems.
"How wonderful to see Darwin’s connections to so many outstanding scientific and cultural institutions in the UK reflected in the recognition of his archive on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. All these institutions are open to the public so everyone will have access to his documentary heritage.
"He would be so pleased that current and future generations will now be able to draw on these irreplaceable records for their own scientific and cultural creativity. He respected and valued both learned bodies themselves, and the many different contexts and varieties of learning."
Ruth Padel, FRSL, FZS, poet, conservationist, great-great-grand-daughter of Charles Darwin, King’s College London Professor of Poetry Emerita, and author of ‘Tigers in Red Weather’ and ‘Darwin, A Life in Poems’.
The UNESCO International Memory of the World Register includes some of the UK’s most treasured documentary heritage, such as the Domesday Book, the Shakespeare Documents, alongside more contemporary materials, including the personal archive of Sir Winston Churchill. The Charles Darwin Archive now joins this esteemed list, underscoring its historical, scientific, and cultural significance.
The recognition highlights the critical importance of the archive to global science and the necessity of its long-term preservation and accessibility.
The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme is a global initiative to safeguard the world’s documentary heritage against collective amnesia, the ravages of war, decay and deterioration.
The equivalent of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme’s mission is to focus world attention on the need to safeguard endangered and unique library and archive collections and make them accessible to everyone.
Explore Darwin at Cambridge University Library
Cambridge Digital Library
View 30,000 digitised, high-resolution images and transcripts of Darwin's manuscripts preserved at Cambridge University Library. No login needed. Open to everyone.
Darwin Correspondence
Read and search more than 15,000 of Charles Darwin's letters. Discover images and transcripts of all known letters Darwin wrote and received. No login needed. Open to all.
Darwin collections at the library
We run regular exhibitions, everyone is welcome to join the library, and we welcome enquiries to view the physical items in the secure Manuscripts Reading Room.
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