Lady Hope in 1887

Lady Elizabeth Reid Hope (née Cotton¹; December 9, 1842–8 March 1922) was a British evangelist who is generally believed to be the Lady Hope who claimed in 1915 that she had visited the British naturalist Charles Darwin shortly before his death in 1882. Hope claimed that Darwin had recanted his theory of evolution on his deathbed, and accepted Jesus Christ as his saviour. Image File history File links Liz_Hope. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist [1] who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Charles Darwin's family denied the story, and insisted that Lady Hope "was not present during his last illness, or any illness." The Lady Hope Story is generally recognised, even by many Creationists, to be false — or at least unverifiable — and if true, probably exaggerated.[1][2] The story remains a popular urban legend, even though it stands in sharp contrast to Darwin's published and known views about Christianity. The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. Creationism at its core is the belief that all humanity, life, the Earth, or the universe as a whole was created by a supreme being (often referred to as God[1]) or by other forms of supernatural intervention. ... It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: Dicdef If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. ... An urban legend is a kind of modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ...

Biography

Elizabeth Cotton was born in 1842 in Tasmania, Australia, the daughter of a British general, General Sir Arthur Cotton. Aged 35, she married a widower, retired Admiral Sir James Hope, who was 34 years her senior, in 1877 becoming Lady Hope of Carriden. Sir James died just four years later. Emblems: Flora - Tasmanian Blue Gum; Mineral - Crocoite Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Const. ... General Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton (15 May 1803 Oxford – 25 July 1899 Dorking) was a British general and irrigation engineer. ... Admiral Sir James Hope (3 March 1808–9 June 1881) was a Royal Navy officer and Admiral of the Fleet. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

She and her father were part of the evangelist temperance movement, living in Beckenham Kent about 6 miles from Downe (where Charles Darwin died on 19 April 1882) during the early 1880s. A cartoon from Australia ca. ... Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... Downe is a village in the London Borough of Bromley, England. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... // Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ...

Hope remarried in 1893 to T. A. Denny, an Irish businessman some 24 years her senior. She continued to use the name "Lady Hope" rather than "Mrs Denny". Denny died in 1909. Hope travelled to the United States in 1913. It was there in 1915, 33 years after Darwin's death, in Northfield, Massachusetts that the story first appeared. 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Thomas Anthony Denny (2 April 1818–25 December 1909) was an Irish businessman, a self-described pork philanthropist. He was also a member of the Salvation Army, paying the first years rent on the organisations headquarters at 101 Queen Victoria Street in London in 1881. ... A lady is a woman who is the counterpart of a lord; or, the counterpart of a gentleman. ... Mrs. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ...

Hope died in 1922 in Sydney, Australia, of cancer and is buried there. 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ... It has been suggested that Cancerous tumor be merged into this article or section. ...

The Lady Hope story

Charles Darwin in 1880, shortly before his death.

Down House, Darwin's home, where Hope claimed she met Darwin.

The Lady Hope Story first appears in an American Baptist newspaper the Watchman Examiner on August 15, 1915. The author was identified only as a "consecrated English woman", "Lady Hope", but research by L.G. Pine, a former editor of Burke's Peerage, found no other Lady Hope other than Elizabeth Hope who was adult in the 1880s and still alive in 1915. Charles Darwin in 1880, as an old gentleman. ... Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist [1] who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Down House. ... Down House. ... Down House, photo by Richard Carter Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Leslie Gilbert Pine (22 December 1907 - May 15, 1987) was a British author, lecturer, and researcher in the areas of genealogy, nobility, history, heraldry and animal welfare. ... Burkes Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage is an authoritative guide to the titled families of Great Britain and Ireland. ... // Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ...

The article was preceded by a four-page report on a summer Bible conference held in Northfield, which that year ran from July 30 to August 15, 1915. July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Original text of the article

It was one of those glorious autumn afternoons, that we sometimes enjoy in England, when I was asked to go in and sit with the well known professor, Charles Darwin. He was almost bedridden for some months before he died. I used to feel when I saw him that his fine presence would make a grand picture for our Royal Academy; but never did I think so more strongly than on this particular occasion.

He was sitting up in bed, wearing a soft embroidered dressing gown, of rather a rich purple shade.

Propped up by pillows, he was gazing out on a far-stretching scene of woods and cornfields, which glowed in the light of one of those marvelous sunsets which are the beauty of Kent and Surrey. His noble forehead and fine features seem to be lit up with pleasure as I entered the room.

He waved his hand toward the window as he pointed out the scene beyond, while in the other hand he held an open Bible, which he was always studying.

"What are you reading now?" I asked as I seated myself beside his bedside. "Hebrews!" he answered - "still Hebrews. 'The Royal Book' I call it. Isn't it grand?"

Then, placing his finger on certain passages, he commented on them.

I made some allusions to the strong opinions expressed by many persons on the history of the Creation, its grandeur, and then their treatment of the earlier chapters of the Book of Genesis.

He seemed greatly distressed, his fingers twitched nervously, and a look of agony came over his face as he said: "I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything, and to my astonishment, the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them."

Then he paused, and after a few more sentences on "the holiness of God" and the "grandeur of this book," looking at the Bible which he was holding tenderly all the time, he suddenly said: "I have a summer house in the garden which holds about thirty people. It is over there," pointing through the open window. "I want you very much to speak there. I know you read the Bible in the villages. To-morrow afternoon I should like the servants on the place, some tenants and a few of the neighbours; to gather there. Will you speak to them?"

"What shall I speak about?" I asked.

"Christ Jesus!" he replied in a clear, emphatic voice, adding in a lower tone, "and his salvation. Is not that the best theme? And then I want you to sing some hymns with them. You lead on your small instrument, do you not?" The wonderful look of brightness and animation on his face as he said this I shall never forget, for he added: "If you take the meeting at three o'clock this window will be open, and you will know that I am joining in with the singing."

How I wished I could have made a picture of the fine old man and his beautiful surroundings on that memorable day!

Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Not to be confused with Surry. ... The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbr. ... Creation (theology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... This article is about the figure known by both Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ. For other usages, see Jesus (disambiguation). ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: freed forever from the punishment of sin Revelation 1:5-6 NRSV - also called deliverance;[1] being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God Revelation 1:6 NRSV - also called redemption;[2]) and a process...

Denial by Darwin's children

Darwin's family all denied the story and campaigned against it. Darwin's son Francis wrote in a letter on May 28, 1918: The Darwin — Wedgwood family was a prominent English family, descended from Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood, the most notable member of which was Charles Darwin. ... Sir Francis Darwin, F.R.S. (August 16th 1848 - 19th September 1925) was the botanist son of Charles Darwin. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Lady Hope's account of my father's views on religion is quite untrue. I have publicly accused her of falsehood, but have not seen any reply. My father's agnostic point of view is given in my Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Vol. I., pp. 304–317. You are at liberty to publish the above statement. Indeed, I shall be glad if you will do so."

After the story had been revived in 1922, Darwin's daughter Henrietta Litchfield stated in The Christian for February 23, 1922 in an article titled: Charles Darwin’s Death-Bed: Story of Conversion Denied by Mrs. R.B. Litchfield: The term agnosticism and the related agnostic were coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1869. ... Charles Darwin in 1854 The British naturalist Charles Darwin had correspondence with numerous other scientific luminaries of his age and members of his family. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

I was present at his deathbed, Lady Hope was not present during his last illness, or any illness. I believe he never even saw her, but in any case she had no influence over him in any department of thought or belief. He never recanted any of his scientific views, either then or earlier. We think the story of his conversion was fabricated in the U.S.A. ... ...The whole story has no foundation what-so-ever."

In 1958 The Autobiography of Charles Darwin was republished edited by Darwin's granddaughter Nora Barlow, which restored various passages edited out by Francis Darwin in the original 1887 edition. These included Darwin's perspective on God, as well as harsh criticisms of Christianity. Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is the autobiography of the British naturalist Charles Darwin which was published in 1887, five years after his death. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

Subsequent retellings and academic investigation

James Moore's book The Darwin Legend goes into some detail on the Lady Hope Story

Lady Hope gave her own slightly different account in a letter dated around 1919 – 1920 received by S. J. Bole, author of Battlefield of Faith (1940). The text is given in Dr Paul Marston's article. Image File history File links Darwin_Legend. ... Image File history File links Darwin_Legend. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

The story spread and became a popular urban legend. The claims were republished as late as October 1955 in the Reformation Review and in the Monthly Record of the Free Church of Scotland in February 1957. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article concerns the Free Church of Scotland 1843-1900, for the Free Church of Scotland existing from 1900 to the present day see Free Church of Scotland (post 1900). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There has been subsequent academic investigation into the story. Ronald W. Clark's The Survival of Charles Darwin explained the story but did not go into much detail. In 1994 Open University lecturer James Moore published The Darwin Legend, which claimed that Hope had visited Darwin sometime between 28 September and 2 October 1881, when Francis and Henrietta were absent and Charles' wife Emma was present, but that Hope subsequently embellished the story. Dr Paul Marston's article gives a different analysis, but generally supports this conclusion. He draws attention to discrepancies between the 1915 article and Lady Hope's later letter, which more plausibly has Darwin lying on a sofa rather than being in bed, and does not include the suggestion that Darwin was “always studying" the Bible. Ronald William Clark (1916-1987) was a British author of biography and non-fiction. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Affiliations EADTU, MSACS Website www. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Emma Darwin Emma Darwin (née Wedgwood, 2 May 1808–7 October 1896) was the wife of the English naturalist Charles Darwin. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Conclusion

False stories of deathbed recantations for other people are common. Charles Darwin's views on religion were complex and varied over his lifetime. While he tried to avoid controversy, he tended towards agnosticism or deism, and consistently rejected Christianity in his later life. In fact, some of his views on Christianity were so critical that his son, Francis Darwin, decided to delete them from his father's autobiography before publication. They were only restored in 1958. In one of these passages, referring to Christianity, Darwin wrote: Charles Darwin (1809 — 1882), who proposed the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. ... Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without and gnosis, knowledge, translating to unknowable) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities — is unknown or (possibly) inherently unknowable. ... Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that became prominent in England, France, and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth and his life, death, resurrection, and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... Sir Francis Darwin, F.R.S. (August 16th 1848 - 19th September 1925) was the botanist son of Charles Darwin. ... The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is the autobiography of the British naturalist Charles Darwin which was published in 1887, five years after his death. ...

But I found it more and more difficult, with free scope given to my imagination, to invent evidence which would suffice to convince me. Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a single second that my conclusion was correct.

References

• Clark, R.W. (1984) The Survival of Charles Darwin ISBN 0-380-69991-5
• Moore, J. (1994) The Darwin Legend ISBN 0-8010-6318-3

Footnotes

Note 1: Her maiden name is sometimes incorrectly given as Stapleton-Cotton. This is an error that appeared in Burke's Peerage; the Stapelton-Cotton name branched off the Cotton lineage after her ancestors had branched. Burkes Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage is an authoritative guide to the titled families of Great Britain and Ireland. ...

External links

• talk.origins on the Lady Hope story
• Newman, Robert C. (no date) The Darwin Conversion Story: An Update. Biblical Theological Seminary
• Marston, Paul. 2002. Charles Darwin and Christian Faith, from Scibel
• Thompson, Bert. 1991. Did Darwin Repent?, from ApologeticsPress.org
• Grigg, Russell M. (no date) Lady Hope from Answer in Genesis
• More information from the Stephen Jay Gould Archive
• Anon. 1997. Book review of The Darwin Legend