He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection; his paper on the subject was jointly published with some of Charles Darwin's writings in 1858.
Ia paling dikenal karena pemahamannya akan teori evolusi melalui seleksi alam; makalahnya tentang subjek tersebut diterbitkan bersama-sama dengan beberapa tulisan Charles Darwin pada tahun 1858.