Letters of a young scientist

commented translation of the correspondence between Francisco de Arruda Furtado, Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker

Abstract

This communication presents a commented translation of the correspondence between Francisco de Arruda Furtado (1854-1887) and Charles Darwin (1809-1882) originally written in French and English. I also present a partial translated transcript of letters not yet published between Darwin and Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911) that mention Furtado. Academically, these letters provide a snapshot of the naturalist’s craft in the 19th century, the importance of oceanic islands, in this case the Azores, as laboratories and workstations, and the vast network of postal contacts through which naturalists communicated. Furthermore, the letters show an inspiring relationship between a beginning Azorean naturalist and his idol, forty-five years older than him and a living legend of science.