Abstract

For many years it has been known that the German geographer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) exercised a considerable influence on Alfred Russel Wallace’s (1823-1913) decision to become a travelling naturalist. Almost no attention, however, has been given to the real possibility that von Humboldt exerted an even greater influence on Wallace’s general worldview. In this note, Wallace’s probable earliest contacts with von Humboldt’s writings are described.

Disciplines

Biodiversity | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Evolution | Life Sciences

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