- In full:
- Sir Richard Owen
- Born:
- July 20, 1804, Lancaster, Lancashire, England
- Died:
- December 18, 1892, London (aged 88)
- Awards And Honors:
- Copley Medal (1851)
- Notable Works:
- “Memoir on the Pearly Nautilus”
- “Odontography”
Richard Owen
-
Who was Richard Owen?
Richard Owen (1804–1892) was a British anatomist and paleontologist known for his contributions to the study of fossil animals, especially dinosaurs. In 1842, he classified dinosaurs into a group called Dinosauria, recognizing them as distinct from modern reptiles. Owen was also a critic of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and is said to have attempted to discredit Darwin's work. He served as superintendent of the natural history departments of the British Museum from 1856 to 1884 and was deeply involved in developing the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington, London. Owen defined homology and analogy in precise terms.
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What is an anatomist and what is a paleontologist?
An anatomist studies the structure of living things, typically through dissection and observation. Comparative anatomy looks at similarities and differences in body structures across different species to understand evolutionary changes. Paleontology is the study of ancient life through the analysis of plant and animal fossils. Paleontologists examine the shape, structure, evolution, and relationships of extinct organisms, as well as their geographic distribution and environmental interactions.
Richard Owen (1804–1892) was a British anatomist and paleontologist who is remembered for his contributions to the study of fossil animals, especially dinosaurs. In 1842, he classified dinosaurs into the group Dinosauria.
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What is Richard Owen best known for discovering?
Richard Owen was a British anatomist and paleontologist who is best known for his contributions to the study of fossil animals, especially dinosaurs. In 1842, he classified dinosaurs into a group called Dinosauria, being the first to recognize them as different from today’s reptiles. Owen also opposed Charles Darwin's views and is said to have coached Bishop Wilberforce in his debate against Thomas Huxley, one of Darwin’s chief defenders.
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How did Richard Owen help shape the study of dinosaurs?
Richard Owen, a British anatomist and paleontologist, significantly shaped the study of dinosaurs. Before Owen introduced the term Dinosauria in 1842, there was no formal classification for these animals. Owen studied fossil specimens and recognized that these bones represented a distinct group of large reptiles, different from any living species. In 1841, he described these animals in a report to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the term Dinosauria was first published in the association’s proceedings in 1842. He is credited with formally classifying them into the group Dinosauria, distinguishing them from other reptiles.
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What was Richard Owen’s role in creating the Natural History Museum in London?
Richard Owen played a significant role in the establishment of London's Natural History Museum. As superintendent of the British Museum's natural history departments starting in 1856, he spearheaded the development of a separate institution to house the natural history collections. Owen oversaw the transfer of these collections to a new building in South Kensington, which opened to the public in 1881. The Natural History Museum became fully independent of the British Museum in 1963.
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How did Richard Owen’s scientific views differ from those of Charles Darwin?
Richard Owen and Charles Darwin held opposing views. Owen was known for his strong opposition to Darwin's views. In 1859, with the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species, Owen felt his preeminence in biology threatened and tried to discredit Darwin, despite their previous friendship. He anonymously wrote a critical review of Darwin's book, and is said to have coached Bishop Wilberforce in his debate against Thomas Huxley, one of Darwin’s defenders.
Even as Darwin's ideas gained acceptance, Owen shifted his stance, acknowledging the accuracy of Darwin's evidence while still rejecting Darwinian doctrine. He even claimed to have been the first to recognize the principle on which it was founded.
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Richard Owen (born July 20, 1804, Lancaster, Lancashire, England—died December 18, 1892, London) was a British anatomist and paleontologist who is remembered for his contributions to the study of fossil animals, especially dinosaurs. He was the first to recognize them as different from today’s reptiles; in 1842 he classified them in a group he called Dinosauria. Owen was also noted for his strong opposition to the views of Charles Darwin.
Owen was educated at Lancaster Grammar School and was apprenticed in 1820 to a group of Lancaster surgeons. In 1824 he went to Edinburgh to continue medical training, but in 1825 he transferred to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. He was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons of England, where he was engaged as curator of the Hunterian Collections (made by John Hunter, the renowned anatomist) and set up in medical practice. In 1830 he met Georges Cuvier, a celebrated French paleontologist, and the following year visited him in Paris, where he studied specimens in the National Museum of Natural History. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834, in 1836 Owen became Hunterian professor at the Royal College of Surgeons and in 1837 its professor of anatomy and physiology, as well as Fullerian professor of comparative anatomy and physiology at the Royal Institution. Leaving medical practice and devoting himself to research, he was appointed superintendent of the natural history departments of the British Museum in 1856. From then until his retirement in 1884 he was largely occupied with the development of the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington, London. On retirement he was created a knight of the Order of the Bath.
Among Owen’s earliest publications were the Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physiological Series of Comparative Anatomy Contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London (1833), which enabled him to acquire a considerable knowledge of comparative anatomy. His Memoir on the Pearly Nautilus (1832) was a classic, and he became a highly respected anatomist. By 1859, the year of the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, however, Owen’s judgment was muddied by his sense that his own preeminence in biology was about to be lost, and he set about to discredit Darwin, who had been a good friend and colleague for 20 years. Owen wrote a very long anonymous review of the book (The Edinburgh Review, 1860), on which Darwin commented:
It is extremely malignant, clever, and I fear will be very damaging. . . . It requires much study to appreciate all the bitter spite of many of the remarks against me. . . . He misquotes some passages, altering words within inverted commas. . . .
Owen is also said to have coached Bishop Wilberforce in his debate against Thomas Huxley, one of Darwin’s chief defenders. As Darwin’s thesis began to become more accepted in the scientific community, Owen shifted his position somewhat; although he denied Darwinian doctrine, he admitted the accuracy of its basis, claiming to have been the first to have pointed out the truth of the principle on which it was founded.
Among Owen’s notable writings are Odontography (1840–45), a major study of the structure of teeth; Lectures on Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Vertebrate Animals (1846); A History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds (1846); A History of British Fossil Reptiles (1849–84); and On the Anatomy of Vertebrates (1866–68).
Another notorious error by Owen involved Archaeopteryx, the first known fossil bird, an object Owen had obtained for the museum and had described for publication in 1863. The fossil was reexamined in 1954, and scientists determined that Owen had got it upside down, dorsal for ventral, and had missed its two most important features: the breastbone, which was flat, proof that the bird could not fly but glided; and the natural cast of the brain case, which was like that of a reptile.
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