On this day in 1823, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was born in Wales. Wallace was raised in Hertford, England, attending Hertford Grammar School, now Richard Hale School. His family struggled financially, however, and Wallace could not pursue higher education, instead becoming a surveying apprentice in 1837. During his time as a surveyor, Wallace developed his love for nature, and saw firsthand social inequalities, which introduced him to socialism. He read widely on works of natural history, and in 1848 travelled to Brazil to collect natural specimens for sale and study in Britain. When he published some of his findings, Wallace was acclaimed by British scientists, and continued to travel around the world researching the natural world. During his time in the Malay Archipelago, he developed a theory of the origin of new species, positing that new species arise from the development of pre-existing species in the struggle for survival; essentially, it was a theory of evolution. Wallace sent his writings to fellow naturalist Charles Darwin, who was struck by the similarities with his own theory. In 1858, Darwin and Wallace published their findings as a paper entitled ‘On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection’. However, it was Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, published the next year, which really gripped the public imagination, hence the focus on Darwin in discussions of evolutionary theory. Wallace returned to Britain a famous scientist, though in later years diverged from the established scientific consensus by claiming that spiritualism, not natural selection, accounts for man’s higher faculties. Wallace continued to write zoological and naturalist works, though increasingly became interested in social issues, advocating women’s rights and socialism. Alfred Russel Wallace died in Dorset in 1913 aged ninety. While Wallace’s contribution to our knowledge of man’s origins is often eclipsed by Darwin, recent years have seen a renewed interest in the progressive, nature-loving scientist.
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