Alfred Russel Wallace: biography of this Welsh naturalist

The life of Alfred Russel Wallace is not as well known as that of another great naturalist of his time, Charles Darwin, but of course his life and work were very important in the last decades of the great English naturalist's life.

Younger than Darwin, Wallace reached conclusions that he had been trying to clarify for decades. Wallace's life is characterized by having a lot of similarity with that of his English counterpart, and also by having had some controversy. Let's see his story in this biography of Alfred Russel Wallace.

• Related article: "The theory of biological evolution"

Biography of Alfred Russel Wallace

Next we will see Wallace's entire life in a summarized way, talking especially about his trips to Malaysia, the similarities and differences of him with Darwin and the well-known and controversial incident of the letters that he sent to this second.

early years

Alfred Russel Wallace was born in Monmouthshire, Wales, on January 8, 1823, into a modest family of Anglican faith.. At the age of 13, he decided to finish his studies to go to work as a carpenter's apprentice for his brother and, in 1837, he went to help another brother with surveying tasks.

Despite the fact that in his adolescence he chose to dedicate himself to more mundane jobs, in 1844 he changed his mind when he received a book called Vestiges of the natural history of creation, in which scientific studies were combined with theology. The book, written by Robert Chambers, argued that species progressed up the evolutionary ladder according to divine will., a belief very consistent with the Victorian times that were passing.

That is why, after reading this book, Wallace decided that his profession would be that of a naturalist. However, as much as he wanted to start this professional career, he was faced with the problem of where he would get the money and the training that would help him to be able to travel to exotic lands and be able to face possible threats in those places so distant. He managed to manage and earn a modest salary by selling rare specimens that he collected.

Travel to Brazil and Malaysia

Inspired by reading the journey of the beagle, Alfred Wallace he traveled to Brazil between 1848 and 1852, with Henry Walter Bates, another naturalist. There they traveled the Amazon and Negro rivers and reached regions that no European had previously visited.

Despite the fact that he was fulfilling his dream, the beginning of his professional career already started quite badly, since he was in the South American country where he contracted malaria and suffered for years from fevers that forced him to stay in bed. But he fought against the disease, and it did not prevent him from starting to raise some biogeographical principles, based on the distribution of insect species. Unfortunately, while trying to return to Europe, the ship he was traveling on caught fire and sank, losing the manuscripts of two books he was preparing.

In 1854 he would travel to Malaysia and, over the next 12 years, he would write more than 50 scientific articles on the natural history of the archipelago.. Being there he would be able to offer a clearer Darwinian definition of the idea of ​​species, in relation to reproductive isolation and differences with subspecies and local races.

Since his beginnings in the field of naturalism, Wallace was characterized by being an admirer of Darwin, but at the same time being, to a certain extent, critical of him. He accepted the reproductive barrier posed by the English naturalist as the cause of speciation formation, that is That is, if two groups of individuals cannot reproduce with each other, it is most likely that they are two species different.

However, despite accepting this principle, Wallace did not accept this idea as a definition of species. More factors should be taken into account to define the limits of a species, be it animal or plant. Yes, he considered that natural selection could lead to the formation of two new species at from the same ancestral group of individuals, which today is known as the "effect Wallace.”

It is also while in Malaysia where Wallace reaches conclusions very similar to those made by Charles Darwin while in the Galapagos Islands., such as the fact that similar species, such as finches, underwent modifications based on the demands of the environment and the ability of the species to adapt to it.

What should be noted about this thought is that Wallace, and it is something that has been largely ignored by the scientific community, came to raise these ideas before Darwin, who was warned by his friend Charles Lyell when he learned that a young naturalist was formulating such convincing theories.

In 1856 Wallace traveled to Bali, touring the channels between this island and neighboring Lombok, separated by only 20 kilometers. He found it striking that, despite being so close, they housed such different species. He saw that in Bali there were animals typical of continental Asia, in Lombok there were marsupials, like those that can be found in Australia. It is at this time in which Alfred Wallace draws the line that would receive his last name, which serves to delimit the Indo-Malayan fauna of the west from the Austro-Malayan fauna of the this.

This line has been interpreted by other scientists as evidence of continental drift, since it would allow us to understand the why two such different faunas in the same archipelago, in addition to supporting the idea of ​​a primitive continent, Wallacea.

Based on these data and those obtained in other parts of the world, Wallace wrote his book "Geographic distribution of animals", where he proposes dividing the earth into six biogeographic zones. Later he would travel to the islands of Ternate and Gilolo, where he would read Principles of Geology, written by Charles Lyell. It is the same book that Darwin read while aboard the Beagle.

While in the islands, and suffering from a terrible episode of fevers, he wrote "On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type" (1858), where He argued that there were two factors that controlled evolution: the divergence between groups of individuals (Sarawak's law), and the survival of the most adapted, the "winners".

Knowing that his work could benefit evolutionary theses, he decided to send the manuscript to Darwin to get his opinion and asked him to show it to Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker. After reading the manuscript, Darwin had a bittersweet feeling. It was interesting to see answers to some of his own research questions, even though he had been a naturalist and traveler much longer than Wallace.

Thinking about natural selection

While in Ternate, an island in Indonesia, he began to crystallize in his mind the idea of ​​natural selection. While on the island, and suffering from fevers that left him practically paralyzed with pain and anguish, andhe began to see in the thought of Malthus and the ideas of Lyell the principles that could explain the adaptation of organisms to habitat. It is here where he begins to explain the divergence process that is behind such an important diversity of living beings.

Advantageous changes in certain individuals help them survive and reproduce, making it easier for their genes to be the most likely to be passed on to the next generation. After several generations, these genes become common throughout the group or species.

Wallace was critical of the term "natural selection," especially when it was used as a synonym for the survival of the fittest.. For Wallace, specimens with not so advantageous characteristics should not necessarily stay behind in the race for survival, they simply would not have as many privileges as the more adapted.

The letter incident between Wallace and Darwin

When talking about the figures of Wallace and Darwin, it is inevitable to talk about how the famous English naturalist took advantage of the discoveries of the Welsh counterpart, although the way in which he did it and the events happened in general has caused debate.

In March 1858 Wallace sent his work On the Trend of Varieties... to Darwin for his opinion. The problem is that it is not known exactly when the letter arrived.

It is believed that the text arrived on June 18, something affirmed by Darwin himself, and that it would be proof that his principle of divergence, that is, the explanation of how species differ from each other despite coming from the same common ancestor, he would have formulated it completely independently of Wallace's ideas.

However, his detractors consider that Darwin was in possession of the letter before, between June 2 and 3, which he would have allowed himself to read it for two weeks and study it in depth to draw his own conclusions, reworking his theories. This idea is based on the fact that a letter sent by Wallace to the brother of Henry Bates, and which would have been dispatched the same day as the one addressed to Darwin, arrived in London on June 2.

Darwin was very meticulous about the letters he received, filing them away in case he needed to keep an eye on them in the future. However, and as something that raises even more suspicions, the first letter he received from Wallace was never filed and has not been found. The rest of the letters sent by the Welshman to Darwin were found.

Darwin, who was 49 years old at the time, had spent the last two decades trying to find an explanation for the divergence. cross-species and suddenly receives a letter from someone much younger who has come to a fairly plausible conclusion on his own foot. Was the English naturalist envious? What is known is that he was quite upset by the letter, even considering abandoning his own job.

Despite the coup, his friends Charles Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker intervened to encourage Darwin and protect his extensive scientific work. The problem was that, unlike Wallace, at the time he had nothing presentable. The only thing that came to mind was to rethink Wallace's thinking and adapt it in more Darwinian language.

Much has been said that, after this incident, in order to settle it amicably, Darwin and Wallace agreed to work out jointly a work on the origin of the species, and how these were differentiated as the generations. However, there is a broad consensus that both scientists have never read or published a co-authored paper. What happened is that Lyell and Hooker highlighted the contributions of both, albeit without Wallace's permission., in a lecture at the Linnean Society on July 1, 1858.

Despite this incident, in 1860 Alfred Russel Wallace received a copy of Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species" and expressed his great admiration for the English naturalist. In fact, he was proud of having helped Darwinian evolutionary theses with his idea of ​​the divergence between species.

Although he agreed with certain aspects of Darwin, it should be noted that Wallace was strongly opposed to the idea that the human mind had evolved through natural selection.. Like other Victorian thinkers, Wallace believed that properly human capacities such as thought mathematics, morality and spirituality were something revealed by the divine will, not as a result of the process evolutionary.

Another way in which he differed from Darwin was that some traits found in certain human races, such as hair loss, body size, hand structure, or brain size had not contributed significantly to the survival of these races. Besides, did not share Darwin's idea that there were intellectually superior races compared to races called "wild".

In 1889 Wallace published Darwinism: an exposition of the theory of natural selection - with some of its applications, a text in which he coined the term Darwinism and which, possibly, was the one that caused the field of evolution, Alfred Russel Wallace has been overshadowed by the great work of Charles Darwin. Far from having distanced himself from him because of the correspondence incident, Wallace helped ensure that the figure of Darwin did not perish over time.

Return to Great Britain and last years

In 1862 Wallace returned to England already as a well-known naturalist, although not as much as Darwin was. Being second best, no matter how famous you are, does not benefit you, and Wallace's life upon his return to the British Isles proves it. Without financial security, he continued to depend on the sale of exotic specimens and lived off the taxes received from his writings.. Despite the controversy, Charles Darwin and some of his friends ensured that Alfred Russel Wallace received a civil service pension beginning in 1881.

Wallace had a far more spiritual view of evolution than Darwin's. He not only believed that mental faculties could not be the result of evolution, wanting to unite science with religious vision, but also he had beliefs that were somewhat removed from what would be considered properly scientific.

He was a defender of phrenology, that is to say, that the shape of the skull supposes differences in certain cognitive abilities and behavioral aptitudes. In addition, he was opposed to vaccination, considering that its application, more than a measure of improving the health of the population, was a measure of control.

Alfred Russel Wallace He died in Dorset, England, on November 7, 1913 at the age of 90.. Despite having been left under the shadow of Darwin, the press of the time widely reported his death, and in fact, Several scientists ensured that a medallion in his honor was placed near Darwin's grave two years ago. after.

Bibliographic references:

• Gallardo, Milton H. (2013). Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913): Work and figure. Chilean Journal of Natural History, 86(3), 241-250. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0716-078X2013000300002
• Wallace, A. R. (1889). Darwinism: An Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection, with Some of Its Applications. London: Macmillan and Company. p. 494.