Who was Alfred Russel Wallace? | Natural History Museum@font-face{font-family:"NHM Wallop Headline";src:url("https://www.nhm.ac.uk/fonts/NHMWallopHeadline.woff2")format(url("woff2"));src:url("https://www.nhm.ac.uk/fonts/NHMWallopHeadline.woff2")format("woff2");font-style:normal;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:"NHM Wallop Text";src:url("https://www.nhm.ac.uk/fonts/NHMWallopText.woff2")format(url("woff2"));src:url("https://www.nhm.ac.uk/fonts/NHMWallopText.woff2")format("woff2");font-style:normal;font-display:swap}Skip to contentSearchVisitDiscoverTake partJoin and supportShopSchoolsOur scienceNewsAnthropoceneBritish wildlifeMuseum storiesDinosaursHuman evolutionOceansSpaceWhat on Earth?VisitDiscoverTake partJoin and supportShopSchoolsOur scienceSearchBackMembershipDonateBackDiscoverNewsAnthropoceneBritish wildlifeMuseum storiesDinosaursHuman evolutionOceansSpaceWhat on Earth?BackThe Museum at South KensingtonThe Museum at TringBackPlan your visitWhat's onExplore the MuseumAccessBackGetting hereWhat's onExplore the MuseumFacilitiesBackTake partActivities for allIdentify natureMonitor local natureFind your climate actionBackJoin and supportMembershipGift membershipMake a donationPatronsCorporate partnershipsBackBritish wildlifeWildlife Photographer of the YearDinosaursSpaceExplore the MuseumDiscoverA portrait of naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace, taken in around 1869. CollectionsWho was Alfred Russel Wallace?By James McNishAlfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) was a man of many talents - an explorer, collector, naturalist, geographer, anthropologist and political commentator., Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century, working on warning coloration in animals and reinforcement (sometimes known as the Wallace effect), a way that natural selection could contribute to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridisation., Alfred Russel Wallace (born January 8, 1823, Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales—died November 7, 1913, Broadstone, Dorset, England) was a British humanist, naturalist, geographer, and social critic..