John van Wyhe

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John van Wyhe (born 1971) is a British historian of science, with a focus on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, at the National University of Singapore. He holds various academic and research positions, ranging from founder and director of The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online, Scientific Associate, The Natural History Museum (London), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and a Member of the British Society for the History of Science.^[1] He has given more than 50 public lectures on Darwin in more than a dozen countries. He lectures and broadcasts on Darwin, evolution, science and religion and the history of science around the world. He also wrote The Darwin Experience, a biographical book about Charles Darwin.

Van Wyhe has an M.A. from University College London and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He accepted a Senior Research Fellowship at the National University of Singapore in 2002 where he both founded the Darwin Online project and edited the Science section of the Victorian Web.^[2]

A new edition of his 2008 biography of Darwin, Darwin: The Man, his great voyage, and his Theory of Evolution, has appeared under the banner of the Natural History Museum. (2018) ^[3][1]

Research[]

For the Darwin bicentenary year of 2009 van Wyhe published four books on Darwin: Darwin's shorter publications, Darwin's notebooks from the voyage of the Beagle, Darwin in Cambridge and an accessible biography: Darwin.

Recent projects include challenging the assumed view that Darwin held back or kept his theory secret for twenty years and restoring Darwin's student rooms at Christ's College, Cambridge.^[4]

In addition to maintaining Darwin Online, van Wyhe had an interest in the history of phrenology and has given talks on this in Britain, France, and Germany.^[2]

Darwin and religion[]

One of van Wyhe's areas of research covers the reception of evolutionary ideas, and in an article titled "Darwin vs God?" he put forward the case that Darwin was neither an atheist nor was there a significant uproar of science and religion when The Origin of Species was published, though heterogeneity of opinion existed.^[5]

We often hear that when the Origin of Species was published there was a great outcry and an historic clash of science and religion. This is probably more fantasy than fact... The Victorian public that first read or read about the Origin of Species were, for the most part, not biblical literalists. For decades the most enlightened writers in the fields of science and religion had accepted that much of the Old Testament, and Genesis in particular, had to be read in a metaphorical sense... Darwin's theories inspired the whole gamut of reactions. Among the scientific community they ranged from contemptuous rejection to enthusiastic support... Other writers felt that Darwin's views were an attack on the role of a Creator in nature... Others, like the Reverend Charles Kingsley, felt differently. He wrote enthusiastically to Darwin about his theory... to religious thinkers of Kingsley's ilk, Darwin had uncovered a new law by which God governed the natural world. For such thinkers it was quite reasonable to reconcile Darwin's views with their religion... As the years passed and reviews and counter-reviews appeared, the fact of Darwinian evolution, the common descent of species became increasingly accepted... Yet... the other key Darwinian idea, natural selection, was much less welcome. As scientific, and non-scientific readers came increasingly to accept the Darwinian concept of common ancestry for species, the view that natural selection was the primary mechanism was often sidelined or rejected. Huxley welcomed the big picture of the evolution of life with open arms. yet natural selection - that aspect of the theory that made divine intervention unnecessary - he could not accept. Many suggested instead that the variations that natural selection picked out were themselves divinely guided or caused. The bottom line seemed to be - was there a meaning or intention behind how life changed?'

— 'Darwin vs God?', BBC History Magazine, volume 10, No 1, January 2009, p. 27-31.

Selected publications[]

Books[]

• Darwin: A companion. World Scientific. 2021.
• Charles Darwin: The compact guide. Welbecck, 2020.
• On the origin of species. The science classic. With an introduction by John van Wyhe. 2020.
• Wanderlust: The amazing Ida Pfeiffer. The first female tourist. NUS Press.
• Darwin: The Man, his great voyage, and his Theory of Evolution. (in Thai: 2020)
• Darwin: The Man, his great voyage, and his Theory of Evolution. (in Chinese: 2020)
• Darwin: The Man, his great voyage, and his Theory of Evolution. (in French: October 2018)
• Darwin: The Man, his great voyage, and his Theory of Evolution. (in Spanish: September 2018)
• Darwin: The Man, his great voyage, and his Theory of Evolution. (Andre Deutsch: UK 2018).^[3]
• The Annotated Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace. Edited [annotated and introduced] by John van Wyhe, NUS Press, 2015.^[6]
• Charles Darwin in Cambridge: The most joyful years. World Scientific Press, 2014.^[7]
• Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the discovery of evolution by Wallace and Darwin. World Scientific Press, 2013.^[8]
• Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters from the Malay Archipelago. Forward by Sir David Attenborough. Oxford University Press, 2013.^[9]
• Darwin. (Andre Deutsch: UK 2008, National Geographic: USA, 2009). [Translated into French and Spanish]
• Charles Darwin's shorter publications 1829-1883. [Foreword by Janet Browne and Jim Secord] (Cambridge University Press, 2009).^[10]
• Charles Darwin's notebooks from the voyage of the Beagle. [Foreword by Richard Darwin Keynes] (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming July 2009, with Gordon Chancellor and Kees Rookmaaker).^[11]
• Darwin in Cambridge (Cambridge: Christ's College: 2009).^[12]
• Phrenology and the origins of Victorian scientific naturalism. Ashgate, 2004.^[13]
• Combe's Constitution of Man, and Nineteenth-Century Responses. 3 vols. By George Combe, edited by John van Wyhe, Thoemmes Press, 2004.^[14]

Shorter publications[]

• Wallace in the light of historical method.^[15] https://www.rswa.org.au/publications/journal/103/RSWA%20103%20p89-95%20Van%20Wyhe.pdf, pp. 89–95.
• "How many people helped Alfred Russel Wallace", an edited excerpt published in The Conversation, in English and in Malay. Oct 25, 2018 ^[16][17]
• "Wallace's help: the many people who aided A.R. Wallace in the Malay Archipelago." Journal of the Malaysia Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (June) vol. 91, part 1, no. 314, pp 41–68. (2018)^[18]
• Charles Darwin and the dentists. Journal of the History of Dentistry. vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 25–35 (with John Hayman), 2018.^[19]
• Darwin's discovery. In: How evolution explains everything about me: From Darwin's brilliant idea to today's epic theory. New Scientist. (2017)
• "Darwin's body-snatchers" Endeavor 41, no. 1. (Dec, 2016).^[20]
• "I am Ali Wallace", the Malay assistant of Alfred Russel Wallace: An excerpt, The Conversation, in English and in Malay, Oct 16, 2017 ^[21][22]
• Van Wyhe, John (2016). "The impact of A. R. Wallace's Sarawak Law paper reassessed". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. 60: 56–66. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.09.004. PMID 27721035.
• A rough draft of A.R. Wallace's "Sarawak law" paper. Archives of Natural History 43.2: pp. 285–293. (2016).^[23]
• Darwin's discovery: The remarkable history of evolution. New Scientist pp. 35–39 (July 17, 2016)
• The Darwin-Wallace theory of evolution. Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Biology. Elsevier, vol. 1, pp. 394–8. (2016).^[24]
• Annotating Wallace's Malay Archipelago. Pulse (Dec): pp. 4–5. (2015).^[25]
• The illustrations in A.R. Wallace's Malay Archipelago (1859) and in a much-enhanced French translation in Le Tour du Monde (1870-1873). Archives of Natural History 42 (2): 358-362, figs 1-4. (with Kees Rookmaaker), 2015.^[25]
• "I am Ali Wallace". The Malay assistant of Alfred Russel Wallace. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Society vol. 88, Part 1, No. 308 (June, 2015): pp 3–31. (with Gerrell M. Drawhorn).^[26]
• Van Wyhe, John; Kjærgaard, Peter C. (2015). "Going the whole orang: Darwin, Wallace and the natural history of orangutans". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. 51: 53–63. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2015.02.006. PMID 25861859.
• Van Wyhe, John (2014). "A Delicate Adjustment: Wallace and Bates on the Amazon and "The Problem of the Origin of Species"". Journal of the History of Biology. 47 (4): 627–659. doi:10.1007/s10739-014-9378-z. PMID 24590318.
• Wallace in Singapore. In T. Barnard ed. Nature contained: Environmental histories of Singapore NUS Press, pp 85–109. (2014).
• Van Wyhe, John (2013). ""My appointment received the sanction of the Admiralty": Why Charles Darwin really was the naturalist on HMS Beagle". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. 44 (3): 316–326. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2013.03.022. PMID 23664568.
• Alfred Russel Wallace. In Ruse ed. The Cambridge encyclopedia of Darwin and evolutionary thought. Cambridge University Press, pp. 165–172. (2013).^[27]
• "Wallace's mystery flycatcher." Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61 (1): 1-5, figs. 1-3. (with Kees Rookmaaker), 2013.^[28]
• Correcting the Darwin myths. In The Origin of Darwinism: Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species Guardian Books, 2012.
• "In Alfred Russel Wallace's Shadow: His forgotten assistant, Charles Allen (1839-1892)." Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 85 part 2, no. 303: 17-54. (with Kees Rookmaaker), 2012.^[29]

• The Annie Darwin hypothesis: Did the death of his daughter cause Darwin to "give up Christianity"? Centaurus 54:1-19 (with Mark Pallen), 2012.^[30]
• "Wallace, Darwin and Southeast Asia: the real field site of evolution." In Gower et al. eds Biotic evolution and environmental change in Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press, pp. 16–31. (2012).
• "Where do Darwin's finches come from?" The evolutionary review 3, 1: 185-195 (2012).^[31]
• A new theory to explain the receipt of Wallace's Ternate Essay by Darwin in 1858. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (with Kee Rookmaaker), 2012.^[32]
• Charles Darwin's life and work 200 years on. (Dis)Entangling Darwin: cross-disciplinary reflections on the man and his legacy. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp 11–24.(2012).
• John Tweedie and Charles Darwin in Buenos Aires. Notes and records of the Royal Society (with Jeff Ollerton and Gordon Chancellor), 2012.
• The Darwin-Wallace mystery solved: Darwin vindicated from accusations of deceit. 'Article in Science Daily sourced from 'National University of Singapore. (March 8, 2012) ^[33]
• "Was Charles Darwin an atheist?" The public domain review. 28 July 2011.^[34]
• Charles Darwin: A life of discovery. In M. Hutchins ed. Grzimek's animal life, evolution. Gale, pp. 31–44 (with Angus Carroll), 2011.^[35]
• 'Almighty God! what a wonderful discovery!': Did Charles Darwin really believe life came from space? Endeavor 34, no. 3 (Sept, 2010) 95-103.^[36]
• Johan Gaspar Spurzheim. Neue Deutsche Biographie 24:770-1 (2010)
• Commemorating Charles Darwin. The evolutionary review 1, No. 1 (Feb, 2010): 42-47.
• Charles Darwin's Cambridge Life 1828-1831. Journal of Cambridge studies 4 (4) (Dec. 2009): 2-13.^[37]
• Darwin Online and the evolution of the Darwin industry. History of Science 47 (4) No. 158: 459-476. (2009).^[38]
• Darwin Online. Science progress 92, part 3/4, pp 485–6. (2009).
• Darwin vs God. BBC History Magazine 10, no. 1 (2009, 01): 26-31.
• A reception study in the making? The unprecedented reception of Darwin's private papers online. Viewpoint: Newsletter of the British Society for the History of Science (June) No. 86 (2008): 5.
• 'Misconceptions' [Common myths about Darwin]. 2008, 02.09 The Guardian.
• 'Dinner with Darwin' New Humanist Magazine 2008.01, 123, No. 1, pp. 15–17.
• 'The diffusion of phrenology through public lecturing' in A. Fyfe and B. Lightman eds., Science in the marketplace: nineteenth-century sites and experiences. Chicago: University Press, 2007, pp. 60–96.
• 'Mind the gap: Did Darwin avoid publishing his theory for many years?' Notes and Records of the Royal Society 61 (2007): 177-205.^[4]
• 'Charles Darwin 1809 - 2009' The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology.
• 'The launch and reception of Darwin Online' Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 61: 2007, 63-5. (With Antranig Basman)
• 'A new life online' Endeavour, Vol. 30 no. 2 p. 119.
• 'The history of science is dead. Long live the history of science!', Viewpoint: Newsletter of the British Society for the History of Science, No. 80, June 2006.
• 'The descent of words: Evolutionary thinking 1780-1880', Endeavour, 29, 2005, pp. 94–100.
• 'Was phrenology a reform science? Towards a new generalization for phrenology', History of Science, xlii, 2004, pp. 313–331.^[39]
• 'The authority of human nature: the Schädellehre of Franz Joseph Gall', British Journal for the History of Science, March, 2002, pp. 17–42.^[40]

Scholarly presentations[]

2018, 10.12

• 'The Malay Archipelago'. Book discussion, Wallacea Week 2018. Jakarta, National Library of Indonesia.^[41]

2018, 10.11

• 'The Malay Archipelago'. Public lecture: Science and Society. Wallacea Week 2018. Jakarta, National Library of Indonesia.^[42]

2017, 11.25

• 'The Historical Wallace. Conversations: Underlying Nature.' The ArtScience Museum, Singapore.^[43]

2017, 10.17

• In the footsteps of Wallace and the Natural History of Indonesia. Lazuardi Cordova Global Islamic School, Jakarta.

2017, 10.16

• Alfred Russel Wallace: The collector in Southeast Asia. Wallace, Wallacea & Indonesia, Wallacea Week 2017. Jakarta, National Library of Indonesia.^[44]

2017, 07.08

• 'Damning Darwin: The extraordinary evolution of the story of Darwin and Wallace 1858 to today'. British Society for the History of Science annual conference, University of York.

2017, 03.08

• Panel discussion with Frans de Waal - 'Being Human, Ethics, Religion, and our Ancestry.' Yale-NUS College, Singapore.^[45]

2017, 02.27

• 'Wanderlust: The amazing Ida Pfeiffer'. Organized by the Friends of the Museum, Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore.^[46]

2017, 02.08

• Moderator: 'Conversations with Humanists'. NUS Interfaith Society, National University of Singapore.^[47]

2016, 10. 26-27.

• Keynote lecture, Victorians like us conference,'The discovery of deep progress'. Lisbon, Portugal.^[48]

2016, 09.30

• Darwin, Wallace and the Sarawak Law. Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore.

^[49]

2016, 09.08

• 'Charles Darwin's sexy barnacles'. Work-in-progress seminar, Tembusu College, National University of Singapore.

2016. 07.18

• 'Damning Darwin: The extraordinary evolution of the story of Darwin and Wallace 1858 to today'. Leeds Humanities Research Institute , University of Leeds.

2015. 08.

• 'Historical Myths'. TEDxNUS ^[50]

2014, 05.27

• "Will the real Alfred Russel Wallace please stand up?" Hay Festival, 2014 ^[51][52]

This talk was in association with the publication of 'Alfred Russel Wallace: Letters from the Malay Archipelago'.

Professional activities[]

2012

• Professorial Fellow of Charles Darwin University, Australia. (renewed 2015)
• Launch of Wallace Online.^[53]

2011

• Fellow of Tembusu College, National University of Singapore.
• Organizer of the Work-in-progress seminar, Tembusu College.^[54]

2010-2011

• Joint Appointment to the University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore.^{[citation needed]}

2010

• Scientific Associate, The Natural History Museum (London).

2009

• Senior Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of History, National University of Singapore.
• Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
• Editorial Board of The evolutionary review.
• Associate of the Science, Technology & Society (STS) Cluster, FASS, National University of Singapore.
• Associate of the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore.^[55]

2005-2010

• Bye-Fellow, Christ's College, Cambridge.

2005-2009

• Editorial Board of Centaurus.
• Member of Regents House, University of Cambridge.

2005-2008

• Director of the Wheeler Library of the British Society for the History of Science.
• Editor of the British Society for the History of Science Monograph series.
• Member of Council and Trustee of the British Society for the History of Science.

2005

• Visiting Associate Professor, History of Ideas Department, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
• Life member of the Biological Society, University of Cambridge.

2003-2005

• Research Fellow, Correspondence of Alfred Russel Wallace Project, Open University.

2002

• Founder and Director of The Complete Work of Charles Darwin online (formerly The writings of Charles Darwin on the web)

2002-2003

• Senior Research Fellow, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore.
• Editor of the Science section of the Victorian Web.

2001-2010

• Affiliated Research Scholar, Department of History & Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge.

2001

• Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore.

1999

• Member of The Cambridge Historical Society.

1999-2000

• Organizer of the Pan-historical Methods seminar, Cambridge University. (An interdisciplinary seminar for the presentation of specific historical research to a general historian audience.)

References[]