written that Herbert had recognized the struggle for existence. According to Zirkle "he approached very closely to the natural selection hypothesis when he suggested that winter hardiness might become established in a hybrid stock through the survival of chance variations." References Bibliography External links Biography by F. R. Raines 1885 English botanists English male poets Botanical illustrators 1778 births 1847 deaths British taxonomists Proto-evolutionary biologists William Herbert Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cricklade UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Younger sons of earls Deans of Manchester People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of Merton College, Oxford 19th-century British botanists 19th-century English poets