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A pioneering figure in the fields of paleontology and comparative anatomy, founder of the Natural History Museum in London, namer of Dinosauria, and antagonistic contemporary of Darwin, this episode we explore the life and legacy of Richard Owen.
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Sir Richard Owen
A familiar name to modern biologists and paleontologists, Richard Owen is famous for his pioneering work in the fields of paleontology and comparative anatomy, for founding the Natural History Museum of London, and for his interactions (often antagonistic) with contemporary famous scientists like Charles Darwin and Gideon Mantell.
Right: Photograph of Owen with a moa skeleton, 1879. Image from Wikimedia.
Born in 1804 in Lancaster, England, Owen went on to study medicine and ultimately became interested in comparative anatomy. During his career, he was a prominent lecturer and researcher, publishing anatomical descriptions of animals from all over the world and all over the tree of life, from cephalopods to birds to mammals. Owen also described and named many fossil animals, including Ice Age mammals from Australia, South American mammals brought back to England by Darwin, and a variety of Mesozoic reptiles from Europe. Among his most influential contributions to the field was the recognition of homologous structures, similar body parts that have taken on varying forms and functions in different animals.
Owen was also an important contributor to public appreciation for biology and fossils. In addition to his popular lectures, he also oversaw the creation of the famous Crystal Palace sculptures, and in 1881 he led the formation of a new museum, now the Natural History Museum of London.
In 1883, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath and became Sir Richard Owen.
Right: Commemorative statue of Owen in the Natural History Museum, London, 2012. Image by AnemoneProjectors, CC BY-SA 2.0
Owen’s research contributed immensely to the growing understanding at the time of biological evolution, though he himself disagreed with some of Darwin’s ideas, and he got into famous and public arguments with contemporary figures like Thomas Huxley over topics such as natural selection and the relationship of humans to other species. Owen also developed a notorious reputation as an arrogant and spiteful man, accused of plagiarizing work, not giving credit to other workers when it was due, and writing anonymous cruel statements of his colleagues. For these reasons, he is often portrayed as a villain of 1800s biology, though exactly how much of that reputation is deserved has been disputed by modern researchers.
During his career, Owen introduced scientific names for many species and groups, living and extinct, but this is his most famous one.
Learn More
Richard Owen, biography on UCMP Berkeley
Dinosauria: how the ‘terrible lizards’ got their name
The Word “Dinosaur” Is Coined, 1842
Richard Owen vs. Textbook Cardboard
A history of British fossil reptiles, and other works by Owen
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If you enjoyed this topic and want more like it, check out these related episodes:
- Episode 28 – Charles Darwin
- Episode 56 – Evolution of Evolutionary Theory
- Episode 58 – The Bone Wars
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