524 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



mind of Wallace, because the young naturalist, fourteen years the junior 

 of Darwin, took both " The Principles " of Lyell and " The Journal " of 

 Darwin with him on his journey to South America, during which his 

 career fairly began. From his record of observations during his life in 

 the tropics of America and of Asia Wallace will be remembered not 

 only as one of the independent discoverers of the theory of natural 

 selection but next to Darwin as one of the great naturalists of the nine- 

 teenth century. His range and originality are astounding in these days 

 of specialization. His main lines of thought, although in many in- 

 stances suggested to his mind somewhat suddenly, were developed and 

 presented in a deliberate and masterly way through the series of papers 

 and books extending from 1850 to 1913. Tbe highest level of his cre- 

 ative life was, however, reached at the age of thirty-five when with Dar- 

 win he published his sketch of the theory of natural selection. This 

 outburst of original thought, on which his reputation will chiefly rest, 

 came as an almost automatic generalization from his twelve years in the 

 tropics. 



Nature and nurture conspire to form a naturalist. Predisposition, 

 an opportune period, and a happy series of events favored Alfred 

 Eussel Wallace. 



Wallace was the son of Tbomas Vere Wallace, of Hanworth, Middle- 

 sex, England, and Mary Anne Grennell, of Hertford. His ancestry is 

 obscure. On the paternal side he is probably descended from one of the 

 branches of Sir William Wallace, the popular national hero of Scotland, 

 but nothing is known back of his grandfather, who was probably keeper 

 of the inn on the estates of the Dukes of St. Albans, of Hanworth. The 

 burial records of Hanworth mention an Admiral James Wallace. In his 

 mother's family on the paternal side is the name Greenell, of Hertford, 

 probably the " Greenaile " in 1579, Prench huguenot refugees after the 

 massacre of St. Bartholomew. Her grandfather was for many years 

 alderman and twice mayor of Hertford. One of the Greenells was an 

 architect. 



Wallace's father took up the profession of the law, but did not con- 

 tinue, and up to his marriage lived the life of a fairly well to do middle 

 class gentleman. After his marriage he essayed the publishing of two 

 magazines apparently devoted to art, antiquities and general literature, 

 which were failures. He then moved from Marylebone to more rural 

 districts where living was less expensive, first to St. Georges, South- 

 ward, and then to Usk, Monmouthshire. In this village Alfred Eussel 

 Wallace was born on January 8, 1823. 



When about six years of age the family moved to Hertford, and 

 Wallace's education was begun in the old grammar school, which dated 

 back to 1617. He left school too young to begin Greek but he studied 

 Latin, and next to Latin grammar the most painful subject he learned 



