The Alfred Russel Wallace Website

By George Beccaloni

Large events took place to celebrate the 50th and 100th anniversaries of Darwin and Wallace's discovery of natural selection, some details of which follow:-

50th Anniversary of 1908

1) Events

A large celebratory event was held on July 1st at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George Street, London, by the Linnean Society. Invitations to this event "..were sent to the Fellows, Foreign Members and Associates, certain distinguished naturalists, every University in the United Kingdom, and Societies publishing on subjects of biology." Wallace himself attended. "The PRESIDENT, in welcoming the delegates and guests, said:-

We are met to-day to celebrate what is without doubt the greatest event in the history of our Society since its foundation. Nor is it easy to conceive the possibility in the future of any second revolution of Biological thought so momentous as that which was started 50 years ago by the reading of the joint papers of Mr. Darwin and Dr. Wallace.."

The Darwin-Wallace medal was awarded to prominent biologists of the day, with Wallace being the only recipient of the gold version of the medal. "In presenting the gold medal the President said:-

Dr. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, We rejoice that we are so happy as to have with us to-day the survivor of the two great naturalists whose crowning work we are here to commemorate.

Your brilliant work, in Natural History and Geography, and as one of the founders of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, is universally honoured and has often received public recognition, as in the awards of the Darwin and Royal Medals of the Royal Society, and of our own Medal in 1892.

To-day, in asking you to accept the first Darwin-Wallace Medal, we are offering you of your own, for it is you, equally with your great colleague, who created the occasion which we celebrate."

The publication which resulted can be read here. The above quotes are taken from it.

2) Publications

'A. D.' 1908. The Darwin-Wallace jubilee celebration at the Linnean Society. Nature, 78(2019): 221-223.

Anon. 1908. The Darwin-Wallace celebration. The Times (London): No. 38688: 10c-10d.

100th Anniversary of 1958

1) Events

The 100^th anniversary of the discovery was marked by a large series of interconnected events involving many of the leading scientific organisations in the UK, including the Linnean, Royal and Geological Societies, plus the XVth International Congress of Zoology. There were especially prepared exhibitions on display in the Linnean Society, the Wellcome Collection, and the Central Hall of the Natural History Museum, and even a banquet at which representatives of the Darwin and Wallace families were guests of honour.

At the Linnean Society on July 1st a plaque was unveiled and the Darwin-Wallace silver medal was awarded to prominent biologists of the day.

2) Publications

At least one stamp was issued to commemorate the anniversary.

Anon. 1958. Darwin-Wallace Centenary. Nature, 182 (4627): 19.

De Beer, G. 1958. A Handbook of Evolution. London: British Museum (Natural History): i-ix, 110 pp. [Guide to the large evolution exhibition at the BM(NH) which was especially prepared to commemorate the 100th anniversary]

De Beer, G. 1958. The Darwin-Wallace centenary. Endeavour, 17(66): 61-76.

De Beer, G. 1959. The Darwin-Wallace centenary. Smithsonian Institution Publication 4361. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution: 333-357.

Linnean Society of London. 1958. Darwin-Wallace Centenary. Journal of the Linnean Society of London Botany Volume 56 / Journal of the Linnean Society of London Zoology Volume 44. 152 pp.

Poynter, F. N. L. 1958. Centenary of the Darwin-Wallace paper on natural selection. British Medical Journal, 28 June 1958.