Thursday, November 7, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – 100 Years On: Alfred Russel Wallace, Evolution’s Unsung Discoverer
Andrew Berry, PhD, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, will speak at the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum on Thursday, November 7, beginning at 7 pn, on Alfred Russel Wallace, Evolution’s Unsung Discoverer. Remarkably, what is arguably the simplest and most powerful theory in all of science, the theory of evolution by natural selection, was discovered not once but twice. It was developed completely independently by two Victorian scientists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Today Darwin is famous, the face of evolution, but Wallace is very little known. This talk, on, to the day, the centenary of Wallace’s death, will address three issues: 1. Why was this long sought theory discovered twice and more or less at the same time? 2. Who was Wallace, and how did he come to the idea? 3. Why has Wallace been so comprehensively eclipsed by Darwin in the popular imagination? Overall, this talk is a celebration of Wallace’s life and extraordinary contributions. He was a visionary scientist, bold adventurer, superb writer, and compassionate campaigner. Free to Arboretum members and students, $10 nonmember fee. Register online at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/SelectDate.aspx.
