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Abstract
The intellectual effort, insight and courage to formulate a theory of evolution driven by natural selection was as great for Wallace as it was for Darwin. The neglect, to the point of oblivion, in the last decades of Wallace as Darwin's equal is not acceptable. To help and attempt to redress the balance, a sympathetic sketch of Wallace is called for. Through his publications, correspondence and life history, we gain a picture of Wallace which should encourage us to extend to him the credit to which he is very much due.
Keywords: evolutionary theory; Wallace; Darwin
Introduction
Alfred Russel Wallace is an intriguing figure. With the explosive growth of a Darwin Industry, Wallace has receded to the point where today all too few are aware of his important place in the development of the theory of evolution through natural selection.
It is hardly possible to talk about Wallace and not bring Darwin into the discussion. Of course, it is more often the case that Wallace is mentioned, in passing or even not at all, in the multitude of works on Darwin and evolutionary theory.
In order to get a better idea of who the man Wallace was, it is enlightening to look into the circumstances of his family and to how he grew up.
Biography
Alfred Russel Wallace was born to Thomas Vere Wallace and Mary Ann Greenell at Usk, Monmouthshire, on 8 January 1823, the eighth of nine children, and the third of four boys.
Thomas Vere Wallace, hailed from Hanworth in Middelsex, and was the only son of an inn-keeper. After his schooling, he was articled to a firm of solicitors in London, and from where he became an attorney-at-law in 1792. He never practised as he came into some property which provided him with a modest but good income. It allowed him to live a quiet life, without any systematic occupation. He just enjoyed himself within his means, as a fairly well-to-do middle-class gentleman.
In 1807, he married Mary Ann Greenell and soon the family began to grow. They eventually had nine children and father Wallace had to try to improve his income. As he was not very business minded, nor very energetic, these attempts were at first unsuccessful...