Wallace and the Beagle voyage.

Many readers of this blog will have heard about the Dutch TV series called Beagle: On the future of species, which is currently  being produced by the Dutch broadcasting company VPRO and is retracing the Beagle voyage using a Clipper called Stad Amsterdam (see http://beagle.vpro.nl/#/talen/item/12/). The series is divided into 35 episodes two of which are devoted to Wallace and his relationship with Darwin - especially with regard to the joint publication of their theory of natural selection. Last year the VPRO team came over to the UK to film me for one of these episodes in the Rare Books Room of the Natural History Museum (where the Wallace Family Archive is kept). They actually filmed me on two separate occasions as they weren't happy with the job the first film crew had done, and I had assumed that quite a lot of what I said would be shown in the resulting programme. Well, perhaps not! One of the producers wrote to me yesterday to say "I am sorry to let you know that there is not much left of you onscreen, after the editing of the 2 Wallace-episodes: we see your arm, your hand and one of the drawers you are showing us." Oh, well, my hopes of spreading the word about Wallace to the Dutch speaking peoples of this world have sadly been dashed.... Most of the commentary will now probably be by the well known travel writer Redmond O'Hanlon, who is one of the resident presenters aboard the Stad Amsterdam. If so then I hope that what he says is somewhat more accurate than his account of Wallace's life which I watched on a video the VPRO Beagle's website (see http://beagle.vpro.nl/#/video/item/4215/). At least Redmond greatly admires Wallace - although, perhaps more as an excellent travel writer and adventurer, than as a brilliant scientist who deserves 50% of the credit for the great idea of our age - evolution by natural selection! To be fair, I guess that Redmond has to be somewhat careful about what he says about Darwin, as anything negative could result in him having to walk the plank!



In addition to the film crew, VPRO also sent a journalist to the UK to interview me for an article for the VPRO TV guide. This has just been published and an electronic copy of it is available on the VPRO Beagle website - see http://beagle.vpro.nl/#/blog/item/3150/ It is written in Dutch of course, and is therefore Double Dutch to me! (Ha Ha) However, I ran it through Google Translations and the English which resulted is almost intelligible (please see below). The article is quite entertaining, but I'm sure the English translation has reduced the amount of irony which it seems to be full of!



Here's the translation:

Beagle 22 messages: Wallace Kites

The Natural History Museum in London operates the rottweiler "George Beccaloni the scientific legacy of the other creator of the theory of evolution: Alfred Russel Wallace. "Some people worship Darwin as a god and try Wallace 'share minimum. I think that falsification of history. "

By Katja de Bruin

There is no better place to Darwin's evolution theory in its full glory to you to penetrate than the Natural History Museum in London. This huge building houses almost every miracle of creation. From the smallest to the largest dinosaur beetle, they are all represented here.

The so-called Faith Room, near the back entrance, where "people of all faiths can find a moment of peace", seems somewhat misplaced, but perhaps is intended for visitors who finally fall from their faith to give some privacy.

The Natural History Museum is not just a museum, but also a scientific institute, where more than one hundred researchers work. One of them is George Beccaloni entomologist, Head of cockroaches, termites, earwigs, grasshoppers, stick insects and crickets.

But the man who the scientific legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace to the museum brought and since then 'Wallace' rottweiler 'calls. He is working tirelessly for revaluation of Wallace, who became quickly forgotten after his death, but to live by Beccaloni the most famous scientist in the world.

His book, The Malay Archipelago, Published in 1869 and the favorite book by Joseph Conrad (and Redmond O'Hanlon, as last week was to read this guide), is still reprinted, but that's for advanced reading. Most people simply have no idea who was Alfred Wallace. All the more reason for his legacy, which is preserved in this museum, but not publicly accessible, look at it.

Neglected grave
Who has an appointment with a member of the Natural History Museum, will face an unlikely strict press service. Not one but two people, escorting us to the Rare Books Room. There is a sacred silence. The reading table awaits us George Beccaloni. Introductions are so soft that nobody whispered understand each other, but in this room stemverheffingen be appreciated.

In goose we follow yet another new museum employee to the hall where the Wallace Collection is stored. Here is the art collection of the museum kept, according Beccaloni the world's largest natural history field. Heavy green curtains eliminate any indent daylight. In a dark corner adorned with a beautiful wooden cabinet, a replica of the cabinet that a brother of Alfred Wallace ever made to his precious books and prepared insects safe to store.

The original case is still in family hands. One by one, the glass doors unlocked, then the key holder to withdraw until further notice. If not the journalists. These flank Wallace "rottweiler while standing on the box tells how in 1998 he went to Dorset to find the grave of his hero. To his horror he could not find it anywhere. Eventually it turned violent neglected and overgrown with weeds. The plaque with Wallace 'name on it was only visible from the towering conifer above the grave. The roots of the same conifer were busy further ruin the grave. Shame, took Beccaloni.

Here was indeed one of Britain's greatest scientists ever buried. The grafrechten appeared to rest with the two grandsons of Wallace. George sprokkelde some one thousand pounds together and asked the two elderly gentlemen for permission to restore the tomb.

That is why we stand for this case. For the descendants of Wallace appeared to have an impressive collection of stuff from their grandfather: notebooks, letters, books and hundreds of insects prepared on its long journeys he collected. "She had that combination already offered at the University of Cambridge, where the Darwin collection is largely preserved, but that was not interested." Beccaloni said with audible bitterness, he draws the indifference with which Wallace is treated in England.

Due respect
And while he had greatness in life. "I think I can make him the most famous scientist in the world when he died. His death was news to newspapers around the world. " He picks up a folder in which the obituaries that have appeared at the time of Wallace, are collected. "Simple funeral for a great man" and "The Last Great Victorian 'Copts newspapers then. "Immediately after his death a group of scientists trying Wallace in Westminster Abbey, where Darwin is, to lend," says Beccaloni, "which is a huge honor, but Wallace had indicated just to the local cemetery to be buried . "

It marks the difference between Darwin and Wallace. In another life she considered high. Not for nothing was wearing Wallace The Malayan Archipelago to Darwin. Beccaloni stores the copy of Wallace himself open with due respect: "To Charles Darwin, author of On the Origin of Species, I dedicate this book, not only as a token of personal esteem and friendship, but also to express my admiration for his genius and his works. "

Darwin in turn meant that Wallace, who could handle bad with money, received a state pension. "That was very unusual," explains Beccaloni out, "only people with exceptional services to the British Empire was eligible for consideration. Darwin presented together with some fellow scientists petitioned the government for Wallace to grant such a pension. This is ultimately successful, because Darwin had many influential connections. "

Great value
On July 1, 1858 was a tiny bundle of essays presented to the authoritative Linnean Society of London. Authors: Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace. Both men put their minds set on it the emergence of new species through the process of natural selection. Hasten gently takes out a plastic folder Beccaloni the brown booklet appeared at that time and so much wrought by Darwin himself was sent to Wallace, who was still wandering in the Malay archipelago.

"This," he said with pathos, "is without doubt the most precious piece from the collection. It is invaluable and is certainly more than one million po ... " "Oh no George," Press Officer Claire grabs in shocked, "I'm sorry I just interrupt you, but we do not talk about amounts. Let's just remember that this document has great scientific value. "

Deals with equal reverence Beccaloni the pencil sketches that Wallace made in Brazil for several species, and those rescued from the sinking ship him after five years traveling through South America should have brought back to England. After 28 days at sea fire broke out on the ship. In a leaky lifeboat was Wallace in a letter report of this disaster to his friend Richard Spruce. He writes how the captain came in his hut, saying: "I'm afraid the ship is on fire. Come and see what you think of it. "

When Wallace was convinced of the seriousness of the situation, he rushed back to his cabin to save what can be salvaged. That was precious little. Only a few sketches he did in a pewter look to stuff and take. Wallace Ten days bobbing around on a lifeboat, knowing that all he had collected the previous five years, was lost.

The letter to his friend Spruce deliberate lies, dirty splashes of seawater, for us. That which has been preserved is incredible, especially when you see what address is on the envelope is: Richard Spruce, Rio Negro. Although the Rio Negro over 700 kilometer long, the letter reached Spruce, who later would take back to England.

Hopeless manuscript
Equally impressive, but for quite different reasons, the following letter appeared Beccaloni gets. "In that time they wrote to save paper often in multiple directions," he explains, "horizontally and vertically." The result is a mathematically-looking but totally untrained eyes unreadable screed.

Also Darwin's letters were illegible. "He had a hopeless handwriting," sighs Beccaloni, who misses no opportunity to stress that even Darwin was a man. Earlier, he said almost triumphantly true that Wallace could draw beautifully, the sketches of Darwin simply "rubbish" were.

To prove that Darwin set great store by the opinion of Wallace, he cites a letter from Darwin which appeared the help of Wallace recourse to solve a scientific question about bright colors in the animal kingdom. Darwin believed that sexual function had a primary, Wallace discovered that color but also served as a warning. This allowed the birds to see which color butterflies were poisonous.

"People often think that Wallace was primarily a commercial collector," says Beccaloni. "It is true that he paid for travel by the animals he caught selling. He has during his tour through Southeast Asia about 126,000 specimens shipped to England. Especially butterflies, birds and insects but also mammals and reptiles. For example, he shot five p.m. orang-utans. They were an agent for a lot of money sold to museums and private collectors. But he was the first scientist who has made very interesting discoveries. "

In 2002 one of the grandsons of Wallace during the cleaning of the attic a forgotten box of belongings from his grandfather. Besides valuable letters were found in the box several hundred insects to be prepared, particularly beetles and butterflies. Beccaloni attracts one of the drawers in the cabinet open. We see butterflies in iridescent colors, dozens in a row. In another drawer are impressive beetles and stick insects.

They look like they caught yesterday, but nothing is further from the truth. "They were in a miserable condition," sighs Beccaloni, "I spent months in order to glue them back together. That got me even a serious lung infection brought by the pesticides used to time the larvae to fight. "

Darwin Industry
In 2013 hopes Beccaloni that there are a museum dedicated to tentoontstelling Wallace will be dedicated in honor of his hundredth anniversary. It is intended that all correspondence be accessible online. Wallace will still receive the same status as Darwin already has Beccaloni does not happen, but he hoped that such exhibition in any case, for any rehabilitation.

How does he explain that Wallace, who lives in all who received awards for scientific merit had not yet one hundred years after his death was virtually forgotten, while Darwin now fridge magnets and bottle openers are sold?

"Darwin after the First World War as the great discoverer of natural selection put forward, and there has not arisen to say that he had published theory with Wallace. Since then, the Darwin industry have increased. Last year, the floodgates were wide open course. It appeared literally hundreds of books on Darwin. Some people worship him as a god and Wallace's part try to minimize. I think that falsification of history. As a scientist I try to be as accurate as possible, but some historians are trying to rewrite history. This has led historians distrust me, because if this is wrong, why should other history or true?

Conspiracy theory
Wallace for the rabid supporters trying to prove his theory of evolution that Darwin himself has not simply invented by him but Wallace has stolen, has Beccaloni but not much sympathy. "I do not think so in that conspiracy. In science a theory counts only when officially published and there is no reason to believe that Darwin Wallace has framed it. "

Press Officer Claire is now enough. "George could of course go on for hours, because it is his passion, but you'll now know enough and we have to do more." The cabinet is closed and we can not even walk around without supervision in the new Darwin Experience exhibition. As we see on a screen George Beccaloni, who, wearing a beautiful butterfly tie, in a short video message to Wallace Alfred is trying to escape oblivion. Strolling along the public has little interest. We see here later in the gift shop with considerably more enthusiasm in grabbing a bowl of Darwin Key. Wallace-souvenirs to search in the museum shop in vain. But with both men to do justice, to the site of the Wallace-fund T-shirts, bags and mugs for sale which the bearded heads of both Darwin and Wallace have been immortalized. Thanks to rottweiler Beccaloni.

> More news about Wallace is available on the site that maintains George Beccaloni about him: wallacefund.info  

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Royal Mail
On February 25 last, the British presented a set of ten PTT opportunity stamps that were released to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society, British Academy of Sciences. A.R. Wallace is one of ten scientists who shines on such a special seal. He is in the company of others including Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin and Nicholas Shackleton. Darwin was beaten, he was last year, more than enough own stamps.

PS. 16/03/2010. I found the original version of the above article here: http://noorderlicht.vpro.nl/artikelen/43215972/

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