Boston Flora

Tag: Andrew Berry

  • Saturday, November 8, 2:00 pm – Eight Extraordinary Years of Scientific Travel: Alfred Russel Wallace’s Malay Archipelago

    The Harvard Museum of Natural History will host Andrew Berry, Lecturer on Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, on Saturday, November 8, beginning at 2 pm in Haller Hall (entrance at 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge.) Alfred Russel Wallace, who co-discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin, was a remarkable scientist-explorer. His eight years of travel in Southeast Asia (1854–1862) greatly influenced his scientific thinking and resulted in the discovery of thousands of new species, as well as a wonderful account of his journeys, The Malay Archipelago. To celebrate the release of a new edition of this classic work, Andrew Berry will tell Wallace’s extraordinary story, discussing how the book originated and how it shaped future generations of scientific travel. Regular Museum admission rates apply, and enjoy free parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

  • 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.

    http://wallace-online.org/wallace.jpeg

  • Saturday, October 26, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm – Alfred Russel Wallace Day

    Although Alfred Russel Wallace co-discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin, he has held a relatively obscure place in the history of science. This year marks the centenary of his death and the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in conjunction with the Cambridge Science Festival, is celebrating Wallace’s rich legacy with “Wallace Day” on Saturday, October 26.  Learn more about a brilliant scientist, a heroic naturalist, and a passionate social reformer.

    Event Schedule
    11:00 am – 4:00 pm (In the galleries, free with museum admission)
    Explore the HMNH galleries and see a one-day-only display of Wallace-related specimens and objects from the Museum’s zoological collections. Come see Wallace’s spectacular birds of paradise and birdwing butterflies. At 2:00 pm
, join Alfred Russel Wallace himself (impersonated by Wallace historian and evolutionary biologist Andrew Berry) for a live presentation about his remarkable life as scientist, author, and social activist.

    Evening program (below): Admission is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available by online registration only.  Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking is available after 3:00 pm in the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

    4:00 pm
    Who was Alfred Russel Wallace?
    A panel discussion with: James T. Costa, Professor of Biology at Western Carolina University; John Durant, Director of the MIT Museum; James Wood, Professor of Literary Criticism at Harvard University and staff writer for The New Yorker. Moderated by Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, and acclaimed biographer of Charles Darwin.

    Parallel Lives: Edward O. Wilson & Alfred Russel Wallace
    A conversation with Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, and Andrew Berry, Wallace historian and Lecturer on Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University.

    The evening program will conclude with a reception in the HMNH galleries for all ticket holders.

    http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2013/1/19/1358595917414/Alfred-Russell-Wallace-po-011.jpg

  • Friday, April 20, 7:00 pm – What If? Alternative Histories of Science

    Imagine that phrenology, the 19th-century study of mind by measuring bumps on people’s heads, had turned out to be true? Or that Darwin hadn’t been invited to go on the voyage of the Beagle? Or that the luminiferous ether had turned out to actually exist? Now imagine historians in discussion with stand-up comedians on these subjects, and you have “What If…?” Join moderator Anne Harrington and guests Andrew Berry, David Jones, Roberto Lalli and comedians Kevin Harrington, Raj Sivaraman, and Rob Crean as they improvise alternative histories of science, at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge on Friday, April 20, beginning at 7 pm.  Free and open to the public. Free parking available in the 52 Oxford Street garage. Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.  Kudos to www.triggerandfreewheel.com for the fabulous comic below.