Richard Owen

Richard Owen
Born	(1804-07-20)20 July 1804 Lancaster, England
Died	18 December 1892(1892-12-18) (aged 88) Richmond Park, London
Nationality	United Kingdom
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh St Bartholomew's Hospital
Known for	Natural History Museum
Scientific career
Fields	comparative anatomy paleontology

Sir Richard Owen KCB (Lancaster, 20 July 1804–18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.

Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria (meaning 'Terrible Reptile'), and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

Owen was the driving force behind the establishment, in 1881, of the British Museum (Natural History) in London.^[1]

Owen's technical descriptions of vertebrates were important. His Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Vertebrates (3 vols. London 1866–1868) was a standard reference work for many years.

His career was tainted by accusations that he failed to give credit to the work of others and even tried to appropriate it under his own name.

1. ↑ Rupke, Nicolaas 1994. Richard Owen: Victorian naturalist. New Haven: Yale University Press.