S. America before I had seen a true coral reef. I had therefore
only to verify and extend my views by a careful examination
of living reefs. But it should be observed that I had during the
two previous years been incessantly attending to the effects
on the shores of S. America of the intermittent elevation of
the land, together with denudation and the deposition of sediment. This necessarily led me to reflect much on the effects
of subsidence, and it was easy to replace/in imagination the
continued deposition of sediment by the upward growth of
coral. To do this was to form my theory of the formation of
barrier-reefs and atolls. (Darwin, 1958, pp. 98–99)
Second edition of “Coral Reefs”
In 1874, a revised second edition of Coral Reefs was
published. Darwin writes that in the second edition, he
has “added some new facts and have revised the whole
book; the latter chapters having been almost rewritten”
(Darwin, 1874, p. viii). According to Freeman (1977), this
was influenced by the work of Professors Dana and Jukes.
Certainly, Darwin writes that since the 1842 publication,
“only one important work on the same subject has
appeared, namely, in 1872, by Professor Dana, on Corals
and Coral-Reefs”. In the preface, he discusses some of
Dana’s assertions and criticisms of his (Darwin’s) work.
Of Professor Dana, Darwin comments that
Although I thus demur to some of the remarks and criticisms
made by this eminent naturalist, who has examined more
coral formations than almost any other man, yet I do not the
less admire his work. It has also afforded me the highest satisfaction to find that he accepts the fundamental proposition
that lagoon islands or atolls, and barrier-reefs, have been
formed during periods of subsidence (Darwin, 1874, p. vii).
Darwin, in the preface to the second edition, quotes Jukes
as saying Darwin’s “hypothesis is perfectly satisfactory to
my mind.” However, Darwin suggested that the “distinguished naturalist, Professor Semper, differs much from
me, although he seems willing to admit that some atolls
and barrier-reefs have been formed in the manner in which
I suppose” (Darwin, 1874, p. vii).
Conclusions
Although the basics of Darwin’s theory have since been
proven by deep borings and geophysical surveys on many
open ocean atolls, his theory initiated a great deal of
debate centered mainly around the substrate from which
reefs grew. This debate resulted in alternative theories
(see Chapter Subsidence Hypothesis of Reef Development)
or new ideas which added to Darwin’s theory. While there
are various reviews of these (e.g., Cotton, 1948; Harvey,
1982; Hopley, 1982) the fundamentals of his theory
remain, and Darwin’s works represent perhaps the most
important nineteenth century contribution to the study of
coral reefs.
Bibliography
Chancellor, G., 2008. Introduction to Coral Reefs. In van Wyhe, J.
(ed.), The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Accessed
online 18/5/09: http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Chancellor, G., and van Wyhe, J., 2008. ‘State this with clearness’:
an introduction to the Santiago Notebook. In van Wyhe, J. (ed.),
The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Accessed online
18/5/09: http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Cotton, C. A., 1948. The present-day Status of Coral Reef Theories.
New Zealand Science Review, 6, 111–113.
Darwin, C. R., 1838. On certain areas of elevation and subsidence in
the Pacific and Indian oceans, as deduced from the study of coral
formations. In Proceedings of the Geological Society of London,
2, 552–554.
Darwin, C. R., 1842. The structure and distribution of coral reefs.
Being the First Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle,
Under the Command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N. During the Years
1832 to 1836. London: Smith Elder.
Darwin, C. R., 1874. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs.
2nd edn. London: Smith Elder.
Darwin, C. R., 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809–
1882. With the Original Omissions Restored. Edited and with
appendix and notes by his grand-daughter Nora Barlow. London:
Collins.
Fitzroy, R., 1839. Narrative of the surveying voyages of His
Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826
and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores
of South America, and the Beagle’s circumnavigation of the
globe. In Proceedings of the Second Expedition, 1831–36,
Under the Command of Captain Robert Fitz-Roy, R.N. London:
Henry Colburn.
Freeman, R. B., 1977. The Works of Charles Darwin: An Annotated
Bibliographical Handlist. 2nd edn. Dawson: Folkstone. Available online: van Wyhe, J. (ed.), The Complete Work of Charles
Darwin Online. Accessed online 18/5/09: http://darwin-online.
org.uk/
Harvey, N., 1982. A century of ideas since Darwin: Coral Reef
Evolution in Australia. In Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (S.A. Branch), Vol. 83, pp. l3–33.
Hopley, D., 1982. The Geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef:
Quaternary Development of Coral Reefs. New York: Wiley.
Cross-references
Lyell, Charles (1797–1875)
Subsidence Hypothesis of Reef Development
DAVID, TANNANT EDGEWORTH (1858–1934)
Peter J. Davies
School of Geosciences University of Sydney, Sydney,
NSW, Australia
Professor of Geology at the University of Sydney (1891–
1924), Tannant Edgeworth David was born in St. Fagans,
South Wales as the eldest child of the Rev. William David
and his wife Margaret Harriette, née Thomson, from
whose family came the names Tannant and Edgeworth.
David entered New College, Oxford in 1876 and
gained a first class in classics in 1878; however,
a breakdown in health prevented him from reading for
final honors. While convalescing, he traveled to Canada
and then on a round trip to Melbourne in the sailing ship
Yorkshire. Back at Oxford, David attended Professor
Joseph Prestwich’s lectures on geology before graduating
DAVID, TANNANT EDGEWORTH (1858–1934)
301
only to verify and extend my views by a careful examination
of living reefs. But it should be observed that I had during the
two previous years been incessantly attending to the effects
on the shores of S. America of the intermittent elevation of
the land, together with denudation and the deposition of sediment. This necessarily led me to reflect much on the effects
of subsidence, and it was easy to replace/in imagination the
continued deposition of sediment by the upward growth of
coral. To do this was to form my theory of the formation of
barrier-reefs and atolls. (Darwin, 1958, pp. 98–99)
Second edition of “Coral Reefs”
In 1874, a revised second edition of Coral Reefs was
published. Darwin writes that in the second edition, he
has “added some new facts and have revised the whole
book; the latter chapters having been almost rewritten”
(Darwin, 1874, p. viii). According to Freeman (1977), this
was influenced by the work of Professors Dana and Jukes.
Certainly, Darwin writes that since the 1842 publication,
“only one important work on the same subject has
appeared, namely, in 1872, by Professor Dana, on Corals
and Coral-Reefs”. In the preface, he discusses some of
Dana’s assertions and criticisms of his (Darwin’s) work.
Of Professor Dana, Darwin comments that
Although I thus demur to some of the remarks and criticisms
made by this eminent naturalist, who has examined more
coral formations than almost any other man, yet I do not the
less admire his work. It has also afforded me the highest satisfaction to find that he accepts the fundamental proposition
that lagoon islands or atolls, and barrier-reefs, have been
formed during periods of subsidence (Darwin, 1874, p. vii).
Darwin, in the preface to the second edition, quotes Jukes
as saying Darwin’s “hypothesis is perfectly satisfactory to
my mind.” However, Darwin suggested that the “distinguished naturalist, Professor Semper, differs much from
me, although he seems willing to admit that some atolls
and barrier-reefs have been formed in the manner in which
I suppose” (Darwin, 1874, p. vii).
Conclusions
Although the basics of Darwin’s theory have since been
proven by deep borings and geophysical surveys on many
open ocean atolls, his theory initiated a great deal of
debate centered mainly around the substrate from which
reefs grew. This debate resulted in alternative theories
(see Chapter Subsidence Hypothesis of Reef Development)
or new ideas which added to Darwin’s theory. While there
are various reviews of these (e.g., Cotton, 1948; Harvey,
1982; Hopley, 1982) the fundamentals of his theory
remain, and Darwin’s works represent perhaps the most
important nineteenth century contribution to the study of
coral reefs.
Bibliography
Chancellor, G., 2008. Introduction to Coral Reefs. In van Wyhe, J.
(ed.), The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Accessed
online 18/5/09: http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Chancellor, G., and van Wyhe, J., 2008. ‘State this with clearness’:
an introduction to the Santiago Notebook. In van Wyhe, J. (ed.),
The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Accessed online
18/5/09: http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Cotton, C. A., 1948. The present-day Status of Coral Reef Theories.
New Zealand Science Review, 6, 111–113.
Darwin, C. R., 1838. On certain areas of elevation and subsidence in
the Pacific and Indian oceans, as deduced from the study of coral
formations. In Proceedings of the Geological Society of London,
2, 552–554.
Darwin, C. R., 1842. The structure and distribution of coral reefs.
Being the First Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle,
Under the Command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N. During the Years
1832 to 1836. London: Smith Elder.
Darwin, C. R., 1874. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs.
2nd edn. London: Smith Elder.
Darwin, C. R., 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809–
1882. With the Original Omissions Restored. Edited and with
appendix and notes by his grand-daughter Nora Barlow. London:
Collins.
Fitzroy, R., 1839. Narrative of the surveying voyages of His
Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826
and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores
of South America, and the Beagle’s circumnavigation of the
globe. In Proceedings of the Second Expedition, 1831–36,
Under the Command of Captain Robert Fitz-Roy, R.N. London:
Henry Colburn.
Freeman, R. B., 1977. The Works of Charles Darwin: An Annotated
Bibliographical Handlist. 2nd edn. Dawson: Folkstone. Available online: van Wyhe, J. (ed.), The Complete Work of Charles
Darwin Online. Accessed online 18/5/09: http://darwin-online.
org.uk/
Harvey, N., 1982. A century of ideas since Darwin: Coral Reef
Evolution in Australia. In Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (S.A. Branch), Vol. 83, pp. l3–33.
Hopley, D., 1982. The Geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef:
Quaternary Development of Coral Reefs. New York: Wiley.
Cross-references
Lyell, Charles (1797–1875)
Subsidence Hypothesis of Reef Development
DAVID, TANNANT EDGEWORTH (1858–1934)
Peter J. Davies
School of Geosciences University of Sydney, Sydney,
NSW, Australia
Professor of Geology at the University of Sydney (1891–
1924), Tannant Edgeworth David was born in St. Fagans,
South Wales as the eldest child of the Rev. William David
and his wife Margaret Harriette, née Thomson, from
whose family came the names Tannant and Edgeworth.
David entered New College, Oxford in 1876 and
gained a first class in classics in 1878; however,
a breakdown in health prevented him from reading for
final honors. While convalescing, he traveled to Canada
and then on a round trip to Melbourne in the sailing ship
Yorkshire. Back at Oxford, David attended Professor
Joseph Prestwich’s lectures on geology before graduating
DAVID, TANNANT EDGEWORTH (1858–1934)
301