Darwin Receives Wallace's Manuscript

Date: June 18, 1858 • Location: Rome, Italy

Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which encouraged him to publish his own theory of evolution.

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species have descended from a common ancestor is now accepted and considered a fundamental scientific concept. In a joint presentation with Alfred Russel Wallace, he proposed that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding. Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history and was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.