Which scientist worked independently and reached a conclusion similar to Darwin's?

Correct answer: (d) Alfred Russel Wallace

Explanation

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), a British naturalist who worked in the Malay Archipelago, reached the idea of evolution by natural selection independently of Darwin. In 1858 he sent Darwin an essay setting out almost the same theory. Their papers were presented together to the Linnean Society in 1858, and Darwin published *On the Origin of Species* in 1859.

• Lamarck proposed the inheritance of acquired characters.
• Mendel worked on heredity, not on natural selection.
• Hugo de Vries proposed the mutation theory.