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Archive of Cyril Dean Darlington (1903-1981)

 Collection

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Comprises:

A Biographical and personal:

  1. Autobiographical and bibliographical, 1904-1981
  2. Diaries and jotters, 1885-1981
  3. School and university, 1910-1980
  4. Personal correspondence and material, 1922-1978
  5. Family correspondence and material, 1851-1981
  6. Photographs and press cuttings, 1885-1979

B John Innes Horticultural Institution:

  1. Darlington's career at John Innes, 1923-1940
  2. General administration and organization, 1930-1961
  3. Later correspondence and papers, 1911-1981
  4. Minutes, 1923-1954, 1981
  5. Annual reports, 1910-1966
  6. Lectures and summer courses, 1928-1953

C Oxford:

  1. Darlington's career at Oxford, 1953-1974
  2. Botany Department, 1946-1976
  3. Lectures and teaching, 1950-1976
  4. General administration, 1946-1973
  5. Botanic and Genetic Gardens, 1954-1971
  6. Nuneham Courtenay Arboretum, 1957-1971
  7. Oxford reform, 1958-1971
  8. Magdalen College, 1953-1980
  9. Oxford colleges and societies, 1955-1980
  10. Historical miscellany, 1960-1969

D Research:

  1. Ecology and environment, 1950s-1977
  2. Ethology, 1962-1972
  3. Eugenics, 1949-1975
  4. Genetics, 1923-1979
  5. History, 1902-1980
  6. Incest, 1963-1967
  7. India, 1941-1970s
  8. Intelligence, 1938-1980
  9. IQ and race, 1961-1980
  10. Social genetics, 1945-1981
  11. Notes on reading, 1908-1980

E Publications:

  1. Publications and drafts, 1923-1981
  2. Miscellaneous and unpublished material, 1923-1981
  3. Editorial correspondence and material, 1931-1980

F Lectures and broadcasts:

  1. Lectures, 1931-1980
  2. Broadcasts, 1939-1978

G Societies and organizations, 1919-1980

H Visits and conferences, 1909, 1927-1981

J Correspondence:

  1. Correspondence with individuals, 1865-1981
  2. Shorter unindexed correspondence, 1926-1980
  3. 'Lustige Blätter', 1923-1980
  4. References and appointments, 1936-1980

Dates

  • Creation: 1851-1981

Extent

27 Linear metres (247 boxes)

Language of Materials

  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Swedish

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. Darlington b. 1].

Please see our help page for further guidance on citing archives and manuscripts.

Full range of shelfmarks:

MSS. Darlington b. 1-3, c. 1-118, d. 1-24, e. 1-21, f. 1-36, g. 1-45

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 6781

Biographical / Historical

Cyril Dean Darlington, cytogeneticist and evolutionist, was born on 19 December 1903 in Chorley, Lancashire. When he was eight, his family moved to London, where he attended Mercers' School. In 1917 he won a foundation scholarship at St. Paul's School.

Intending to become a farmer in Australia, Darlington attended South Eastern Agricultural College at Wye. He graduated with a B.Sc. in 1923. He applied for an Empire Cotton Corporation scholarship, but was unsuccessful. He accepted a position as a volunteer unpaid worker at the John Innes Horticultural Institution (John Innes). This position became permanent (and paid) in 1924. He was appointed cytologist in 1928, became head of the cytology department in 1937, and from 1939 he also served as director of the John Innes. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and received the royal medal in 1946. In 1947 he founded the journal Heredity with geneticist R.A. Fisher. He led the exposure of Soviet atrocities against geneticists led by Trofim Lysenko.

In 1953 Darlington left the John Innes to accept the Sherardian Chair of Botany at Oxford University, and became a keeper of the Oxford Botanic Garden. He created the Genetic Garden, and played an active role in the acquisition of the Nuneham Courtenay Arboretum. He retired from the Sherardian Chair in 1971, but remained at the university writing and publishing. He died in Oxford in 1981.

Darlington's numerous publications include: Recent Advances in Cytology (1932), Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants (1945), The Facts of Life (1953), Genetics and Man (1964), The Evolution of Man and Society (1969), and The Little Universe of Man (1978).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The material was assembled at various dates between August 1981 and March 1985, from Darlington's room at the Department of Botany, Oxford, and his home at South Hinksey, Oxford, through the courtesy of his widow, Mrs. Gwendolen Darlington, and of Professor P.D.A. Harvey, his stepson and literary executor.

Title
Archive of Cyril Dean Darlington
Status
Published
Author
EAD version 2022 by Catherine McIlwaine
Date
EAD version 2022
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository

Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom