William Darwin Fox
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The Reverend William Darwin Fox (23 April 1805 - 8 April 1880) was an English clergyman, naturalist, palaeontologist, and a 2nd cousin of Charles Robert Darwin.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Fox was born and initially raised at Thurleston Grange near Elvaston, Derbyshire and later Osmaston Hall at Osmaston about 2.5 miles (4km) south of Derby. Fox was the son of Samuel Fox (1765-1851) and Ann Darwin (1777-1859). Ann was the daughter of William Alvey Darwin (1726-1783) and Jane Brown (1746-1835), and niece of Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802).
Like his second cousin Charles Darwin, Fox prepared for the clergy at Cambridge University. He was also a naturalist and entomologist, particularly collecting beetles. At Cambridge, Fox and Darwin became friends, and Fox tutored his younger cousin on natural history. Darwin noted in his autobiography:
I was introduced to entomology by my second cousin W. Darwin Fox, a clever and most pleasant man, who was then at Christ's College, and with whom I became extremely intimate.
It was also Fox who introduced Darwin to John Stevens Henslow who held a weekly open house which undergraduates and some older members of the University, who were attached to science attended in the evenings.
Darwin spent three weeks with Fox at Osmaston Hall in the summer of 1829. The Hall and its associated 4,000 acre (16 km²) estate was owned by the Wilmot-Horten family and leased to the Fox family from 1814 to 1887 and sold subsequently in 1888 to the Midland Railway. In 1938 the Hall was demolished and the area is now industrial, more noted for the manufacture of Rolls Royce turbo-fan engines.
Throughout his life, Fox remained in regular contact with Charles Darwin, and many of the letters exchanged contained comments relating to Darwin's work as well as family matters.
[edit] Country vicar
Fox graduated from Cambridge in the winter of 1829 and shortly thereafter became the Vicar of Osmaston.
A notice in the London Gazette for Friday April 6, 1838 states:
"The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. William Darwin Fox, M.A. to the rectory of Delamere in the diocese and county of Chester, ..."
...where he remained the incumbent until 1873.
From early in 1861 Fox spent more of his time at Brading near Sandown on the Isle of Wight, where he was the Curate of St. Paul's church at Kingston and also the relieving Curate of St. Mary's church at Brixton (now Brighstone), both on the south-west coast.
[edit] Man of letters
Fox in his own non-scientific but reasoned way contributed to the understanding of the geology of the the Solent and how the Isle of Wight became separated from the mainland when he gave a very informative opinion on this matter in a reply to a correspondent to the Geologist (Fox 1862).
This leads to the least well noted part of Fox's interests, that of an amateur palaeontologist whose delving into the remains of dinosaurs around the Isle of Wight earned him a reputation with the scientific community and he has probably more species of dinosaur named after him than any other Englishman.
Fox discovered many new dinosaurs, including Aristosuchus, Calamospondylus and Polacanthus, and was the first to realise that Hypsilophodon was a dinosaur species in its own right, and not a juvenile Iguanodon, and despite not being a professional scientist, had a significant impact on the early study of dinosaurs.
Fox had an impressive range of professional scientist correspondents and friends, such as Sir Richard Owen and John Hulke. Fox was described as putting "always the bones first and the parish next", and wished for a permanent position in Brighstone, saying "I cannot leave this place while I have any money left to live on, I take such deep joy in hunting for old dragons".
Although Fox was unable to retain his position in Brighstone, he stayed on the Island until he died. His vast fossil collection is now part of the Natural History Museum collection.
When Fox retired as Rector of Delamere in 1873, he returned to live at "Broadlands", Brading, until his death in 1880 and is buried on the Isle of Wight.
[edit] Marriages and children
Fox married twice and had 17 children. His first wife was Harriet Fletcher, (1799–1842), daughter of Sir Richard Fletcher and Elizabeth Mudge, whom he married in 1834 and they issued - stillborn girl, 1834, Eliza Ann (Sanders),1836 - 1874; Harriet Emma (Overton), 1837 - ; Agnes Jane, 1839 - 1906; Julia Mary Anne (Woods), 1840 - ; Samuel William Darwin, 1841 - .
His second wife was Ellen Sophia (1820–1887), daughter of Basil George Woodd and Mary Mitton of Hillfield, Hampstead and they were married in 1846. They issued - Charles Woodd, 1847 - 1908; Frances Maria (Pearce) 1848 - 1921, Robert Gerard, 1849 - 1909; Louisa Mary, 1851 - 1853; Ellen Elizabeth (Baron Dickinson Webster - 1st cousins once removed), 1852 - ; Theodora, 1853 - 1878; Gertrude Mary (Bosanquet), 1854 - 1900; Frederick William, 1855 - ; Edith Darwin, 1857 - ; Erasmus Pullien, 1859 - ; Reginald Henry, 1860 - ; Gilbert Basil, 1865 - .
Following the birth of the Fox's 10th child, Charles Darwin made a tongue-in-cheek reference to the size of the Fox family and the trouble boys created compared with girls; in a letter to Fox in 1852.
[edit] References
- Darwin, C.R. (1852) Comment in letter to W.D. Fox regarding the increasing size of the Fox family. Cambridge University. link
- Fox, W.D. (1862). When and how was the Isle of Wight separated from the mainland? Geologist, 5, 452. link
