Tag: Zoonomia
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Alfred Russel Wallace
JMS PearceHull, United Kingdom Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) conceived the original idea of evolution by natural selection entirely independently of Charles Darwin.1 In the north choir aisle of Westminster Abbey, next to Charles Darwin’s memorial, is a white marble roundel with a profile relief bust to the memory of Alfred Russel Wallace, erected in 1915.…
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The forgotten Darwin
JMS PearceHull, United Kingdom That Erasmus Darwin MD., FRS. (1731–1802) was overshadowed, often forgotten, is not surprising when one considers the well-deserved fame and importance of Charles Darwin (1809-1882). Stephen Jay Gould observed in The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. 2002): “‘precursoritis’ is the bane of historiography.” Though no “bane of historiography,” Erasmus…