Darwin's Man in Brazil

"A valuable introduction to Fritz M ller, a colorful and important figure in the story of natural history, but someone who has been seriously neglected by historians of science. This volume helps us gain a better understanding not only of M ller's many contributions but also of the development of Darwin's ideas about species diversity."--Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, author of Unifying Biology

"Impeccable research on practically every available facet of M ller's life. Relevant for both historians of science and scientists alike."--Adriana Novoa, coauthor of From Man to Ape: Darwinism in Argentina, 1870-1920

Fritz M ller (1821-1897), though not as well known as his colleague Charles Darwin, belongs in the cohort of great nineteenth-century naturalists. In Darwin's Man in Brazil, David A. West recovers M ller's legacy. He describes the close intellectual kinship between M ller and Darwin, detailing a lively correspondence spanning seventeen years, in which the two men often discussed new research topics and exchanged ideas. Darwin frequently praised M ller's powers of observation and interpretation, counting him among those scientists whose opinions he valued most.

A free thinker who refused to sign the Christian oaths required of teachers in Prussia, M ller emigrated to Brazil in 1852 to become a pioneer farmer researching tropical biology. In the 1860s he reorganized his biological research in order to test Darwin's theory of evolution. Conducting field studies to answer questions generated from a Darwinian perspective, M ller was unique among naturalists testing Darwin's theory of natural selection because he investigated an enormous diversity of plants and animals rather than a relatively narrow range of taxa.

Despite the importance and scope of his work, however, M ller is known for relatively few of his discoveries. West remedies this oversight, chronicling the life and work of this remarkable and overlooked man of science.