[Talk] A. R. Wallace: A Great Naturalist in Southeast Asia and How His Story Became Pop Science Myth
2026-04-18 16:30 - 17:30 (Asia/Shanghai) | NSS Office, The Sunflower, 510 Geylang Road #02-05, Singapore, 389466, Singapore
Open to the Public
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) and his teams of local assistants collected 125,000 specimens of insects, birds and mammals from 1854-1862. He formulated the ‘Wallace Line’ and a theory of evolution similar to Charles Darwin’s. Their names became forever linked after the publication of Darwin’s epoch-making book Origin of Species (1859).
Wallace’s story has been endlessly told in recent decades: Despite coming up with ‘the same theory’, poor Wallace was unfairly treated and he lost out compared to the wealthy and well-connected Darwin who got all the fame for the theory. It is a great injustice that Wallace has become forgotten. Had his ideas been published first, we would have ‘Wallaceism’ today instead of ‘Darwinism’.
Yet, this version of the story began only in the 1960s-1980s when every detail of it was created by cranks and conspiracy theorists. It became the only version of the Wallace story to the present day. At the same time, almost all writers on Wallace have been amateurs (not qualified historians).
This talk will demonstrate the bombshell truth: not only is this modern story of Wallace false, it’s part of a wider trend since the 1960s with best-selling histories of science using the same, irresistible, though historically false story of an unfairly treated underdog genius.
Speaker: Dr John van Wyhe
Dr. John van Wyhe is a historian of science, writer, broadcaster, Director of The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, and Director of Wallace Online. He has published 17 books and numerous scholarly and popular works on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
His research has revealed and resolved long-standing myths about Darwin and Wallace, including uncovering previously unrecorded publications, letters, photographs, and manuscript fragments. His book Dispelling the Darkness reveals the real, historical Wallace, challenging decades of pop science misconceptions.
Van Wyhe lectures on the history of science, particularly 18th- and 19th-century geology and biology, and has curated major exhibitions including the largest-ever Wallace exhibition at Science Centre Singapore. He has also led student expeditions in Southeast Asia to examine nature conservation and rediscovered a snake thought extinct in Singapore for 172 years.
He holds three degrees in history and has studied biology, geology, anthropology, archaeology, German, literature, philosophy, and neuroscience. Beyond academia, he is an amateur naturalist, antiquarian, DIY carpenter, fly fisherman, and mountain biker.
Note:
•⁠ ⁠Registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
•⁠ ⁠Registration will close once the maximum number of participants is reached, or on closing date.
•⁠ ⁠Only confirmed participants will be contacted by email, after the closing date.
•⁠ ⁠Zoom link will be shared to registered participants
Maximum No. of In-Person Participants
30 pax
Closing Date
12 Apr 2026, Sunday
Enquiries
For any enquiries, please contact Shreeyaa at shreeyaa@nss.org.sg
