Sir Richard Owen - Victorian Naturalist
The Victorians filled their Gothic museums with as many antediluvian curiosities as they could find. They had a deep fascination with the prehistoric world, even hosting a dinner inside a reconstructed Iguanodon. Arthur Conan Doyle’s timeless novel The Lost World and the life-size dinosaur sculptures of the Crystal Palace were particular favourites of the time. Many notable palaeontologists and fossil hunters where active in this period, such as Edward Drinker Cope, Mary Anning, William Buckland and of course, Sir Richard Owen, the man that William Gladstone described as the “world’s greatest living naturalist and the most celebrated zoologist and palaeontologist in Victorian Britian”. Owen probably studied the anatomical intricacies of more creatures then anyone else of his time, honing his skill to a point where he could describe a new species from a mere fragment of bone and nailing much of the
creatures anatomical features before a complete skeleton had been recovered. He went on to name and describe a vast number of fossil vertebrates as well as doing taxonomic work on many living species, his work encompasses the naming and description of many different Dinosaurs to describing the anatomy of the Gorilla in 1847, he also studied human and ape-brain anatomy. Owens study of invertebrates was no less impressive, and a classic in this field was a detailed monograph he wrote and illustrated in 1832 on the Internal and External Structure of The Chambered Nautilus, Nautilus Pompilius, entitled “Memoir On The Pearly Nautilus”
creatures anatomical features before a complete skeleton had been recovered. He went on to name and describe a vast number of fossil vertebrates as well as doing taxonomic work on many living species, his work encompasses the naming and description of many different Dinosaurs to describing the anatomy of the Gorilla in 1847, he also studied human and ape-brain anatomy. Owens study of invertebrates was no less impressive, and a classic in this field was a detailed monograph he wrote and illustrated in 1832 on the Internal and External Structure of The Chambered Nautilus, Nautilus Pompilius, entitled “Memoir On The Pearly Nautilus”
The 19th century was known as a period of discovery and advancement of scientific thinking. Such was the time when new inventions and learning about different kinds of animals reached the news and never failed to amaze the intellectual community.
Sir Richard Owen, was a giant in Victorian era paleontology, anatomy and biology. People would best remember him as the one who coined the term, “dinosaur,” in 1842. The word which literally means “great or terrible lizard” was used to name the group of extinct reptiles that were just being discovered and
documented.Sir Richard Owen was born on July 20, 1804 in Lancaster, England coming from a line French Huguenots. He did not come from a wealthy family and his father was a West India merchant, who died when Richard was five years of
age.He studied at Lancaster Grammar School, with his schoolmasters not having good comments about him. He was about to become a midshipman for the Royal Navy but decided on pursuing a medical career, and started as an
apprentice to a local surgeon in 1820.
He pursued further medical training when he studied at the University of Edinburgh, with such an impressive performance that he was personally recommended to a renowned surgeon, John Abernethy who worked at Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital in
London.Sir Richard Owen passed his medical exams and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, but it was when he was assigned to catalogue human and zoological specimens collected by the surgeon John Hunter and became an assistant to his future father-in-law, William Clift, where he truly pushed his name to the fore in the Victorian sciences.
He became a professor in comparative anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons and in this field he was highly regarded, with his
skill considered very important in the growing knowledge of anatomy at that time. He was a great taxonomist, biologist and comparative anatomist and at that time, there was a growing interest in fossils and creatures of the prehistoric period - thus much of his work in Victorian era paleontology was ground breaking.
One of his most famous feats was when he was sent a fragment of what appeared to be ostrich bone found in New Zealand, and from it he was able to establish that large, flightless birds used to roam the islands despite having no other evidence that such a creature had existed. It was about four years later, when the bones from the extinct moa were unearthed, that his theory was confirmed.
It was this giant bird that made the public and his colleagues, including Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, believe that he could describe creatures from the past from mere pieces of bones. He later reported on the specimen of the prehistoric bird
Archaeopteryx dug up in Germany.
Sir Richard Owen, was a giant in Victorian era paleontology, anatomy and biology. People would best remember him as the one who coined the term, “dinosaur,” in 1842. The word which literally means “great or terrible lizard” was used to name the group of extinct reptiles that were just being discovered and
documented.Sir Richard Owen was born on July 20, 1804 in Lancaster, England coming from a line French Huguenots. He did not come from a wealthy family and his father was a West India merchant, who died when Richard was five years of
age.He studied at Lancaster Grammar School, with his schoolmasters not having good comments about him. He was about to become a midshipman for the Royal Navy but decided on pursuing a medical career, and started as an
apprentice to a local surgeon in 1820.
He pursued further medical training when he studied at the University of Edinburgh, with such an impressive performance that he was personally recommended to a renowned surgeon, John Abernethy who worked at Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital in
London.Sir Richard Owen passed his medical exams and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, but it was when he was assigned to catalogue human and zoological specimens collected by the surgeon John Hunter and became an assistant to his future father-in-law, William Clift, where he truly pushed his name to the fore in the Victorian sciences.
He became a professor in comparative anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons and in this field he was highly regarded, with his
skill considered very important in the growing knowledge of anatomy at that time. He was a great taxonomist, biologist and comparative anatomist and at that time, there was a growing interest in fossils and creatures of the prehistoric period - thus much of his work in Victorian era paleontology was ground breaking.
One of his most famous feats was when he was sent a fragment of what appeared to be ostrich bone found in New Zealand, and from it he was able to establish that large, flightless birds used to roam the islands despite having no other evidence that such a creature had existed. It was about four years later, when the bones from the extinct moa were unearthed, that his theory was confirmed.
It was this giant bird that made the public and his colleagues, including Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, believe that he could describe creatures from the past from mere pieces of bones. He later reported on the specimen of the prehistoric bird
Archaeopteryx dug up in Germany.
He also started the separate classification of the prehistoric lizards into distinct taxonomic groups, from other vertebrates and called them “Saurian reptiles” or dinosaurs with major categories and species such as Iguanodon, Megalosaurus and Hylaeosaurus to name a few.
Victorian era paleontology was further indebted to Richard Owen when he fueled interest in this field by restoring life size dinosaurs in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in 1850, some of which can still be seen today at Crystal Palace Park. The collection and exhibition
of the gothically strange prehistoric reptiles and mammals, that became icons of the Natural History Museum, namely the megatherium, the Myladon and the many Dinosaur specimens, complimented the Victorian Gothic architecture that had been
incorporated into the natural history museum, and into many other Victorian era museums such as the Oxford museum of natural history. The Natural History Museum itself was intended by Owen to be a cathedral to nature and to display the works of God, and
incorporating many extinct and living species reproduced in terracotta and decorating both the inside and outside of the museum.
Owen was also fictionalized in the Victorian fairy tale “The Water Babies” by Charles Kingsley, in 1862–1863. The following is a quote from the book that mentions Owen, with a rather humorous reference to his study and collection of specimens – “Those who do not believe in the existence of water babies may argue that if such creatures did exist, somebody would have caught one and have put it in spirits “or perhaps cut it into two halves, poor dear little thing, and sent one to Professor Owen, and one to Professor Huxley, to see what they would say about it.” In the book Owen and Huxley are caricatured, studying a captured water baby. In 1892 Thomas Henry Huxley's five-year-old grandson Julian, saw this engraving and wrote his grandfather a letter asking; Dear Grandfather – Have you seen a Waterbaby? Did you put it in a bottle? Did it wonder if it could get out? Could I see it some day? – Your loving Julian.
Despite all the achievements of Sir Richard Owen, he remains one of the most unrecognized scientific giants in history. Some speculate this is a result of bad press due to his criticism and open lack of support for Darwinian evolution. Nevertheless, his contributions in biology, anatomy and paleontology will never be forgotten.
Victorian era paleontology was further indebted to Richard Owen when he fueled interest in this field by restoring life size dinosaurs in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in 1850, some of which can still be seen today at Crystal Palace Park. The collection and exhibition
of the gothically strange prehistoric reptiles and mammals, that became icons of the Natural History Museum, namely the megatherium, the Myladon and the many Dinosaur specimens, complimented the Victorian Gothic architecture that had been
incorporated into the natural history museum, and into many other Victorian era museums such as the Oxford museum of natural history. The Natural History Museum itself was intended by Owen to be a cathedral to nature and to display the works of God, and
incorporating many extinct and living species reproduced in terracotta and decorating both the inside and outside of the museum.
Owen was also fictionalized in the Victorian fairy tale “The Water Babies” by Charles Kingsley, in 1862–1863. The following is a quote from the book that mentions Owen, with a rather humorous reference to his study and collection of specimens – “Those who do not believe in the existence of water babies may argue that if such creatures did exist, somebody would have caught one and have put it in spirits “or perhaps cut it into two halves, poor dear little thing, and sent one to Professor Owen, and one to Professor Huxley, to see what they would say about it.” In the book Owen and Huxley are caricatured, studying a captured water baby. In 1892 Thomas Henry Huxley's five-year-old grandson Julian, saw this engraving and wrote his grandfather a letter asking; Dear Grandfather – Have you seen a Waterbaby? Did you put it in a bottle? Did it wonder if it could get out? Could I see it some day? – Your loving Julian.
Despite all the achievements of Sir Richard Owen, he remains one of the most unrecognized scientific giants in history. Some speculate this is a result of bad press due to his criticism and open lack of support for Darwinian evolution. Nevertheless, his contributions in biology, anatomy and paleontology will never be forgotten.
Some of the accomplishments of Richard Owen
Founded the Natural History Museum london -first director of the Natural History Museum -
quoned the name Dinosaur -
Dissected and preserve many animals from the London zoo
Taught natural history to Queen Victoria's children -
Discribed and named the giant bird Dinornis, the extinct moa -
Discribed and named a distinct tribe of Saurian Reptiles the Dinosauria - 1842
Described the anatomy of the Gorilla - 1847
Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834, at the age of 30
published more than 600 books
Hunterian professor of comparative anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons
Awarded more than 100 honours – including a knighthood
Naming and describing a vast number of living and fossil vertebrates
Discribed by William Gladstone as the world’s greatest living naturalist
Founded the Natural History Museum london -first director of the Natural History Museum -
quoned the name Dinosaur -
Dissected and preserve many animals from the London zoo
Taught natural history to Queen Victoria's children -
Discribed and named the giant bird Dinornis, the extinct moa -
Discribed and named a distinct tribe of Saurian Reptiles the Dinosauria - 1842
Described the anatomy of the Gorilla - 1847
Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834, at the age of 30
published more than 600 books
Hunterian professor of comparative anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons
Awarded more than 100 honours – including a knighthood
Naming and describing a vast number of living and fossil vertebrates
Discribed by William Gladstone as the world’s greatest living naturalist
Victorian Era caricature of Owen astride a Megatherium.
Professor Owen and Professor Huxley inspect a water baby
Watercolour by Richard Owen of a young Orangutan
Richard Owen holding a Moa leg bone