Evolution's forgotten anniversary

While many organisations are gearing up to celebrate the double evolution anniversary next year — 150 years since the first publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and 200 years since his birth — an event of major significance has its 150 anniversary this year but is set to receive little public celebration. By 1858 Darwin was well-established in his home at Down House in Kent and deeply involved in work developing his theory of natural selection. Darwin had mustered help from people around the globe with pleas to provide information on this and samples of that to add to his own huge collection of biological material and experimental data to build the vast evidence he felt he needed to be confident to make public his evolutionary views. So the arrival of the postman one spring morning that year — an event always eagerly awaited by Darwin who had arranged a mirror in his study to give early notice of his approach — with a package from Malay evoked the usual and regular excitement. The letter was from Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist who had been in correspondence with Darwin on a number of issues. But this time the packet contained a bombshell: Wallace's theory of natural selection. The package has been a source of huge historical interest because, unlike so much else of correspondence to Darwin, it has been lost. There has been considerable speculation about the date of the arrival of Wallace's letter. From Darwin's other correspondence it seems likely it arrived early in June. Before this time Darwin was making it clear that he was in no rush to publish his book as he continued to gather evidence in support of evolution. On May 16 he told his colleague, the botanist Joseph Hooker: " I presume you will have done the horrid job of considering my M.S. — I am in no sort of hurry, more especially as I know full well you will be dreadfully severe. " On May 18 he reiterated to Hooker: " There is not the least hurry in the world about my M.S. I would rather you leave it till you feel disengaged, if the time ever comes to you. " On the same day Darwin wrote to Syms Covington, his former assistant on the Beagle, that his big work was going to take some time to complete. " This work will …