Alfred Russell Wallace was a leading biologist in the nineteenth century and worked on writings with Charles Darwin. He was indeed one of Darwin's major supporters, in opposition to the alternative point of view embodied in Thomas Huxley and others. Wallace has not remained as well known as these other players in the controversy of the time, though he was extremely important in the development and dissemination of Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Alfred Russell Wallace was born in the village of Usk in Monmouthshire, England in 1823. His father died when Alfred was still young, and not long after that, formal schooling ended for the boy. He then joined his brother, William, in surveying a number of English counties, a task that extended over the next four years, an experience that taught him how to make accurate observations and detailed recordings, skills which would be of immense importance later in his life. Soon after this, Alfred was appointed to the position of drawing master at the Collegiate School in Leicester. While there, he met Henry Walter Bates, a fellow teacher who introduced Alfred to the methods and delights of botany. Two years later, the two friends set out for South America on an expedition on which would they would explore the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers. Bates and Wallace split up so they could cover a larger area. Wallace spent over four years in the tropical jungles of Brazil before setting sail for home in 1852. However, he experienced disaster on the high seas when his ship caught fire and had to be abandoned. Wallace lost his entire collection and most of his notes, though fortunately the crew and passengers were rescued by a passing vessel. Wallace was not defeated and turned his energies to writing an account of his time in Brazil, Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro (1853). Within a year, Alfred again left England to sail eastwards towards Singapore where, over the next eight years...