ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace was a very important man who lived a long time ago. He lived in a time when people didn't know as much about nature and science as we do now.

Alfred Russel Wallace was really interested in animals and plants. He went on many adventures to different countries to study them. He discovered some really amazing things about how animals and plants live and survive in their environments.

One of the things that made Alfred Russel Wallace really famous was his idea about how animals might have evolved over time. Evolution means that over a really long time, animals and plants can change a little bit to become better adapted to their environment.

Alfred Russel Wallace thought that this might be happening because he noticed that animals and plants that lived in the same area tended to look alike. He also noticed that animals and plants in very different areas looked very different. He wrote a letter to another famous scientist named Charles Darwin, and told him about his idea.

Charles Darwin thought Alfred's idea was really interesting, so they became friends and both studied evolution together. They both thought that animals and plants changed over time and that this was how all the different kinds of animals and plants we have today came to be.

So, Alfred Russel Wallace was a really smart man who helped us learn more about animals and plants and how they evolve over time. His ideas and discoveries helped us understand more about the natural world around us.