Materials related to the Darwin-Wallace papers in Darwin Online

The evolutionary ideas of Darwin and Wallace were first made public at a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on 1 July 1858. This has later came to be seen as a great moment in history. At the time it was not seen that way. This page lists the publications, contemporary reactions and later recollections and commemorations.

For the solution to the conspiracy theory that began in the 1970s about when Darwin received Wallace's 1858 essay, see van Wyhe & Rookmaaker, A new theory to explain the receipt of Wallace's Ternate Essay by Darwin in 1858 (2012) and John van Wyhe, Dispelling the darkness (2013), pp. 225-6, 358 note 692.
For a historical (and not a hagiographical) explanation of Wallace's essay, see van Wyhe, Dispelling the darkness (2013), pp. 208-217 and The Annotated Malay Archipelago (2015), pp. 11-12. The later is also given at the top of the first item below.

Darwin, C. R. & A. R. Wallace. 1858. On the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection. [Read 1 July.] Communicated by C. Lyell and J. D. Hooker. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Zoology 3: 46-50. Introduction Text Image PDF F350

1858. Proceedings of the meeting of the Linnean Society held on July 1st, 1858. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society. Zoology 3: liv-lvi. Text F1699b

A copy of the journal in Darwin's private papers: CUL-DAR75.41 Image

Darwin, C. R. n.d. Abstracts of Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 1858-1861. CUL-DAR75.41. Text "Vol 3. p 45 Darwin & Wallace"

Darwin, C. R. 1844. Species sketch or 1844 essay. CUL-DAR7.(1-189), folios 34v-40.

Darwin, F. ed. 1909. The foundations of The origin of species. Two essays written in 1842 and 1844. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 87-93. Text (Text of the 1844 essay presented)

Darwin, C. R. Draft: Species theory abstract sent to Asa Gray, 1857. CUL-DAR6.16-50 Text & image

Darwin, C. R. Species theory abstract sent to Asa Gray, 1857 (fair copy). GHL-HU-gra00078-48 Text & image

 

Darwin, C. R. 1859. Origin of species, pp. 1-2. Text

Wallace, A. R. 1883. The debt of science to Darwin. Century magazine 25, 3 (January): 420-432. Text Image PDF

Wallace, A. R. 1903. The dawn of a great discovery "My relations with Darwin in reference to the theory of natural selection". Black and White 25 (17 January): 78. Text

Wallace, A. R. 1905. My life: A record of events and opinions. vol. 1, p. 363. Text

Wallace, A. R. 1908. My life: A record of events and opinions. New edition, condensed and revised. London: Chapman & Hall, pp. 192-194, 195, 397. Text

The discovery of natural selection. In Marchant, J. ed. 1916. Alfred Russel Wallace letters and reminiscences. London: Cassell. vol. 1, pp. 89-126. Text

Darwin, C. R. 1958. The autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, pp. 121-122. Text

Reviews & mentions of the papers

Gray, Asa. 1859. Diagnostic characters of new species of phænogamous plants, collected in Japan by Charles Wright, botanist of the US North Pacific Exploring Expedition … With observations upon the relations of the Japanese flora to that of North America, and of other parts of the northern temperate zone. [Read 14 December 1858 and 11 January 1859.] Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences n.s. 6: 377-452. [Darwin Pamphlet Collection Quarto 45] PDF

Gray, Asa. 1859. Extract from the concluding part of a memoir on the botany of Japan, in its relations to that of North America, and of other parts of the Northern temperate zone. American Journal of Science and Arts 2d ser. 28: 187-200. PDF

Owen, Richard. 1859. Address. Report of the twenty-eight meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; held at Leeds in September 1858. London: John Murray, pp. xlix-cx, pp. xci-xcii.  PDF A7090

Boyd, T. 1859. [Review of] On the tendency of species to form varieties. Zoologist 17: 6357-6359. Text & image A42

Hussey, A. 1859. [Review of] On the tendency of species to form varieties. Zoologist 17: 6474-6475. Text & image A44

[Carpenter, W. B.] 1860. Darwin on the Origin of Species. National Review 10: 188-214. Text A42

[Owen, Richard]. 1860. [Review of Origin & other works.] Edinburgh Review 111: 487-532. Text A44

Anon. 1859. [Review of] Origin of Species. The Spectator (26 November): 1210-1.   Text   

Accounts of the episode

Bunbury, C. J. F. 1906. [Recollections of Darwin.] The life of Sir Charles J. F. Bunbury, Bart. Text A716

[Huxley, T. H.] 1860. Darwin on the origin of Species. Westminster Review 17: 541-70. Text A32

Tyndall, John. 1874. Address Delivered Before the British Association Assembled at Belfast, With Additions. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., pp. 37-38. Text

Anon. 1882. Memoir of the late Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S. The Zoologist 6th ser. 3: 193-196. Text PDF

James, Joseph F. 1882. [Obituary of] Charles Robert Darwin. Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History 5, no. 2: 71-77. Text Image PDF

Meldola, R. 1884. The presidential address: Darwin and modern evolution. Transactions of the Essex Field Club 3: 64-93, pp. 72-74. Text

Allen, Grant. 1885. Charles Darwin, pp. 80-87. Text A254

Bettany, G. T. 1887. Life of Charles Darwin. London: Walter Scott, pp. 75-78. Text

Darwin, Francis ed. 1887. The life and letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter. London: John Murray. vol. 2, Chapter IV

[Darwin, F.] 1888. Darwin, C. R. In L. Stephen and S. Lee eds., Dictionary of national biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.14: 72-84. Text Image

1908. The Darwin-Wallace celebration held on Thursday, 1st July, 1908 by the Linnean society of London. Text A281

Poulton, Edward Bagnall. 1909. Charles Darwin and the Origin of species: addresses, etc., in America and England in the year of the two anniversaries, pp. 12-15. Text A331

Weismann, August. The selection theory. In Seward, A. C. ed. 1909. Darwin and modern science. Essays in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The origin of species, p. 18. Text

 

John van Wyhe
University of Cambridge
National University of Singapore