Alfred's Fans (3)

Alfred Russel Wallace

Author profile

born

January 08, 1823 in Llanbadoc, The United Kingdom

died

November 07, 1913

gender

male

website

http://wallacefund.info/

genre

Science

influences

Robert Chambers, Charles Darwin, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Geoffroy Saint...more

About this author

edit data

Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of natural selection which prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own theory.

Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace Line that divides Indonesia into two distinct parts, one in which animals closely related to those of Australia are common, and one in which the species are largely of Asian origin. He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the "father of biogeography". Wall...more Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of natural selection which prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own theory.

Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace Line that divides Indonesia into two distinct parts, one in which animals closely related to those of Australia are common, and one in which the species are largely of Asian origin. He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the "father of biogeography". Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century and made a number of other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection. These included the concept of warning colouration in animals, and the Wallace effect, a hypothesis on how natural selection could contribute to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridization.

Wallace was strongly attracted to unconventional ideas. His advocacy of Spiritualism and his belief in a non-material origin for the higher mental faculties of humans strained his relationship with the scientific establishment, especially with other early proponents of evolution. In addition to his scientific work, he was a social activist who was critical of what he considered to be an unjust social and economic system in 19th-century Britain. His interest in biogeography resulted in his being one of the first prominent scientists to raise concerns over the environmental impact of human activity. Wallace was a prolific author who wrote on both scientific and social issues; his account of his adventures and observations during his explorations in Indonesia and Malaysia, The Malay Archipelago, was one of the most popular and influential journals of scientific exploration published during the 19th century.

(less)

combine editions
Books by Alfred Russel Wallace

Average rating: 3.84 · 120 ratings · 35 reviews · 102 distinct works

	The Malay Archipelago 3.95 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 1869 — 55 editions	My rating:
	Borneo, Celebes, Aru 3.27 avg rating — 15 ratings	My rating:
	Island Life by Alfred Russel Wallace, H. James Birx (Introduction) 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1880 — 8 editions	My rating:
	Is Mars Habitable?; A Critical Examination of Professor Percival Lowell's Book "Mars and Its Canals," with an Alternative Explanation 2.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1983 — 21 editions	My rating:
	A Narrative Of Travels On The Amazon And Rio Negro: With An Account Of The Native Tribes, And Observations On The Climate, Geology And Natural History Of The Amazon Valley 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1853 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Letters and Reminiscences 1 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2008 — 6 editions	My rating:
	The Geographical Distribution of Animals. with a Study of the Relations of Living and Extinct Faunas as Elucidating the Past Changes of the Earth's Su 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1962 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Palm Trees of the Amazon and Their Uses 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2006 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Letters and Reminiscences 2 by Alfred Russel Wallace, James Marchant 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 10 editions	My rating:
	The Action of Natural Selection on Man 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2007 — 3 editions	My rating:

More books by Alfred Russel Wallace…

Quotes by Alfred Russel Wallace

“Our mastery over the forces of nature has led to a rapid growth of population, and a vast accumulation of wealth; but these have brought with them such an amount of poverty and crime, and have fostered the growth of so much sordid feeling and so many fierce passions, that it may well be questioned, whether the mental and moral status of our population has not on the average been lowered, and whether the evil has not overbalanced the good.”
― Alfred Russel Wallace

1 person liked it

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The History Book ...: EVOLUTION	13	48	Apr 21, 2012 02:40pm