1823-1913

English Naturalist, Explorer and Surveyor

Alfred Russel Wallace reached the conclusion that natural selection is the mechanism for evolution as did Charles Darwin, making him co-discoverer of the idea in the eyes of most historians. Although his work occurred twenty years later than did Darwin's, it propelled Darwin to publish his own theory of evolution—today considered one of the titanic achievements in the history of science. Wallace was the first naturalist to mount an expedition specifically to find proof of this theory. Collecting specimens in southeast Asia, he also noted a dividing line between animal species from Asia and Australia, still called the Wallace line.

Alfred Russel Wallace was born in Wales in 1823, the eighth of nine children. He went to school in Hertford, but formal education ended when he was sent to live with his brother William in London in 1836. He...