Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, and biologist. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of natural selection which prompted Charles Darwin to publish on his own theory. Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace Line that divides Indonesia into two distinct parts, one with animals more closely related to those of Australia and the other with animals more closely related to those found in Asia. He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the "father of biogeography". Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century who made a number of other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection. These included the concept of warning colouration in animals, and the Wallace effect, a hypothesis on how natural selection could contribute to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridization. (more...)

Recently featured: Go Man Go – Frank Macfarlane Burnet – Hanford Site

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

• ... that toxic gadolinium is often injected for contrast enhancement in MRI scans (scanner pictured), but is prevented from harming patients by being administered as a DTPA complex that has a very high stability constant?
• ... that Darleen Ortega became the first Latina judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals in 2003?
• ... that 1819 odes of English poet John Keats, including On Melancholy, To a Nightingale, To Psyche, and To Autumn, created "a new tone for the English lyric" according to critic W. J. Bate?
• ... that Petelo Vikena, one of the three reigning traditional monarchs within Wallis and Futuna, previously served in the French Army?
• ... that First Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia, the first African-American Baptist congregation in the United States, had only black pastors until 1832?
• ... that the Russian fishing industry operates on the second longest coastline in the world, which gives it access to twelve seas in three oceans?
• ... that Kelly Paris' three career home runs were all hit in 1988 in 44 at bats with the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball?
• ... that the Grade I listed Franks Hall, in Horton Kirby, Kent, England, was used as a barn in the 1850s?
  
  Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

• Russian state-controlled supplier Gazprom cuts off gas deliveries to Ukraine, with several European countries reporting a fall in supplies.
• John Atta Mills (pictured) of the National Democratic Congress is elected President of Ghana.
• The 2009 Dakar Rally, the first to take place outside of Europe and Africa, begins in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• The Sri Lankan military seizes control of Kilinochchi, the de facto capital of the Tamil Tigers.
• Slovakia adopts the euro, replacing the koruna, and becomes the 16th member of the Eurozone.
• In Bangkok, Thailand, a fire at a nightclub kills 61 people and injures 212.
• The discovery of a bed of dinosaur fossils near Zhucheng in Shandong, China, believed to be the world's largest fossil site, is announced.
• Israeli and Hamas forces resume fighting in Gaza after a six-month ceasefire.
  Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

January 8

• 1815 – American forces led by General Andrew Jackson defeated the British Army at the Battle of New Orleans near New Orleans, two weeks after the United States and United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Ghent to end the War of 1812.
• 1889 – Statistician Herman Hollerith received a patent for his electric tabulating machine.
• 1979 – The oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded at the offshore jetty of the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal off Bantry Bay, Ireland, killing about 50 people.
• 1989 – British Midland Flight 92 crashed onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, UK, killing 47 people and injuring 79 others.
• 2004 – RMS Queen Mary 2 (pictured), at the time the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, was christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

• More events: January 7 – January 8 – January 9

  Archive – By email – More anniversaries...
  It is now January 8, 2009 (UTC) – Refresh this page