Patrick Matthew
Encyclopedia
Patrick Matthew was a Scottish
landowner and fruit farmer. He published the principle of natural selection
as a mechanism of evolution
over a quarter-century earlier than Charles Darwin
and Alfred Russel Wallace
. However, Matthew failed to develop or publicise his ideas, and both Darwin and Wallace were unaware of Matthew's work when they published their ideas in 1858.
, in Perthshire. His Mother was Agnes Duncan, stated to belong to the family of Admiral Duncan, the ancestor to the Earls of Camperdown.
On his father's death and while only seventeen, he took over the management of Gourdiehill in the Carse of Gowrie
, between Perth
and Dundee. He inherited Gourdiehill through his mother, in the possession of whose family it had been for more than two hundred years. He was educated at Perth Academy and the University of Edinburgh
, though he did not graduate, as he had to take over the responsibilities of managing and running the affairs of a somewhat modest but significant property estate. Over the years he would successfully nurture, cultivate, and transform much of the estate's farmland and pastures into several large orchards of apple and pear trees, numbering over 10,000. He became an avid proponent as well as interested researcher of both siviculture and horticulture, both of which influenced his growing awareness of the forces of nature. This awareness, along with his own experiences acquired from years of working his own modest estate would later frame a strong base of reference to form his own opinions and theories.
In 1807, Matthew returned to manage the family estate. Between 1807 and 1831 ( 1831 being the year of publication on the subject of Naval Timber) he periodically traveled to Europe, sometimes seeking scientific enlightenment or agricultural or economic advice, as well as attending to business matters. Some of his encounters with noted men of science came during these travels, especially in France. Later, between 1840 and 1850, he traveled more extensively in what is now northern Germany. It was during these travels, especially to the Hamburg area that are significant to be noted and understood. Hamburg was a significant thriving center of trade, having direct ocean access to the North Atlantic. Matthew recognized this and proceeded to research what he deemed to be gainful opportunities. The political settings of the Prussian Empire era in regards to the Region of Schleswig-Holstein were something that Patrick Matthew was and became even more well aware of. It was after much research, of the regional market dynamics and trade parameters present, along with the bustling river port facilities and farmlands surrounding Hamburg, that brought him to settle on the purchase of two farms in Schleswig-Holstein
.
Matthew married Christina Nicol in 1817 and had three daughters and five sons, one of whom took over the German farmland estates in Schleswig-Holstein. Three other sons sailed off to the gold fields of California. His children, in order of birth, were: 1) John... Born 1818; 2) Robert... Born 1820; 3) Alexander...Born 1821; 4) Charles...Born 1824; 5) Euphemia...Born 1826; 6) Agnes...Born 1828; 7) James Edward...Born 1830; and 8) Helen Amelia...Born 1833.
By this time Patrick Matthew, prospering from his estate in Scotland, as well in his investment holdings in the Hamburg area, was entering into a Land Company interest in Australia and New Zealand. He encouraged two of the 3 sons in America to go to that region and to purchase as much property as they could, and James and Charles Matthew emigrated to New Zealand
.
The other son in America, John Matthew, continued until 1853 to send botanical tree specimens back home to his father in Scotland. Most notably seedling stock of both the Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the Coastal Redwood (Sequoia semperiverens) respectively. The first seedlings of these two species known to be the first planted outside their native California are a collective group still statuesquely thriving near Inchtures in Perthsire. Matthew gave many more seedlings to friends, relatives and neighbors. Many more of those original trees can be found throughout the Carse of Gowrie as well as other locations throughout Scotland, such as Stirlingshire at Gillies hill beneath the fortress of Stirling Castle. Those Redwoods are strongly believed to have been planted from the same 1853 seedling stock as those from the Inchtures group.
In 1831 he published the book, On Naval Timber and Arboriculture. The book focused on how best to grow trees for the construction of the Royal Navy
's warship
s. He considered the task to be of great importance, as the navy permitted the British
race to advance. Matthew noted the long-term deleterious effect that culling only the trees of highest timber quality from forests had on the quality of timber.
In an appendix to the book, he elaborated on how artificial selection
—the elimination of trees of poor timber quality from the breeding stock—could be used to improve timber quality, and even create new varieties of trees. He extrapolated from this to what is today recognized as a description of natural selection
. Although his book was reviewed in several periodical publications of the time, the significance of Matthew's insight was apparently lost upon his readers, as it languished in obscurity for nearly three decades.
In 1860, Matthew read a review of Darwin's On the Origin of Species in the Gardeners' Chronicle, including its description of the principle of natural selection. This prompted him to write a letter to the publication, calling attention his earlier work and its theory. He quoted extracts from his book, citing "See Naval Timber and Arboriculture, pages 364 and 365, 381 to 388; also 106 to 108." The extracts included the following:
On reading this, Darwin commented in a letter to Charles Lyell
:
Darwin then wrote a letter of his own to the Gardener's Chronicle, stating,
As promised, Darwin included a statement about Matthew having anticipated "precisely the same view on the origin of species" in the third and subsequent editions of On the Origin of Species, referring to the correspondence, and quoting from a response by Matthew published in the Gardener's Chronicle. Darwin wrote:
, a biographer of Darwin, commented that "Only the transparent honesty of Darwin's character... makes it possible to believe that by the 1850s he had no recollection of Matthew's work". This begs the question, for it assumes he did read Matthew's book. Clark continues: "If Darwin had any previous knowledge of Arboriculture, it had slipped down into the unconscious". However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Darwin had read the book, and the fact that he sent out for a copy after Matthew's complaint strongly suggests that he did not have a copy in his extensive library.
In subsequent editions of The Origin of Species, Darwin acknowledged Matthew's earlier work, stating that Matthew "clearly saw...the full force of the principle of natural selection". Later, Matthew would claim credit for natural selection and even had calling cards printed with "Discoverer of the Principle of Natural Selection". However, Darwin's citation has done little to garner recognition for Matthew, since he is still generally unknown. Most modern historians of science do not consider Matthew a genuine precursor. The historian of biology Peter J. Bowler
has gone so far as to say that:
Ernst Mayr
's opinion was even more clear-cut:
As Matthew anticipated Darwin and Wallace, so William Charles Wells
anticipated Matthew, but he died so soon after publication that he never developed the idea. Another example was Edward Blyth
, the youngest of the three men who had a claim to have anticipated natural selection.
and, as well as wishing that he had time to write a critique of The Descent of Man, and selection in relation to sex
, expressed the belief that there is evidence of design and benevolence in nature, and that beauty cannot be accounted for by natural selection. Such a belief is mainstream natural theology
, and reveals how far Matthew was from Darwin in realising the potential of evolutionary explanations: for him as well as others, man was the sticking-point.
There is little or no evidence that Matthew held these views as a younger man: there is no discussion of a religious nature in Arboriculture; neither is there any discussion of man in the book.
for their times. Although he was a landowner, he was involved with the Chartist
movement, and argued that institutions of "hereditary nobility" were detrimental to society. It has been suggested that these views worked against acceptance of his theory of natural selection, being politically incorrect at the time (see Barker, 2001). The more likely reason is that the obscurity of the location hid the ideas from many who would have been interested. Only after Darwin's Origin did Matthew come forward in a popular journal, the Gardeners' Chronicle. Matthew also published a book in 1839, Emigration Fields (Black, Edinburgh), suggesting that overpopulation
, as predicted by Malthus, could be solved by mass migration
to North America and the Dominions.
Matthew supported the invasion of Schleswig-Holstein by Bismarck
in 1864: his pamphlet on the event was denounced by the Dundee Advertiser. He also supported the Germans against the French in the Franco-Prussian War
(1870–71), a war which marked the final unification of the German Empire
and the end of the Second French Empire
.
In 1870 Matthew became aware of the terrible housing conditions of the workers in Dundee
. In a letter to the Dundee Advertiser he told readers that the death rate of children under five in the town was 40%, and outlined a blueprint for the redevelopment of the city.
. By 1869 pressure for a bridge had built up, and Matthew opposed the ideas with a letter to the Prime Minister
, William Ewart Gladstone
, and another to the local paper. Letters to the Dundee Advertiser followed throughout 1870 continuing the campaign. The basis of Matthew's opposition was twofold, engineering and social. The bridge would suffer from flaws in the casting of iron; the bridge would be in the wrong place – the foundations would be difficult where planned, and if erected upstream at Newstead
the construction would be safer and cheaper. Further, Matthew argued that the money saved could be used to improve housing in Dundee.
No notice was taken of Matthew, who died in 1874; the bridge was built expensively, opened in June 1878, and was destroyed in a storm (December 1879) with great loss of life: the centre section of the bridge collapsed, taking with it a train that was running across it. Seventy-five lives were lost. The total number was established by a meticulous examination of ticket sales, some from as far away as King's Cross. In the subsequent inquiry, Matthew's foresight was not mentioned, but apparently he had been right on all counts, and in addition the engineer Thomas Bouch
had not tested the bridge for its stability under wind pressure. Not for nothing was Matthews known as 'the Seer of Gourdiehill'.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
landowner and fruit farmer. He published the principle of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
as a mechanism of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
over a quarter-century earlier than Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
. However, Matthew failed to develop or publicise his ideas, and both Darwin and Wallace were unaware of Matthew's work when they published their ideas in 1858.
Life
Patrick Matthew was born 20 October 1790 at Rome, a farm held by his father John Matthew near Scone PalaceScone Palace
Scone Palace is a Category A listed historic house at Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. It was constructed in 1808 for the Earls of Mansfield by William Atkinson...
, in Perthshire. His Mother was Agnes Duncan, stated to belong to the family of Admiral Duncan, the ancestor to the Earls of Camperdown.
On his father's death and while only seventeen, he took over the management of Gourdiehill in the Carse of Gowrie
Carse of Gowrie
The Carse of Gowrie consists of a stretch of low-lying country in the southern part of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It stretches for about 20 miles along the north shore of the Firth of Tay between Perth and Dundee. The area offers high quality agricultural land and is well known as a major...
, between Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
and Dundee. He inherited Gourdiehill through his mother, in the possession of whose family it had been for more than two hundred years. He was educated at Perth Academy and the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, though he did not graduate, as he had to take over the responsibilities of managing and running the affairs of a somewhat modest but significant property estate. Over the years he would successfully nurture, cultivate, and transform much of the estate's farmland and pastures into several large orchards of apple and pear trees, numbering over 10,000. He became an avid proponent as well as interested researcher of both siviculture and horticulture, both of which influenced his growing awareness of the forces of nature. This awareness, along with his own experiences acquired from years of working his own modest estate would later frame a strong base of reference to form his own opinions and theories.
In 1807, Matthew returned to manage the family estate. Between 1807 and 1831 ( 1831 being the year of publication on the subject of Naval Timber) he periodically traveled to Europe, sometimes seeking scientific enlightenment or agricultural or economic advice, as well as attending to business matters. Some of his encounters with noted men of science came during these travels, especially in France. Later, between 1840 and 1850, he traveled more extensively in what is now northern Germany. It was during these travels, especially to the Hamburg area that are significant to be noted and understood. Hamburg was a significant thriving center of trade, having direct ocean access to the North Atlantic. Matthew recognized this and proceeded to research what he deemed to be gainful opportunities. The political settings of the Prussian Empire era in regards to the Region of Schleswig-Holstein were something that Patrick Matthew was and became even more well aware of. It was after much research, of the regional market dynamics and trade parameters present, along with the bustling river port facilities and farmlands surrounding Hamburg, that brought him to settle on the purchase of two farms in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
.
Matthew married Christina Nicol in 1817 and had three daughters and five sons, one of whom took over the German farmland estates in Schleswig-Holstein. Three other sons sailed off to the gold fields of California. His children, in order of birth, were: 1) John... Born 1818; 2) Robert... Born 1820; 3) Alexander...Born 1821; 4) Charles...Born 1824; 5) Euphemia...Born 1826; 6) Agnes...Born 1828; 7) James Edward...Born 1830; and 8) Helen Amelia...Born 1833.
By this time Patrick Matthew, prospering from his estate in Scotland, as well in his investment holdings in the Hamburg area, was entering into a Land Company interest in Australia and New Zealand. He encouraged two of the 3 sons in America to go to that region and to purchase as much property as they could, and James and Charles Matthew emigrated to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The other son in America, John Matthew, continued until 1853 to send botanical tree specimens back home to his father in Scotland. Most notably seedling stock of both the Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the Coastal Redwood (Sequoia semperiverens) respectively. The first seedlings of these two species known to be the first planted outside their native California are a collective group still statuesquely thriving near Inchtures in Perthsire. Matthew gave many more seedlings to friends, relatives and neighbors. Many more of those original trees can be found throughout the Carse of Gowrie as well as other locations throughout Scotland, such as Stirlingshire at Gillies hill beneath the fortress of Stirling Castle. Those Redwoods are strongly believed to have been planted from the same 1853 seedling stock as those from the Inchtures group.
Naval Timber
In his youth Matthew was much influenced by events of the times, especially exploits of the Royal Navy, and perhaps even influenced by one of the Navy's greatest hero's of the day who was from the immediate area: Viscount Admiral Adam Duncan, who was known for his exploits at the battle of Camperdown and as the acknowledged mentor of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson. In managing his orchards, that eventually numbered over 10,000 apple and pear trees, Matthew became familiar with the problems related to the principles of husbandry in both the silviculture of forestry management as well as management practices used in horticulture for food production. Both became significantly important to his understanding of selection and propagation. Like Lord Nelson and others, he thought it important to continuously search for, take possession of, and carefully manage the best Naval timber resources throughout the expanding British Empire.In 1831 he published the book, On Naval Timber and Arboriculture. The book focused on how best to grow trees for the construction of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s. He considered the task to be of great importance, as the navy permitted the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
race to advance. Matthew noted the long-term deleterious effect that culling only the trees of highest timber quality from forests had on the quality of timber.
In an appendix to the book, he elaborated on how artificial selection
Artificial selection
Artificial selection describes intentional breeding for certain traits, or combination of traits. The term was utilized by Charles Darwin in contrast to natural selection, in which the differential reproduction of organisms with certain traits is attributed to improved survival or reproductive...
—the elimination of trees of poor timber quality from the breeding stock—could be used to improve timber quality, and even create new varieties of trees. He extrapolated from this to what is today recognized as a description of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. Although his book was reviewed in several periodical publications of the time, the significance of Matthew's insight was apparently lost upon his readers, as it languished in obscurity for nearly three decades.
In 1860, Matthew read a review of Darwin's On the Origin of Species in the Gardeners' Chronicle, including its description of the principle of natural selection. This prompted him to write a letter to the publication, calling attention his earlier work and its theory. He quoted extracts from his book, citing "See Naval Timber and Arboriculture, pages 364 and 365, 381 to 388; also 106 to 108." The extracts included the following:
On reading this, Darwin commented in a letter to Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
:
Darwin then wrote a letter of his own to the Gardener's Chronicle, stating,
As promised, Darwin included a statement about Matthew having anticipated "precisely the same view on the origin of species" in the third and subsequent editions of On the Origin of Species, referring to the correspondence, and quoting from a response by Matthew published in the Gardener's Chronicle. Darwin wrote:
Later opinions
Notwithstanding Darwin's insistence on his ignorance of Matthew's work, Ronald W. ClarkRonald W. Clark
Ronald William Clark was a British author of biography, fiction and non-fiction.Born in London, Clark was educated King's College School. In 1933, he embarked on a career as a journalist, and served as a war correspondent during the Second World War after being turned down for military service on...
, a biographer of Darwin, commented that "Only the transparent honesty of Darwin's character... makes it possible to believe that by the 1850s he had no recollection of Matthew's work". This begs the question, for it assumes he did read Matthew's book. Clark continues: "If Darwin had any previous knowledge of Arboriculture, it had slipped down into the unconscious". However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Darwin had read the book, and the fact that he sent out for a copy after Matthew's complaint strongly suggests that he did not have a copy in his extensive library.
In subsequent editions of The Origin of Species, Darwin acknowledged Matthew's earlier work, stating that Matthew "clearly saw...the full force of the principle of natural selection". Later, Matthew would claim credit for natural selection and even had calling cards printed with "Discoverer of the Principle of Natural Selection". However, Darwin's citation has done little to garner recognition for Matthew, since he is still generally unknown. Most modern historians of science do not consider Matthew a genuine precursor. The historian of biology Peter J. Bowler
Peter J. Bowler
Peter J. Bowler is a historian of biology who has written extensively on the history of evolutionary thought, the history of the environmental sciences, and on the history of genetics. His 1984 book, Evolution: The History of an Idea is a standard textbook on the history of evolution, and was...
has gone so far as to say that:
Ernst Mayr
Ernst Mayr
Ernst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
's opinion was even more clear-cut:
As Matthew anticipated Darwin and Wallace, so William Charles Wells
William Charles Wells
William Charles Wells MD FRS FRSEd , was a Scottish-American physician and printer. He lived a life of extraordinary variety, did some notable medical research, and made the first clear statement about natural selection. He applied the idea to the origin of different skin colours in human races,...
anticipated Matthew, but he died so soon after publication that he never developed the idea. Another example was Edward Blyth
Edward Blyth
Edward Blyth was an English zoologist and pharmacist. He was one of the founders of zoology in India....
, the youngest of the three men who had a claim to have anticipated natural selection.
Natural theology
Writing to Darwin in 1871, Matthew enclosed an article he had written for The ScotsmanThe Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
and, as well as wishing that he had time to write a critique of The Descent of Man, and selection in relation to sex
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex is a book on evolutionary theory by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871. It was Darwin's second great book on evolutionary theory, following his 1859 work, On The Origin of Species. In The Descent of Man, Darwin applies...
, expressed the belief that there is evidence of design and benevolence in nature, and that beauty cannot be accounted for by natural selection. Such a belief is mainstream natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
, and reveals how far Matthew was from Darwin in realising the potential of evolutionary explanations: for him as well as others, man was the sticking-point.
There is little or no evidence that Matthew held these views as a younger man: there is no discussion of a religious nature in Arboriculture; neither is there any discussion of man in the book.
Socio-political views
Matthew's idea on society were radicalRadicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
for their times. Although he was a landowner, he was involved with the Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
movement, and argued that institutions of "hereditary nobility" were detrimental to society. It has been suggested that these views worked against acceptance of his theory of natural selection, being politically incorrect at the time (see Barker, 2001). The more likely reason is that the obscurity of the location hid the ideas from many who would have been interested. Only after Darwin's Origin did Matthew come forward in a popular journal, the Gardeners' Chronicle. Matthew also published a book in 1839, Emigration Fields (Black, Edinburgh), suggesting that overpopulation
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
, as predicted by Malthus, could be solved by mass migration
Mass migrations
Mass migration refers to the migration of a large group of people from one geographical area to another. Mass migration is distinguished from individual or small scale migration; it is also different from seasonal migration, which occurs on a regular basis....
to North America and the Dominions.
Matthew supported the invasion of Schleswig-Holstein by Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
in 1864: his pamphlet on the event was denounced by the Dundee Advertiser. He also supported the Germans against the French in the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
(1870–71), a war which marked the final unification of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and the end of the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
.
In 1870 Matthew became aware of the terrible housing conditions of the workers in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
. In a letter to the Dundee Advertiser he told readers that the death rate of children under five in the town was 40%, and outlined a blueprint for the redevelopment of the city.
The Tay bridge
Matthew campaigned for years against proposals to build a bridge over the River TayRiver Tay
The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui , then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochhart, Loch Lubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay , in...
. By 1869 pressure for a bridge had built up, and Matthew opposed the ideas with a letter to the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, and another to the local paper. Letters to the Dundee Advertiser followed throughout 1870 continuing the campaign. The basis of Matthew's opposition was twofold, engineering and social. The bridge would suffer from flaws in the casting of iron; the bridge would be in the wrong place – the foundations would be difficult where planned, and if erected upstream at Newstead
Newstead
Newstead is a name related to several places:*Newstead, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada*Newstead, New York, a town in the USA*Newstead, Victoria, a town in Australia*Newstead, Queensland, a suburb in the city of Brisbane...
the construction would be safer and cheaper. Further, Matthew argued that the money saved could be used to improve housing in Dundee.
No notice was taken of Matthew, who died in 1874; the bridge was built expensively, opened in June 1878, and was destroyed in a storm (December 1879) with great loss of life: the centre section of the bridge collapsed, taking with it a train that was running across it. Seventy-five lives were lost. The total number was established by a meticulous examination of ticket sales, some from as far away as King's Cross. In the subsequent inquiry, Matthew's foresight was not mentioned, but apparently he had been right on all counts, and in addition the engineer Thomas Bouch
Thomas Bouch
Sir Thomas Bouch was a British railway engineer in Victorian Britain.He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland, England and lived in Edinburgh. He helped develop the caisson and the roll-on/roll-off train ferry. He worked initially for the North British Railway and helped design parts of...
had not tested the bridge for its stability under wind pressure. Not for nothing was Matthews known as 'the Seer of Gourdiehill'.
See also
- EvolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
- History of evolutionary thoughtHistory of evolutionary thoughtEvolutionary thought, the conception that species change over time, has roots in antiquity, in the ideas of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese as well as in medieval Islamic science...
- Natural selectionNatural selectionNatural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
- Tay Bridge disasterTay Bridge disasterThe Tay Bridge disaster occurred on 28 December 1879, when the first Tay Rail Bridge, which crossed the Firth of Tay between Dundee and Wormit in Scotland, collapsed during a violent storm while a train was passing over it. The bridge was designed by the noted railway engineer Sir Thomas Bouch,...
- William Charles WellsWilliam Charles WellsWilliam Charles Wells MD FRS FRSEd , was a Scottish-American physician and printer. He lived a life of extraordinary variety, did some notable medical research, and made the first clear statement about natural selection. He applied the idea to the origin of different skin colours in human races,...
Further reading
- Barker, J.E. (2001). "Patrick Matthew—Forest Geneticist (1790-1874)", Forest History Today.
- Dempster, W.J. (1996). Natural selection and Patrick Matthew: evolutionary concepts in the nineteenth century. The Pentland Press, Edinburgh.
- Wells, K.D. (1974). The historical context of natural selection: the case of Patrick Matthew. J. Hist. Biol. 6, 225-258.
- Zirkle, C. (1941). Natural selection before the Origin of Species. Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. 84, 71-123.
External links
- Patrick Matthew Biography - UC Berkeley
- Natural Selection as a Creative Force - by Stephen Jay GouldStephen Jay GouldStephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....