A new review of the ideas and work of Patrick Matthew, a little-known antecedent of Charles Darwin, argues that Matthew is under-appreciated even though he described the idea of large-scale evolution by natural selection decades before Darwin did. Some of his ideas were different from Darwin's but are equally valid.
"Patrick Matthew was a fascinating character--strong-willed and fiercely independent," said Dr. Michael Weale, author of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society article. "Darwin used detailed, methodical force of argument to convince the world of evolution by natural selection. Matthew's reasoning was brilliant in a different way--a concise piece of deduction that is well worth reading even today." Dr. Weale has set up a website that acts as an online repository of the writings by and regarding Patrick Matthew.
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Biological Journal of the Linnean Society