On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection
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Two scientific papers; On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties by Alfred Russel Wallace and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection by Charles Darwin were presented to the Linnean Society of London in 1858 that first publicised Darwin — Wallace theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin's On the Origin of Species would follow a year later.
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Events leading up to the publication
Charles Darwin had gradually developed his ideas on evolution by natural selection since his voyage aboard HMS Beagle. However, he had only shared his ideas with a few close friends such as Joseph Dalton Hooker and Charles Lyell.
Darwin receives letter from Wallace, friends convince him to publicise paper jointly...
The reading
The paper was read to the Linnean Society on the 1st July Neither man was present. Darwin was at home because his son Charles Waring Darwin was dying of scarlet fever. Wallace was abroad.
The paper
The paper consisted of the following parts:
- A communication letter by Joseph Dalton Hooker and Charles Lyell
- Extracts from a book that Darwin was writing; the book would later be On The Origin of Species
- An 1857 letter by Darwin to Asa Gray
- An essay by Wallace written in February 1858 entitiled On the Tendency of Varieties to depart indefinitely from the Original Type.
External links
- Copy of paper (http://www.inform.umd.edu/PBIO/darwin/dw01.html)
- Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (http://pages.britishlibrary.net/charles.darwin/texts/letters/letters1_fm.html) - edited by Francis Darwin