The idea of Natural Selection as the fundamental process for evolutionary change was reached

The concept of natural selection as the driving force behind evolutionary change is a pivotal idea in the history of biology. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace independently arrived at this idea in the mid-19th century.

Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, had been developing his ideas about evolution through natural selection for many years. He had collected a wealth of evidence during his voyages on HMS Beagle and had been contemplating the processes that could explain the diversity of life on Earth. By 1858, he had formulated a comprehensive theory of evolution through natural selection but had not yet published his work.

At the same time, Alfred Russel Wallace, another English naturalist, was independently working on similar ideas while conducting research in Southeast Asia. Wallace had spent several years studying the flora and fauna of the Malay Archipelago and had come to conclusions that were remarkably similar to Darwin's theory.

In 1858, both Darwin and Wallace independently submitted their ideas for publication to the Linnean Society of London. Their papers were presented together in a joint presentation on July 1, 1858. This event is now known as the Darwin-Wallace presentation or the Darwin-Wallace paper. The papers, while different in detail, outlined the concept of natural selection as the mechanism driving the evolution of species.