Patrick Matthew

Key Contributions and Works

• Discovery of Natural Selection: In his 1831 book On Naval Timber and Arboriculture, Matthew included an appendix that described "the natural process of selection". He argued that nature continually selects the strongest and most adapted individuals to survive and reproduce, while the less fit are removed.

• The Darwin Controversy: After the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859, Matthew publicly claimed priority for the theory in a letter to the Gardeners' Chronicle. Darwin later acknowledged in subsequent editions that Matthew had anticipated his views, though he maintained he was previously unaware of Matthew's work.

• Unique Evolutionary Theory: Unlike Darwin’s gradualist approach, Matthew’s version combined catastrophism with species transformation. He believed mass extinctions cleared ecological space, allowing surviving species to "ramify" or split into new lineages in the absence of competition.

• Horticulture and Forestry: As a landowner at Gourdiehill, he managed large orchards of over 10,000 trees. His practical experience in plant breeding and grafting informed his understanding of how selective processes could lead to variety and improvement. 

Social and Political Views

• Chartism and Radicalism: Matthew was a radical political thinker involved in the Chartist movement, which advocated for democratic reforms and opposed hereditary nobility.

• Emigration: He authored Emigration Fields (1839), suggesting that British overpopulation could be relieved by colonizing North America and New Zealand. He was instrumental in establishing the Scottish New Zealand Land Company.

• Predictive Engineering: In his later years, he warned that the design of the Tay Bridge was unsafe. His prediction was tragically realized in 1879 when the bridge collapsed during a storm, five years after his death.