ALFRED
RUSSEL WALLACE
(Naturalist
and Explorer)
1823-1913
|
Alfred
Russel Wallace, traveled to Amazonia in 1848. Wallace noticed many
plants and animals had special features enabling them survive the
conditions which they lived. These observations led Wallace to develop a
theory about how species of plants and animals gradually change through
a process known as 'evolution' or "natural selection".
Alfred
Russel Wallace, a British naturalist, was born
in Monmouthshire,
England in 1823. In 1848 he made an expedition to the Amazon River
with the British naturalist Henry
Walter Bates. During his exploration on plants and animals of the
Amazon, he distinguished that some animals had camouflage to help them
hide from predators, and some birds had specially shaped bills to let
them crack open nuts and extract nectar from plants. Some plants had
clever defenses to help fight attacks by insects. These observations led
Wallace to develop a theory about how species of plants and animals
gradually change through a process known as evolution
or “natural selection”. This theory was developed at the same time
as that of another famous English naturalist, Charles
Darwin. Excerpts from the manuscripts
of both scientists were issued in a joint publication in July
1858.
From
1854 to 1862 he contacted research in the islands of Malaysia and during
his later expedition he noted fundamental zoological differences between
the animal species of Asia and those of Australia, and he placed the
zoological dividing line – known as Wallace’s Line – between the
Malay islands of Borneo and Celebes.
In the second half of 19th century, there were many scientific expeditions into Amazonia to study the wide range of exotic plants and animals, which lived there, and even to study the people. Scientific explorers as Wallace was, often gave exciting accounts of their exploits – with their letters and journals sometimes being serialized in newspapers and magazines. These were often illustrated with drawings showing pictures of the explorers’ travels, strange new plants and animals, and Indian villages. It is through these journals that we now have our only records of what some Indian cultures were like when they first made contact with civilization. Many of these cultures are now extinct.
Some
of his books are Malay
Archipelago (1869),
Contributions to the Theory of
Natural Selection (1870), The
Geographical Distribution of Animals (1876),
and Man’s Place in the Universe
(1903).
A Chronology of the Main Events in Alfred Russel Wallace’s Life
( from "The Alfred Russel Wallace Page" )
1807: Wallace’s parents marry January 8, 1823: Alfred Russel Wallace born at Usk, Monmouthshire, as the eighth of the nine Wallace children Late 1836: Forced to withdraw from grammar school; moves to London to board with his older brother, John Mid or late 1837: Joins the eldest brother William in Bedfordshire to learn the surveying trade 1841: Becomes informally associated with the Kington Mechanic’s Institution Late 1843: Is hired on as a master at the Collegiate School in Leicester 1844: Meets Henry Walter Bates; attends lecture and demonstration on mesmerism February 1845: William dies; ARW takes over his business Fall 1847: Proposes to Bates that they undertake a natural history collecting expedition to South America April 1848: ARW and Bates leave England for the Amazon July 1852: Leaves South America for return to England; ship burns and sinks and ARW is rescued at sea October 1852 to March 1854: London-based; in 1853 publishes Palm Trees of the Amazon and A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro March 1854: Leaves England for the Far East to begin natural history collecting expedition April 1854 to February 1862: Travels in the Malay Archipelago February 1855: Writes ‘On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species’ for publication February 1858: Writes ‘On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type’ and sends it off to Darwin for comment July 1, 1858: ARW’s and Darwin’s writings on natural selection are presented before the Linnean Society November 1859: ‘On the Zoological Geography of the Malay Archipelago,’ the paper describing Wallace’s Line, is read before the Linnean Society April 1862: Returns to English soil July 1862: First visit to Charles Darwin’s home at Down March 1864: Presents ‘The Origin of Human Races Deduced from the Theory of "Natural Selection"’ to the Anthropological Society Spring 1866: Marries Annie Mitten, daughter of botanist friend William Mitten August to September 1866: ‘The Scientific Aspect of the Supernatural’ is published March 1869: The Malay Archipelago is published March 1870: Moves to Barking April 1870: Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection is published March 1872: Moves to Grays, Essex March 1875: On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism is published May 1876: The Geographical Distribution of Animals is published July 1876: Moves to Rose Hill, Dorking 1878: Moves to Croydon October 1880: Island Life is published 1881: The Land Nationalisation Society is formed and ARW made its President May 1881: Moves to Godalming April 19, 1882: Death of Charles Darwin May 1882: Land Nationalisation is published late Fall 1886 to early Fall 1887: Lecture tour in the United States and Canada May 1889: Darwinism is published June 1889: Moves to Parkstone, Dorset Spring 1890: Presents testimony to the Royal Commission on vaccination September 1890: ‘Human Selection’ is published December 1902: Moves to Broadstone, near Wimborne, Dorset October 1903: Man’s Place in the Universe is published October 1905: My Life is published December 1908: Receives the Order of Merit March 1909: Delivers ‘The World of Life’ at the Royal Institution December 1910: The World of Life is published November 7, 1913: Dies at Broadstone, near Wimborne, Dorset November 1, 1915: Medallion bearing Wallace’s name is placed in Westminster Abbey |