Who co-discovered natural selection with Charles Darwin?

Alfred Russel Wallace co-discovered natural selection with Charles Darwin. Wallace independently developed the idea while studying species distributions and adaptations in the Malay Archipelago. In 1858, he sent Darwin an essay outlining how environmental pressures could cause populations to diverge and new species to arise.

Darwin had been working on a similar theory for roughly two decades but had not yet published it. After receiving Wallace’s essay, Darwin’s colleagues Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker arranged for Wallace’s paper and extracts from Darwin’s earlier writings to be presented jointly to the Linnean Society of London on 1 July 1858.

Darwin then rapidly prepared On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. Darwin became the better-known figure because of that book, but Wallace continued to receive recognition as a co-discoverer. He also made major contributions to biogeography, including identifying the faunal boundary later called the Wallace Line.