16th February, 1892 Henry Walter Bates died

On the 16th of February, 1892 at the age of 67 years, died Henry Walter Bates. This man was a great traveler and naturalist.

For 11 years, Bates studied the valley of the Amazon. The results of his research, he documented in his book "Naturalist on the River Amazon," which has been translated into Russian. In the book, the author charted a detailed map of the Amazon River, from the mouth to the borders of Peru. His work sparked the interest of readers, and the author was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society.

On the geographical map the Amazon is the largest in length and size of the full-flowing river basin in South America, formed by the confluence of the rivers such as the Ucayali and Marañon. Map shows that the Amazon meets the Atlantic Ocean, forming a huge delta, an area of ​​100 000 sq. km, which is the largest on the planet river island. In 2011 the World Contest Amazon recognized it as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Not surprisingly, this river has sparked the interest of Bates.

 Bates is also known for studying and giving a scientific explanation for the phenomenon as mimicry in butterflies. Watching flocks of butterflies, he noticed that one species of insects (the model), there are different types of butterflies (simulators), which look very similar to the model, but they have significant differences from the nearest congeners. Bates suggested that in such a way the simulator provides a defense against predators. His works have confirmed Darwin's theory of natural selection. Bates managed to assemble a collection of 14,000 species of insects, including 8000species, not previously known to science.