Anne Darwin

Anne Elizabeth "Annie" Darwin (2 March 1841-22 April 1851) was the second child and eldest daughter of Charles and Emma Darwin. According to biographers she was a delightful child who brought much happiness to her parents. The eminent Darwin scholar Janet Browne writes of her thus:

Related Topics:
2 March - 1841 - 22 April - 1851 - Charles - Emma Darwin - Janet Browne

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:Anne was .. the apple of her proud father's eye, his favourite child, he confessed to Fox. More than any of the other children she treated him with a spontaneous affection that touched him deeply; she liked to smooth his hair and pat his clothes into shape, and was by nature self-absorbedly neat and tidy, cutting out delicate bits of paper to put away in her workbox, threading ribbons, and sewing small things for her dolls and make-believe worlds.

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In 1849, Anne caught scarlet fever along with her two sisters and youngest brother, the last dying of the disease, and her health thereafter declined; some authorities believe that she suffered from tuberculosis. Her death at age ten was a terrible blow for both Charles and Emma, and is said by Browne to have driven Darwin to atheism. As a young man Darwin had intended to become a pastor.

Related Topics:
1849 - Scarlet fever - Tuberculosis - Atheism - Pastor

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