25. Who developed his own theory of evolution, just as Darwin was getting ready to publish?
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| Alfred Lord Wallace age 24. | Alfred Lord Wallace at 56 |
"Two Parents of the Theory of the Evolution
The great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, the environmentalist Randal Keynes,
is in Manaus to pay homage to his illustrious relative. He also used the opportunity
to minimize a historical injustice.
By Daniela Assayag ( Manaus)
There was a crowded audience to hear the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin. The environmentalist Randal Keynes travels the world speaking about the legacy of his great-great-grandfather. The trip to Brazil is part of the commemorations of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, the book that revolutionized science by showing that species evolve through time. But, a century and more later, another person enters the scene. Alfred Wallace was a contemporary of Charles Darwin. The two English naturalists had both been in Brazil . Darwin covered the coast. Wallace lived in Amazonia for four years. Whilst in the forest he studied palms and fishes and observed the behavior of the monkeys of the Rio Negro, but he ended up losing everything that he collected because the boat he took to return to England sank. Years later in Indonesia he discovered the process of evolution by natural selection. Wallace then sent his theory in a letter to Darwin from Asia . He wanted to know what the famous naturalist thought of his article. What Wallace did not imagine was that Charles Darwin had worked out the same theory 20 years before and that he was then pressurized into making his ideas public so as not to run the risk of losing credit for them. The theory of the origin of the species was then published by Darwin and Wallace simultaneously. The scientists recognized at the time that they were coauthors, but only Darwin became famous. "Writers of popular science books and school books do not recognize the great importance that Alfred Wallace had in the development of the theory", stated the Head of the Department for the Popularisation of Science of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Ildeu Moreira. Today the great-great-grandson of Darwin participated in a homage to Alfred Wallace and said that it was wonderful to celebrate both Darwin and Wallace, and that he does not doubt that his great-great-grandfather felt forced to publish its ideas more quickly than he would have because of Wallace and that the theory, yes, has two parents."