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Patrick MatthewPatrick Matthew (20 October 1790–8 June 1874) was a Scottish fruit grower who had proposed the principle of natural selection as a mechanism of evolution over a quarter-century earlier than did Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. However, Matthew failed to develop or publicise his ideas and Darwin and Wallace were unaware of Matthew's work when they synthesised their own. Additional recommended knowledge
Early life, and "Naval Timber"Matthew was born near Dundee, Scotland to a relatively wealthy family. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, though he did not earn a degree, and in 1807 he returned to manage his family's estate in Errol. In the growing of apple and pear trees, he apparently had become familiar with problems of timber forestry, for in 1831 he published a book, On Naval Timber and Arboriculture, focusing on how best to grow trees for the construction of the Royal Navy's warships. He considered the task to be of great importance, as the navy permitted the British race to advance. Matthew noted the long-term deleterious effect of dysgenic artificial selection—the culling of only the trees of highest timber quality from forests—on the quality of timber. In an appendix to the book, he elaborated on how eugenic artificial selection—the elimination of trees of poor timber quality—could be used to improve timber quality, and even create new varieties of trees. He extrapolated from this to what is today recognized as a description of natural selection:
Although his book was reviewed in several periodical publications of the time, the significance of Matthew's insight was apparently lost upon his readers, as it languished in obscurity for nearly three decades. In 1860, Matthew read a review of Darwin's Origin of Species in the Gardeners' Chronicle, including its description of the principle of natural selection. This prompted him to write a letter to the publication, calling attention his earlier explication of the theory. Subsequently, Darwin commented in a letter to Charles Lyell:
Darwin then wrote a letter of his own to the Gardener's Chronicle, stating,
Darwin here, as well as later commenters, erred by attributing Matthew's discussions solely to the Appendix, as the main text of the work also presents in sufficiently recognizable detail "this natural process of selection among plants" (see pages 307 to 308). Notwithstanding Darwin's insistence on his ignorance of Matthew's work, Ronald W. Clark, a biographer of Darwin, suggested that even if Darwin had at some point encountered Matthew's work (of which there is no evidence whatsoever), it is possible that it simply did not register, but crept into his subconscious, only later serving as a forgotten basis of his ideas, which would not have been intellectual dishonesty. Alternately, that both Matthew and Darwin attended the University of Edinburgh (at different times, and before Matthew published his theory) has been considered to increase the possibility that they drew from common influences. In subsequent editions of The Origin of Species, Darwin acknowledged Matthew's earlier work, stating that Matthew "clearly saw...the full force of the principle of natural selection." Later, Matthew would claim credit for natural selection and even had calling cards printed with "Discoverer of the Principle of Natural Selection." However, Darwin's citation has done little to garner Matthew recognition, since he is still a generally unknown personage of history. Most modern historians of science do not consider Matthew a precursor in any respect. The historian of biology Peter J. Bowler has gone so far as to say that:
Natural theologyWriting to Darwin, Matthew stated his belief in "a sentiment of beauty pervading Nature [that] affords evidence of intellect and benevolence in the scheme of Nature." He further maintained, "This principle of beauty is clearly from design and cannot be accounted for by natural selection."[citation needed] Social viewsMatthew also applied his understanding of natural selection to society. Although he was a landowner, he was involved with the Chartist movement, and argued that institutions of "hereditary nobility" were detrimental to society. It has been suggested that this particular view worked against acceptance of his theory of natural selection, being politically incorrect among most naturalists of the time (see Barker (2001)). He also published a book, Emigration Fields, suggesting that overpopulation, as predicted by Malthus, could be solved by mass migration to North America and the Dominions. References
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Patrick_Matthew". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |