A new theory to explain the receipt of Wallace's Ternate Essay by Darwin in 1858
JOHN VAN WYHE, KEES ROOKMAAKER
Article first published online: 7 DEC 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01808.x
© 2011 The Linnean Society of London
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Volume 105, Issue 1, pages 249–252, January 2012
Keywords: evolution; Linnean Society; Malay Archipelago; postal service
Abstract
In early 1858, when he was in the Moluccas, Wallace drafted an essay to explain evolution by natural selection and posted it to Darwin. For many years it was believed that the Ternate essay left the island in March on the monthly mail steamer, and arrived at Down House on 18 June 1858. Darwin immediately wrote to Lyell, as requested by Wallace, forwarding the essay. This sequence was cast in doubt after the discovery of a letter written by Wallace to Bates leaving on the same steamer with postmarks showing its arrival in Leicester on 3 June 1858. Darwin has been accused of keeping the essay secret for a fortnight, thereby enabling him to revise elements of his theory of evolution. We intend to show that Wallace in fact sent the Ternate essay on the mail steamer of April 1858, for which the postal connections actually indicate the letter to have arrived precisely on 18 June. Darwin is thus vindicated from accusations of deceit. Wallace's Ternate essay and extracts from Darwin's theoretical manuscripts were read at a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on 1 July 1858, which is now recognized as a milestone in the history of science.
© 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105, 249–252.
+++++
© 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105, 249–252.
+++++
+++++
From Jerry Coyne's post Did Darwin plagiarize Wallace?:
I once had dinner with Janet Browne, author of what I think is the best biography of Darwin (it’s in two volumes; do read it!), and took the opportunity to ask her a question. ”If you had Darwin here at the table,” I said, “and could ask him one question, what would it be?” Janet didn’t hesitate in her answer: “I’d like to know about the missing letter from Wallace.”
She was referring to a well known incident involving a famous letter. While Darwin was slowly preparing On the Origin of Species for publication, he received, supposedly on June 18, 1858, a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. And that letter contained an essay (written in Frebruary of that year) outlining Wallace’s theory of evolution by natural selection, which of course was something Darwin had been ruminating about for years. Wallace’s piece, “On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type,” has become known as the ”Ternate” essay from the Indonesian island where it was supposedly penned, and you can find it here.
...
In Coyne's blog Why Evolution is True
+++++
From Jerry Coyne's post Did Darwin plagiarize Wallace?:
I once had dinner with Janet Browne, author of what I think is the best biography of Darwin (it’s in two volumes; do read it!), and took the opportunity to ask her a question. ”If you had Darwin here at the table,” I said, “and could ask him one question, what would it be?” Janet didn’t hesitate in her answer: “I’d like to know about the missing letter from Wallace.”
She was referring to a well known incident involving a famous letter. While Darwin was slowly preparing On the Origin of Species for publication, he received, supposedly on June 18, 1858, a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace. And that letter contained an essay (written in Frebruary of that year) outlining Wallace’s theory of evolution by natural selection, which of course was something Darwin had been ruminating about for years. Wallace’s piece, “On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type,” has become known as the ”Ternate” essay from the Indonesian island where it was supposedly penned, and you can find it here.
...
In Coyne's blog Why Evolution is True
+++++
NOTA DESTE BLOGGER:
Leiam estes dois livros e saibam um pouco mais da versão que a Nomenklatura científica tenta responder satisfatoriamente - que Darwin não plagiou a teoria da evolução da seleção natural de Wallace:
1. The Delicate Arrangement, de Arnold Brackman.
2. The Darwin Conspiracy: Origins of a Scientific Crime, de Roy Davies. [FREE PDF GRATIS DARWINIANA]
Como historiador de ciência, esta tem sido a minha pergunta, além do fato que desde 1855 Darwin sabia das ideias de Wallace. Pesa ou não pesa uma forte suspeita de que Darwin plagiou as ideias evolucionárias de Wallace???
Leiam estes dois livros e saibam um pouco mais da versão que a Nomenklatura científica tenta responder satisfatoriamente - que Darwin não plagiou a teoria da evolução da seleção natural de Wallace:
1. The Delicate Arrangement, de Arnold Brackman.
2. The Darwin Conspiracy: Origins of a Scientific Crime, de Roy Davies. [FREE PDF GRATIS DARWINIANA]
Como historiador de ciência, esta tem sido a minha pergunta, além do fato que desde 1855 Darwin sabia das ideias de Wallace. Pesa ou não pesa uma forte suspeita de que Darwin plagiou as ideias evolucionárias de Wallace???
