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Charles Darwin Blue Plaque on Gower Street London WC1 | ProfJoeCain

Darwin in London

During research concerning Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin’s life at number 12 Upper Gower Street, London, I identified several errors and vagaries in biographical material found in standard reference works. This note communicates corrections and […]

The anatomist overtaken by the watch carrying off Miss Watts in a hamper, caricature by William Austin, 1773

London’s Body-Snatching Business of the Resurrection Men Exposed, 1825

In Britain, body-snatching was a cloak-and-dagger business. It also was corrupt. When her husband was arrested, tried, and executed for crimes associated with body-snatching, Ann Millard sought revenge. To her mind, local officials were complicit […]

Music of the Stars – Live Performance Celebrating History of Astronomy

In May 2011, Dr Silvia De Bianchi organised the workshop, “The Harmony of the Sphere: Kant and Herschel on the universe and the Astronomical Phenomena” at UCL. This brought together research on Kant, Herschel, and astronomy. […]

Grave of Vice-Admiral Robert Fitzroy, Upper Norwood, London

Robert Fitzroy is buried in Upper Norwood Cemetery (photographs)

Robert Fitzroy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) is buried in the church yard of All Saints Church, Upper Norwood, London. The memorial was restored in 1997. At the time of his death, he lived […]

Charles Darwin's Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Penguin Classics), 1890 second edition, edited by Professor Joe Cain and Dr Sharon Messenger ISBN 9780141439440

Charles Darwin – Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1890 second edition)

First published in 1872, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals was a book at the very heart of Charles Darwin‘s research interests – a central pillar of his ‘human’ series. This book […]

Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins 1854 paper on visual education applied to Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, with detailed descriptions.

Why Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins Created Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (FGS, FLS) was the sculptor who created the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. Specifically, he created over thirty statues of prehistoric animals for the Crystal Palace and Park (Sydenham), which opened in June 1854. […]

Piltdown Excavation - Smith Woodward (centre) and Dawson (right) digging at Piltdown site circa 1912

Where is the Location of Piltdown Man Excavation Site?

The infamous, fraudulent “Piltdown Man” materials (named Eoanthropus Dawnonis, or the Dawn Man) were planted in a Pleistocene gravel pit on Barkham Manor near the village of Piltdown, East Sussex. This location lies on the rolling downland south of the Ashdown Forest. Though the […]

Professor Joe Cain

UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology