A worthwhile cause: Alfred Russel Wallace, the forgotten evolutionist

[Ray Hale]

Hi every one I would like to introduce you all to a really great cause and one that we should all support.

Alfred Russel Wallace is probably the most famous man you have never heard of.

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 - 1913) was one of the 19th century's most remarkable intellectuals. Not only did he co-discover the process of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin in 1858, but he also made very many other significant contributions, not just to biology, but also to subjects as diverse as glaciology, land reform, anthropology, ethnography, epidemiology, and astrobiology. His work "The Malay Archipeligo" is an absolute classic and his passion for insects, butterflies and of course spiders is well documented.
By the time of his death Wallace was probably the worlds most famous scientist, but since then his intellectual legacy has been almost completely overshadowed by Darwin.
The Wallace Fund is trying very hard to raise funds for a unique life-size statue of Wallace for the Natural History Museum in London, which would be unveiled on the 100th anniversary of Wallace's death next year.
Wallace100 is an informal international association of organisations with projects that are designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wallace’s death in 2013. The main purpose of Wallace100 is to publicise the anniversary and the events which are being planned to commemorate it.

The Wallace Memorial Fund's fundraising campaign for a life-size statue of Wallace for the Natural History Museum, London, has only about 2.5 months left to raise the remaining £38,000 it needs! Only about £12,000 has so far been donated by c. 15 generous individuals. If you want to know more about Wallace check him out of Facebook or visit the Wallace fund at: http://wallacefund.info/

Sorry for this shameless plug but Alfred Russel Wallace is a man to whom we all owe a great debt and one who should be honoured accordingly. If you can or want help please do so.

ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, Naturalist

[Ray Hale]

Thought I would keep you updated on progress. If you havnt Googled Wallace yet then do so now...

A Bronze Statue of Wallace: A lasting legacy of 2013

The Wallace Memorial Fund (WMF), with enthusiastic support from our Patron Bill Bailey and our Treasurer, Wallace's grandson Dick, are raising funds for a life-size bronze statue of Wallace to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Wallace’s death next year. The statue will be presented to the Natural History Museum (NHM), London (who have agreed to accept it) and it will be unveiled on the actual date of the anniversary - 7th November 2013.

The Natural History Museum is certainly the logical place to display a statue of Wallace, since it is the custodian of the bulk of the tens of thousands of natural history specimens he collected, plus it also has the world’s largest collection of Wallace’s personal papers. The Museum already has statues of the other giants of 19th century biology, Darwin, Huxley and Owen, so a statue of Wallace would complete the set!

The statue will be sculpted by Anthony Smith, who produced a highly acclaimed statue of Charles Darwin as a student for Cambridge University in 2009 (see http://anthonysmithart.co.uk/). The Wallace statue will cost £50,000 – a price which includes everything from sculpting the piece, to its delivery to the Museum. The deadline for the WMF’s fundraising campaign is January 31st 2013, and if the target amount has not been reached by this date then the WMF will commission a smaller piece instead - exactly what is chosen will depend on the amount of money raised, e.g. a twice-life-size portrait bust would cost £15,000 and a three-quarter-size statuette £30,000¹.

Interestingly, the ‘original’ Wallace Memorial Fund, which was set up by eminent biologists soon after Wallace's death in 1913 (see http://wallacefund.info/original-memorial-fund) aimed to raise money for a marble statue to match those of Darwin and Huxley in the NHM. However, the start of WWI meant that the Fund had to close early and there was only enough money to pay for a circular white marble medallion featuring a side profile of Wallace’s head and shoulders, which was installed in 1915 on the wall of Westminster Abbey between the medallions of Charles Darwin and Joseph Lister. We hope that this time enough money will be raised to pay for a life-size statue!
"The Malay Archipelago" What a Christmas present......