Which theorist is famously associated with the concept of natural selection, alongside Alfred Wallace?

The association of the concept of natural selection with Charles Darwin is rooted in his extensive research and writings on evolution. Darwin proposed that species evolve over time through a process in which advantageous traits become more common within a population due to the survival and reproduction of organisms that possess those traits. He famously articulated this theory in his seminal work "On the Origin of Species," published in 1859.

While Alfred Wallace independently developed similar ideas about natural selection around the same time, it was Darwin's comprehensive presentation of the evidence and accompanying explanations that established the framework for modern evolutionary biology. This collaboration between Darwin and Wallace highlights the importance of their contributions to the theory, with Wallace acknowledging Darwin's earlier work, and Darwin giving Wallace credit for independently arriving at similar conclusions. In contrast, the other theorists mentioned—Linnaeus, Cuvier, and Lamarck—had different contributions to biology, focusing on taxonomy, paleontology, and early ideas about inheritance, respectively, but they did not articulate the concept of natural selection as Darwin and Wallace did.