Ɛpsilon

WCP4203

Letter (WCP4203.4258)

[1]1

Old Orchard,

Broadstone,

Dorset.

June 16th 1912

Dear Dr Osborn,2

I thank you very much for the complete and careful account of my scientific work and for the great honour you have done me in linking my name with those of Lyell,3 Darwin4 and Galton.5

Your article6 is by far the best account of my work and of the various influences which [2] (2) determined its direction and the conclusion at which I have arrived.

I beg to assure you that I am much gratified by the generous appreciation of so competent a biologist as yourself[.]

Believe me | yours very sincerely, | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1
The letter was written in Annie Wallace’s hand.
2
Osborn, Henry Fairfield (1857-1935). American geologist, paleontologist, and eugenist.
3
Lyell, Charles (1797-1875). British geologist and author, notably of the influential Principles of Geology (1830-1833). President of the Geological Society of London, 1835-37 and 1849-51.
4
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).
5
Galton, Francis (1822-1911). British biostatistician, polymath and founder of eugenics. One of the key figures in 19th Century research into heredity. Half-cousin of Charles Darwin.
6
Osborn, Henry Fairfield. 1912. Scientific worthies. XXXVIII.— Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, D.C.L., O.M., F.R.S. Nature 89 (13 June), pp. 367-370.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP4203.4258)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Chudasama Mahmud, Aisha [2012-07-11] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP4203,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4203