On 1 July 1858 papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace were read at the Linnean Society of London, introducing evolution by natural selection. Darwin had worked on the idea in secret for twenty years, but in June 1858 received a letter from Wallace, then in the Malay Archipelago, that outlined the same mechanism. Friends including Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker arranged a joint presentation, and neither man attended. The presentation caused little stir, but it pushed Darwin to finish his book, which appeared the next year.
Before and after
- 15 May 1858Construction of Royal Opera House
- 16 May 1858Treaty of Aigun
- 30 May 1858Construction of Saint Isaac's Cathedral
- 2 June 1858Discovery of Comet Donati
- 1 July 1858Darwin and Wallace present natural selection to the Linnean Society
- from 1 September 1858 to 5 June 1862Cochinchina campaign
- 27 October 1858Birth of Theodore Roosevelt
- 20 November 1858Birth of Selma Lagerlöf
- 22 December 1858Birth of Giacomo Puccini
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.