Wallace’s name will forever be linked to that of Charles Darwin, and probably remain subservient to it since Darwin more than Wallace, created a research program in evolutionary biology that continues unabated to this day. (Michael Shermer [1])

As the historical facts bear out, (Alfred Russel ) Wallace did not forestall Darwin in formulating the theory of natural selection but he did rattle Darwin to the extent of enervation, and forced his hand to publish his research immediately. Wallace (see Note.1) and Darwin worked on the problem of evolution and speciation independently and unbeknown to each other. It was as if they were working on the same problem but in two different worlds. Darwin had thought out the mechanism of natural selection in the late 1830s and early 1840s but hadn’t published his results. He had returned from his voyage in the Beagle and was now comfortably ensconced in his residence at Down while Wallace was in the Malay Archipelago after spending years on the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers, collecting and developing his ideas regarding the evolutionary process. By the time Darwin had developed his theory in the early 1840s, Wallace had barely begun reading Botany.

Darwin (1809-1882) seemed to be a slow writer and careful thinker. He had begun writing a long essay on evolution and natural selection around 1839 but left it unfinished. In his autobiography (2), Darwin wrote, “But at that time (1838, Gill) I had overlooked one problem…This problem is the tendency in organic beings descended from the same stock to diverge in character as they become modified… and I can remember the very spot in the road, whilst in my carriage, when to my joy the solution occurred to me… The solution as I believe is that modified offspring of all dominant and increasing forms to become adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature.”

Darwin’s consternation was caused by Wallace when he sent his paper to him on natural selection, On the Tendency of Varieties to depart infinitely from the Original Type, for his views regarding his work. Darwin described in his autobiography, “But my plans were overthrown (he wanted to write a much larger book and publish it later, much later, Gill), for early in the summer of 1858, Mr. Wallace, who was in the Malay Archipelago, sent me an essay ‘On the Tendency of Varieties to depart infinitely from the Original Type;’ and this essay contained exactly the same theory as mine. Mr. Wallace expressed his wish that if I thought well of his essay, I should send it to (Charles) Lyell for perusal.” Although Wallace had not asked Darwin to send his paper for publication to any journal, he saw the work of his life-time being forestalled by a relatively unknown person whom Darwin didn’t even know well. Although it did pass through his mind that Wallace might have known his work, Darwin didn’t believe it. He saw his life’s work coming to naught. Now it was urgent for him to worry about establishing his priority.

Two of Darwin’s very close friends, Charles Lyell (see Note. 2), a celebrated geologist, and Joseph Hooker (see Note. 3), a very distinguished botanist, had earlier prodded Darwin to publish his work but Darwin was working at a slow pace and taking his time to finalize the manuscript of a very large book on which he had been working since 1840. According to James L. Reveal, et al (3), “In 1855 he (Wallace) published a cryptic note in guarded language entitled ‘On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species’ in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Here he maintained that new species arose from related pre-existing species. Darwin did not fully comprehend what Wallace was saying and considered him to be a ‘creationist’ but Lyell did realize what Wallace had in mind and at a visit to Down House (Darwin’s residence, some 16 miles south of London) shortly thereafter, Darwin discussed his ‘Essay’ and Lyell urged him, in May of 1856, to publish immediately to establish priority.” Darwin had neglected this advice and now the specter of losing priority was staring in his face.

Being a gentleman and fair-minded person, Darwin entertained no thoughts of doing a bad deal to Wallace. Lyell proposed that Darwin’s essay in short form and Wallace’s paper be published in the same issue of the Annals. Darwin thought it might be unfair to Wallace. He wrote in his autobiography (2), “The circumstances under which I consented at the request of Lyell and Hooker to allow of an extract from my MS., together with a letter to Asa Gray (see Note. 4), dated September 5, 1857, to be published at the same time with Wallace’s Essay are given in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, 1859, p. 45. I was at first very unwilling to consent, as I thought Mr. Wallace might consider my doing so unjustifiable, for I did not know how generous and noble was his disposition.” Darwin published his letter to Asa Gray in which he had discussed his thoughts on natural selection, only to establish priority. The letter was reportedly dated September 5, 1857, while Wallace’s work was completed in 1858.

Darwin (4) wrote to Gray on July 4, 1858, to reaffirm the date, “It is very unlikely, but if by any chance you have my little sketch of my notion of ‘natural selection’ and would see whether it or my letter bears any date, I should be very much obliged. Why I ask this is as follows. Mr. Wallace, who is now exploring New Guinea, has sent me an abstract of the same theory, most curiously coincident even in expression. And he could never have heard a word of my views. He directed me to forward it to Lyell. Lyell who is acquainted with my notions consulted with Hooker (who read a dozen years ago a long sketch of mine written in 1844) urged me with much kindness not to let myself to be quite forestalled and to allow them publish with Wallace’s paper an abstract of mine; and as the only very brief thing which I had written out was a copy of my letter to you, I sent it and, I believe it has just been read, (though never written, and not fit for such purpose), before the Linnean Society; and this is the reason, why I should be glad of the date. But do not hunt for it, as I am sure it was written in September, October, or November.” Darwin’s nervousness is oozing out of this letter.

The papers, extract from Darwin’s essay, abstract of his letter to Asa Gray, and Wallace’s paper, were presented to the Linnean Society on June 30, 1858, by Charles Lyell and Jos. D. Hooker. The presenters mentioned in their presentation (5), “The gentlemen (Darwin and Wallace) having, independently and unknown to one another, conceived the same very ingenious theory to account for the appearance and perpetuation of varieties and of specific forms on our planet, and both fairly claim the merit of being original thinkers in this important line of inquiry; but neither of them having published his views, though Mr. Darwin has for many years past been repeatedly urged by us to do so, and both authors having now unreservedly placed their papers in our hands, we think it would best promote the interests of science that a selection from them should be laid before the Linnean Society.” The papers were published on August 20, 1858, in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Zoology.

The proofs were sent to Darwin on July 20 and he made some minor corrections and returned them to Hooker. He sent them to the printer around July 31, 1858. According to Reveal et al (4), “The events leading up to the presentation, and the reaction, were reported to Wallace, who, in turn, sent back his belated approval of how things were handled; his letter reached Darwin in January 1859.” There was no acrimony whatsoever in Wallace’s mind.
The priority claims sometimes become prolonged and hard-fought battles but Wallace-Darwin affair was solved amicably and in a short time because Wallace conceded that Darwin’s work was prior to his although he hadn’t known Darwin’s work in any precise detail.

The Newton – Leibnitz priority claim on Calculus became intense between the concerned parties and took a long time to come to rest. However, the priority of Wallace – Darwin issue is still not dead for some writers. Michael Shermer has described in his book (1), “Wallace’s co-discoverer status with Darwin is generally accepted by all biologists and historians. The question some raise is: Should Wallace be given even more credit? In his maximally tendentious 1980 work, A Delicate Arrangement, journalist Arnold Brackman makes emotional appeal for Wallace’s case, suggesting that Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker, with Darwin’s knowledge (but not his direction), conspired to negate Wallace’s credit, while simultaneously boosting Darwin’s. Specifically, Brackman claims that Darwin received Wallace’s letter and essay earlier than the announced June 18, 1858 date, and that he probably spent that time fleshing out the missing pieces of his theory from Wallace’s essay, then feigned surprise and distress over Wallace’s parallel ideas.” If Darwin did indeed use Wallace’s ideas in his essay, as suggested by Brackman, there is no credible proof of it; this is mere speculation. Brackman hasn’t produced any factual evidence to buttress his claim. In the absence of any documented evidence to the contrary, Darwin’s priority remains intact.

The fact that Wallace didn’t feel any bitterness on his paper being parenthesized with Darwin’s is revealed in his letter of October 6, 1858, to Joseph Hooker. In it, he wrote, “..It would have caused me such pain and regret had Mr. Darwin’s excess of generosity led him to make public my paper unaccompanied by his own much earlier and I doubt not much more complete views on the same subject, and I must again thank you for the course you have adopted, which while strictly just to both parties, is so favorable to myself…”, (1).

Wallace and Darwin became friends afterwards and by virtue of his social station and well-connected influence, Darwin helped Wallace later on. Reveal et al wrote (3), “The story of the interrelationship between the two men over their professional careers is one of gentlemanly strain: Darwin, the country squire, living off inherited wealth and sound investments on a small estate working leisurely in the pursuit of evolution, and Wallace, the committed socialist, saved ultimately from abject poverty by Darwin and his friends who arranged a Crown pension, laboring seemingly for ever in other’s shadow.”

There are some more details about Darwin’s and his friends’ (Lyell, Hooker, and Huxley) help to Wallace in matters of his pension and employment in Shermer’s book (1); the interested readers can look up there.

Note 1. A Short Biography of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)

Alfred Russel Wallace was born in 1823 in the village of Usk in Monmouthshire, England. His father died while he was young and his formal schooling came to end with it. He worked with his brother, William, in surveying over the next four years. After that, he got a job as a teacher at the Collegiate School in Leicester. He met Henry Walter Bates here who introduced him to botany.

Both of them went to South America, after two years, to explore the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers, collecting specimen. He spent about four years in the tropical jungles of Brazil before setting sail for home in 1852. Wallace’s ship caught fire and his valuable collection and the notes were lost. They were rescued by a passing vessel and he managed to return to Deal without further adversity. He wrote an account of his time in Brazil in “Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro.”

Within twelve months, he left England, this time, to go to Malay Archipelago. It was here for the next eight years that he developed his theory of natural selection.

In his later life, Wallace experimented with spiritualism, which also influenced his ideas about the evolution of humankind to some extent. He became unpopular with the government because of his social radicalism although it did not greatly tarnish his position. He was made a member of the Royal Society in 1893 and was also knighted with an Order of Merit in 1908. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Dublin in 1882 and Oxford University in 1889. He was given numerous other honors by various Societies. Although theory of natural selection goes under Darwin’s name, Wallace’s contributions are recognized by those who work in this field.

Note 2. A Short Biography of Charles Lyell (1797-1875)

Charles Lyell was born in Scotland on November 14, 1797 and died in London on February 22, 1875. Lyell started his career as a lawyer and later turned to geology. He wrote the celebrated “The Principles of Geology”, which ran through 12 editions. He changed the fundamental thinking of his time regarding geological issues and those that were affected by them. For instance, contrary to the contemporary belief that the Earth was recent, he said it was not; it was indeed very old. He also suggested that the antiquity of human species was way beyond that accepted by the theories of his time. He was a uniformatarian.

He became a close friend of Charles Darwin whose thinking was much affected by Lyell’s theories. Darwin is quoted as saying, “The greatest merit of the Principles (of Geology) was that it altered the whole tone of one’s mind, and therefore that, seeing a thing never seen by Lyell, one yet saw it through his eyes.”

He was knighted for his scientific accomplishments in 1848 and became a baron in 1864. Lyell’s father was an active naturalist.

Note 3. A Short Biography of Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911)

Joseph Dalton Hooker was born in Halesworth, Suffolk, England, on June 30, 1817 and he died on December 10, 1911. He was a distinguished botanist. And was noted for his botanical travels and studies. He was the younger son of Sir William Jackson Hooker, and was assistant director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew from 1855 to 1885 and then succeeded his father to become the director from 1865 to 1885. He published numerous works and received many honors. He was created C.B. in 1869; K.C.S.I. in 1877; G.C.S.I. in 1897 and received the Order of Merit in 1907. He received the Royal Medal in 1854, the Copley Medal in 1887, and the Darwin Medal in 1892, from Royal Society.

The botanists have recognized Hooker’s taxonomic skills and his pioneering work on distribution. His wider reputation was somewhat obscured due to his association with Darwin and for his minor role in sorting out the priority issue of Darwin with Wallace.

Note 4. A Short Biography of Asa Gray (1810-1888)

Asa Gray was one of America’s leading botanists and taxonomists and was born in Oneida County, New York. He was the teacher of many eminent botanists as a professor of natural history at Harvard from 1842. He explored the Western United States with John Torrey and helped to revise the taxonomic procedure of Linnaeus on the basis of more natural classification. He started the quarterly Gray Herbarium Card Index, listing all the vascular plants of the Western Hemisphere described since 1873. He attained a historical position by virtue of his correspondence with Charles Darwin. Whenever the Wallace-Darwin priority claim is considered, Darwin’s letter to Asa Gray dated September 5, 1857 invariably comes up.

References

1.Michael Shermer, “In Darwin’s Shadow,” Oxford University Press, 2002.
2.Nora Barlow, “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin,” W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1958.
3.James L, Reveal, Paul J. Botino, and Charles F. Delwiche, “The Darwin-Wallace 1858 Evolution Paper,” http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/darwin/darwin0. 1.html.
4.James L. Reveal, Paul J. Botino, and Charles F. Delwiche,
“The Darwin-Wallace 1858 Evolution Paper,” http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/darwin/darwin0. 2.html.
5.James L. Reveal, Paul J. Botino, and Charles F. Delwiche,
“The Darwin-Wallace 1858 Evolution Paper,” http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/darwin/darwindw 0.1.html.