Boston Flora

Tag: Janet Browne

  • 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

  • Thursday, October 21, 6:00 pm – Corresponding Naturalists: Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, and the Making of American Botany

    Asa Gray’s extensive correspondence with naturalists shaped the early years of exploration and botanical research in North America. These letters brought Gray into contact with Charles Darwin, who became a close friend. With the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, Gray soon emerged as the key proponent and defender of natural selection in the U.S.  On Thursday, October 21, beginning at 6 pm, Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard, will discuss their letters , which reflect a warm personal relationship as well as the making of an intellectual revolution. Free and open to the public, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Part of the Asa Gray Bicentennial series.  For more information, log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.