Joseph Leidy

Joseph Leidy (born Sept. 9, 1823, Philadelphia—died April 30, 1891, Philadelphia) was a zoologist, one of the most distinguished and versatile scientists in the United States, who made important contributions to the fields of comparative anatomy, parasitology, and paleontology. Soon after his appointment as librarian and curator at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (1846), he became chairman of the Board of Curators (1847–91). The founder of paleontology in the United States, he made extensive...