Writings of natural selection co-discoverer Alfred Russel Wallace go online

Ars Technica » Scientific Method 2013-01-26

Alfred Russel Wallace may not be a name as well-known as Charles Darwin, but London's Natural History Museum is one of many institutions that believes it should be.

The reason why is simple: ask the average person in the street who discovered natural selection, they will say, "Darwin." In fact it was discovered by Darwin and Wallace—both scientists arrived at the conclusion independently in the 19th century, and in fact the original publication of the theory featured both of their names on the cover.

A hundred years after his death, the Natural History Museum (NHM) is hoping to address this and to make 2013 the year of Wallace. By doing so, it hopes to publicly reinstate the Victorian as the co-discoverer of one of the most important discoveries in the history of science.

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