Connecting with Alfred Russel Wallace

For many, the name Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is synonymous with all observations and thoughts that originated into the theory of evolution by natural selection. Lately, the name of the fourteen-years-younger cofounder of evolution theory is increasingly recognized: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913). The British naturalist  and geographer Wallace is also known as the founder of the science of biogeography; highlighted by the term Wallace Line or Wallace's Line that refers to the boundary line separating Asia-associated and New-Guinea/Australia-associated ecozones.

The September 2015 issue of Natural History—a special commemorative issue as part of the Alfred Russel Wallace Centenary Celebration—honors the outstanding 19th century explorer and biologist. The ARW Online article in the nature.net section provides various links to discover Wallace and his world:

• people.wku.edu/charles.smith/index1.htm, dubbed the grandaddy of all Wallace websites;
• wallace-online.org, John van Wyhe's Wallace online site with a comprehensive compilation of of specimens;
• www.nhm.ac.uk/wallacelettersonline, George Beccaloni's collection of letters to and from Wallace (see also The Alfred Russel Wallace Corresponence Project at wallaceletters.info and articles written by Wallace scholar Beccaloni at wallacefund.info);
• darwinlive.com/wallace/amnh.html, Richard Milner's nontechnical introduction to and selection of events celebrating Wallace;
• www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/24837130, Sir David Attenborough's “The forgotton story of Alfred Russel Wallace”;
• www.eeb.ucla.edu/arwallace, Feelie Lee's associated Wallace Centennial Celebration at UCLA on Nov. 15, 2014;
• media.hhmi.org/biointeractive/films/OriginSpecies-Theory.html, the movie “The Origin of Species: The Making of a theory”;
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcCP4_R8QBw), a YouTube movie about seeking birds of paradise in Wallace's footsteps.

Reference:
ARW Online. Natural History September 2015, 123 (7), page 5.