Huxley-Heathorn Correspondence

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0098 B/HUXLEY
Held at	: Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives ›
Full title	: Huxley-Heathorn Correspondence
Date(s)	: Created 1847-1854
Level of description	: Subfonds of Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) papers View parent record
Extent	: 1 box
Name of creator(s)	: Huxley | Thomas Henry | 1825-1895 | scientist and educationalist: Huxley | Henrietta Anne | 1825-1914 | nee Heathorn | wife of Thomas Henry Huxley

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

T H Huxley met Henrietta Anne Heathorn in Sydney, Australia, at the home of her stepsister Oriana in 1847, whilst travelling with the surveying ship HMS RATTLESNAKE. They became engaged, and Huxley returned to England in 1850. They did not see other again until Henrietta Heathorn came to England in 1855 to be married to Huxley, and during this time letters were their only method of communication.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Correspondence between Thomas Henry Huxley and Henrietta Anne Heathorn, 1847-1854, written during their engagement whilst Henrietta was living in Australia, and providing a detailed account of their relationship.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English, German

System of arrangement:

The letters are arranged chronologically.

Conditions governing access:

Researchers wishing to consult the Archives should first contact the College Archivist, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, for an appointment.

Conditions governing reproduction:

A photocopying service is available at the discretion of the Archivist. Photocopies are supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

Finding aids:

A catalogue is available in the reading room of the College Archives.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Many of the letters were sorted by Mrs Henrietta Huxley in 1896 and 1913.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Part of the family correspondence of T H Huxley was presented to Imperial College by Mrs Rosalind Huxley in 1961. Other family letters formed part of the purchase of Huxley papers made by the College in 1937.

Allied Materials

Related material:

See collection (fonds) description for details.

Publication note:

T H Huxley's Diary of the voyage of HMS Rattlesnake edited from the unpublished MS by Julian Huxley (Chatto & Windus, London, 1935).

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Sources: Webster's Biographical Dictionary (G & C Merriam Co, 1961); British Library On-Line Public Access Catalogue 97; National Register of Archives. Compiled by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
November 2000