Any list of evolutionary heroes must begin with Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882). Rather than discuss any of Darwin's multitude of achievements, I'll simply quote from the lovely last paragraph of the Origin of Species: "It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us….There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one…from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”
Sigh. Such a beautiful passage. . . And here's a link to Down House in England, Darwin's home. I will refrain from building a contrasting list of "Anti-heroes of the Evolution," although this is a tempting project (Flat Ken, where are you?). Instead, from time to time I'll add more folks to my list of "Heroes of the Evolution". So many to choose from. . .
What is the Canadian rap artist Baba Brinkman doing in the pantheon of "Heroes of the Evolution"? It's because of his peer-reviewed Rap Guide to Evolution, which is very clever, funny, and wonderfully accurate. Here's a link to his Natural Selection video, one of many on his "Rap Guide to Evolution" album. (Check out Sarah Palin going toe-to-toe with Charles Darwin.) Also take a look at "Creationist Cousins," probably my favorite on the album. Brinkman also has created a number of other scientific rap guides, including ones on Darwinian medicine and "climate chaos". The photo of Baba Brinkman comes from his website.
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 - 1913). Wallace is credited with developing the basic tenets of evolution by natural selection independently of Charles Darwin. Unlike Darwin and many other early scientific supporters of evolutionary theory, Wallace was not a man of independent wealth, and had to struggle to support himself, and his scientific research. Wallace traveled widely in the American and Asian tropics, and is considered to be the "father" of biogeography. Wallace held unconventional views on topics such as spiritualism and vaccinations, and eventually resisted applying the principles of natural selection to the evolution of human consciousness. For all of his unconventional views, Wallace was a consummate naturalist, creative scientist, and humane person. Several websites are devoted to celebrating Wallace's life and achievements, including this one, which is the source of this quote: "...very few things in my life have been more satisfactory to me - that we have never felt any jealousy towards each other, though in one sense rivals." (Darwin to Wallace, 1870).