Title of the project
At the end of the archipelago - Alfred Russel Wallace
Management
Prof Dr Matthias Glaubrecht
Org. categorisation
Department of Animal Biodiversity
Description of the
One of the greatest naturalists - but unknown today
He had an enormously exciting life, his scientific reach was breathtaking, his social commitment legendary - and he discovered the principle of evolution: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913).
Compared to the thoughtful Charles Darwin, he was an Indiana Jones of natural research, an Ernest Hemingway of nature description. Craters on the moon and Mars, flying frogs and geographical regions are named after him. But why is he so little known today? The book "At the End of the Archipelago" explores this question.
Wallace collects 125,000 animal and plant species while travelling
On his first adventurous voyage, the self-taught school dropout explored Brazil for four years - but on the return journey, his ship caught fire in the middle of the ocean and sank. Wallace only saved his life, his fantastic scientific collection was lost.
His second expedition took him through the Malay Archipelago, where he single-handedly collected 125,000 scientific objects, over 1000 animal and plant species of which were still undescribed - an incredible achievement.
Falsification affair surrounding Darwin's theory of evolution?
During the journey, he also developed a theory on the origin of species, which he sent to Charles Darwin. A year later, his book "The Origin of Species" was published. Darwin became world-famous and has since been regarded as the sole father of the theory of evolution.
For some time now, there has been fierce debate among experts: What some see as a coincidence or a testimony to the collaboration of two important researchers, others see as the worst forgery affair in the history of biology.
