Evolution by natural selection was an idea revealed to the world
150 years ago tomorrow, by two men, the famous Charles Darwin,
and the not so famous Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace and Darwin
both came up with biology's most important concept and their
theory was presented to the Linnean Society in London on 1 July
1858. The Natural History Museum is marking this anniversary
with a small display of original objects that tell how Wallace
and Darwin independently developed the same idea. Original
copies of the scientific article they presented in 1858 are on
display, as well as objects such as a bird of paradise collected
by Wallace and pigeon bones that were prepared by Darwin. The
display shows the different ways these two men worked.
Scientists had been looking for an explanation of how and why
there was such an amazing variety of life on Earth. Alfred
Russel Wallace Wallace and Darwin explained this diversity
through the idea that species evolve by a process called natural
selection. Natural selection is wh