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HONORARY DEGREES AT OXFORD.

The following noblemen and gentlemen are to receive the honorary degree of D.C.L. at the approaching Commemoration, some on Tuesday (to-morrow) and some on Wednesday:—

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N.B. The name of Charles Darwin, Esq., F.R.S., would have been included in the foregoing list, but he writes that his health is such that he "could not withstand the fatigue and excitement of receiving an honorary degree."

¹ This is an extract from a letter by Darwin apologizing for not attending the honorary degree ceremony (for a D.C.L.) at Oxford in June 1870. The same extract was reprinted in Nature (23 June 1870), p. 148. It is frequently claimed that Darwin feigned ill health to avoid the Oxford event. There is no evidence to suggest or support this. Darwin later accepted an honorary LL.D degree from the University of Cambridge in 1877.