UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Dredging Evolutionary Theory : the emergence of the deep sea as a transatlantic site for evolution, 1853-1876 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8z1985w6 Author Alaniz, Rodolfo John Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Dredging Evolutionary Theory: the emergence of the deep sea as a transatlantic site for evolution, 1853-1876 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History (Science Studies) by Rodolfo John Alaniz Committee in charge: Cathy Gere, Chair Tal Golan, Co-Chair Luis Alvarez Kelly Gates Mark Hanna Lynn Nyhart Cheryl Peach 2014 Copyright Rodolfo John Alaniz, 2014 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Rodolfo John Alaniz is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Co-Chair Chair University of California, San Diego 2013 iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the late Philip F. Rehbock. We never met in person. I started my research after your passing. However, my colleagues speak of you with great fondness and admiration. Your writing has inspired me and convinced me that our words touch the lives of others long after we have passed on. iv EPIGRAPH Organic life beneath the shoreless waves was born and nurs'd in ocean's pearly caves First forms minute, unseen by spheric glass move on the mud, or pierce the watery mass As these successive generations bloom, new powers acquire, and larger limbs assume; whence countless groups of vegetation spring, and breathing realms of fin, and feet, and wing - Erasmus Darwin, The Temple of Nature 18031 1 Erasmus Darwin, The Temple of Nature (1803; reprint, Menston, Yorkshire: The Scholar Press Limited, 1973), 26-27. The original footnote reads, “Beneath the shoreless waves, l. 295. The earth was originally covered with water, as appears from some of its highest mountains, consisting of shells cemented together by a solution of part of them... It must be therefore concluded, that animal life began beneath the sea.” v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ……………………………………………………………………………….... iii Dedication …………………………………………………………………………………….... iv Epigraph ……………………………………………………………………………………….... v Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………..…. vi List of Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………….…. vii Acknoledgements …………………………………………………………………………….. viii Curiculum Vita ……………………………………………………………………………..….. xii Abstract of the Dissertation ……………………………………………………………..…… xv Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………...…… 1 Chapter One: A Geography of Philosophical Naturalists …………………………....…… 16 Chapter Two: Living Fossils and Darwinian Evidence …………………..……………….. 96 Chapter Three: Civil War and the Discovery of the Deep-Sea Fauna ………………… 147 Chapter Four: The Deep-Sea Floor as Darwin’s Laboratory ………..…………………. 194 Chapter Five: The Challenger and the Eclipse of Darwinism …………………….……. 249 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………… 310 Glossary of People Mentioned ……………………………………………………..……… 323 Bibliography ……………………………………………………...………………………….. 332 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BAAS British Association for the Advancement of Science BLMS British Library Manuscripts BLSC Bodleian Library Special Collections CDCR Circumnavigation Dredging Committee of the Royal Society of London CULA Cambridge University Library Archives DARC Darwin Correspondence MCZA Museum of Comparative Zoology Archives NABA National Archives Building Annex SIOA Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this dissertation has been a labor of love. I have learned much from the process. That being said, the experience would have been worthwhile even if I learned only a portion of the eloquence needed to thank those who made it all possible. I stand deeply indebted to a great number of friends and colleagues. Each of these people is responsible for the lessons I gained and the joy I felt while writing this dissertation. There is no better place to start my thanks than at the beginning. The truth is that this project started as a friendly jab at a colleague who I respect a great deal, Phil Clements. As member of my graduate cohort at the University of California, Phil began a study on the “geographies of science.” His historical actors researched science at the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest. At the beginning, I was deeply skeptical of his chosen historical lens. Yet, Phil continually trounced my objections with clarity and narrative flare. Like any self-respecting doctoral student, I couldn't let a friend get away with such a clean thesis. I could think no better way to express my skepticism than to counter his study with one on the lowest point on Earth, the deep-sea floor. I use this story as a way to show my appreciation of my fellow graduate students at the University of California, San Diego, especially Phil Clements, Amanda Bevers, and Nick Saenz. Phil unwittingly introduced me to my dissertation topic. Amanda lent me the smile – and hot cocoa – I needed to weather difficult times. In Nick I found an patient editor, a political co-conspirator, and a lifelong friend. I came to the University of California because I loved the intellectual community I found there. I know I made the right choice because of them. My next thanks goes to those people I have met in my travels. My trek has been made enjoyable and enlightening by a number of people, though I cannot name here all viii that have helped me along the way. To the archivists at these locations, thank you for helping me and – in some cases – listening to me rant about deep-sea creatures. I am especially grateful to the University of Leeds for hosting my “British invasion.” I owe Graeme Gooday for his hospitality and delightful witticism. Jon Topham and Jon Hodge gave me valuable insights into the most difficult portions of this dissertation. It is not easy to show such brilliant men your weakest work, but they proved to be paragons of collegiality and helpfulness. Claire Jones insisted – to my great benefit – that my stay in England be fun as well as informative. Thank y'all for making England my home. I also found a delightful community within the history of oceanography. I am especially grateful to have met Helen Rozwadowski and the other Halifax conference- goers. It has come to my attention that not many people study the history of deep-sea biology. I am ecstatic that Helen, as a fellow in that subject, is such an encouraging and friendly colleague. The other conference attendees also shared their knowledge and resources freely. Two of them even sang sea-chanteys with me in front of a room filled with admirable scholars. Thank you both for not running away when the music started. This dissertation is partially about patronage and institutional indebtedness. With this in mind, I am keenly aware of how important their support is for scholars like myself. I would like to thank the Science Studies Program and the History Department at the University of California, San Diego, for their generous financial and organizational support. The University of California has also given me an added honor in the form of a UC President's Dissertation Fellowship. The Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians has also supported my passion for curriculum development through the Mary Wagner Memorial Scholarship. Two historians of evolution stand out more than any others as influences in my scholarship. I met Mark Ulett at a San Diego history and philosophy of biology ix conference. He has been a fast friend and colleague ever since. In addition, we both had the same two ideas for dissertation topics when we began writing. He has done me the added service of choosing the exciting dissertation topic that I would have otherwise studied! My mind would have dwelt continually upon the subject if he had not pursued that worthy project. The other historian of evolution I mentioned is Lynn Nyhart. In this instance, my desire to express my thanks incalculably exceeds my ability as a writer. She is responsible for my first belief that I could be a graduate student, let alone a historian of science. She took a scrappy geneticist and introduced him to his greatest intellectual joy. Thank you for being the type of mentor who walks through gardens and has philosophical conversations with me. Honestly, none of this dissertation would have been possible without her guidance. I also owe thanks to the members of my doctoral committee. I chose them all because they are the type of scholars – and people – I wanted to be like when I finished. I cannot claim to have achieved that yet, but I will continue with the wisdom given to me by each of them. I am particularly indebted to my co-advisors, Cathy Gere and Tal Golan. Cathy has been my patient, generous, and unswerving beacon throughout this process. She has alternatively lent a kind smile and – on rare occasion – tough love, which is exactly the “blend of method” I needed to become the scholar I am today. I have learned much from her astounding abilities as a writer and scholar. I attribute any bright and intriguing parts of my dissertation to her. Tal has been a constant source of feedback and advocacy since I arrived at the university. He poured hours upon hours of his time turning someone who could not string words together into a competent historian. I owe my writing ability, and therefore my x capacity to share my ideas with others, to his tutelage. Therefore, I attribute any confusing or ill-written parts of my dissertation to him. I jest, of course. I can attribute only the opposite. My final thanks goes to my family: my mother, brother, dad, and grandparents. All of you gave up so much so I could have the educational opportunities I have enjoyed. I will always remember what you have given me. Last, but not least, I must thank the man in my life, Kyle, for his love and support.