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Sir '''Richard Owen''' [[Order of the Bath|KCB]] ([[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], 20 July 1804–18 December 1892) was an [[English people|English]] [[biologist]], [[comparative anatomy|comparative anatomist]] and [[paleontology|palaeontologist]].
Sir '''Richard Owen''' [[Order of the Bath|KCB]] ([[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], 20 July 1804–18 December 1892) was an [[English people|English]] [[biologist]], [[comparative anatomy|comparative anatomist]] and [[paleontology|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 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 [[Natural History Museum|British Museum (Natural History)]] in [[London]].<ref>Rupke, Nicolaas 1994. ''Richard Owen: Victorian naturalist''. New Haven: Yale University Press.</ref>
Owen was the driving force behind the establishment, in 1881, of the [[Natural History Museum|British Museum (Natural History)]] in [[London]].<ref>Rupke, Nicolaas 1994. ''Richard Owen: Victorian naturalist''. New Haven: Yale University Press.</ref>
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Owen credited himself and [[Georges Cuvier]] with the discovery of the ''[[Iguanodon]]'', completely excluding any credit for the original discoverer of the dinosaur, [[Gideon Mantell]]. This was not the first or last time Owen would deliberately claim a discovery as his own, when in fact it was not. Owen was finally dismissed from the Royal Society's Zoological Council for [[plagiarism]].
Owen credited himself and [[Georges Cuvier]] with the discovery of the ''[[Iguanodon]]'', completely excluding any credit for the original discoverer of the dinosaur, [[Gideon Mantell]]. This was not the first or last time Owen would deliberately claim a discovery as his own, when in fact it was not. Owen was finally dismissed from the Royal Society's Zoological Council for [[plagiarism]].
[[Image:Old Owen@72.jpg|thumb|right|Richard Owen in old age]]
[[File:Old Owen@72.jpg|thumb|right|Richard Owen in old age]]


Owen was highly critical of Darwin's ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', in part because Darwin did not refer much to the previous scientific theories of evolution. Instead, Darwin compared the theory of evolution by natural selection with the unscientific theory in the [[Bible]].
Owen was highly critical of Darwin's ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', in part because Darwin did not refer much to the previous scientific theories of evolution. Instead, Darwin compared the theory of evolution by natural selection with the unscientific theory in the [[Bible]].


Owen, in Darwin's opinion, was "Spiteful, extremely malignant, clever; the Londoners say he is mad with envy because my book is so talked about".<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/1mlcd10.txt Darwin 1887, p.149]</ref> "It is painful to be hated in the intense degree with which Owen hates me".<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/2llcd10.txt Darwin & Seward 1903, p.300]</ref>
Owen, in Darwin's opinion, was "Spiteful, extremely malignant, clever; the Londoners say he is mad with envy because my book is so talked about".<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/1mlcd10.txt Darwin 1887, p.149]</ref> "It is painful to be hated in the intense degree with which Owen hates me".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/2llcd10.txt |title=Darwin & Seward 1903, p.300 |access-date=2010-10-19 |archive-date=2009-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325145848/http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/2llcd10.txt |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Owen was also a party to the threat to end government funding of the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] botanical collection (see [[Joseph Dalton Hooker]]):
Owen was also a party to the threat to end government funding of the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] botanical collection (see [[Joseph Dalton Hooker]]):
:"At the root was Owen’s feeling that Kew should be subordinate to the British Museum (and to Owen) and should not be allowed to develop as an independent scientific institution with the advantage of a great botanic garden." <ref>Turrill W.B. 1963. ''Joseph Dalton Hooker''. Nelson, London. p90.</ref>
:"At the root was Owen’s feeling that Kew should be subordinate to the British Museum (and to Owen) and should not be allowed to develop as an independent scientific institution with the advantage of a great botanic garden." <ref>Turrill W.B. 1963. ''Joseph Dalton Hooker''. Nelson, London. p90.</ref>


In the first part of his career Owen was regarded rightly as one of the great scientific figures of the age. In the second part of his career his reputation slipped. This was not solely due to his underhanded dealings with colleagues; it was also due to the serious errors of scientific judgement which were discovered and publicized. A fine example was his decision to classify man in a separate sub-class of the Mammalia (see [[Thomas Henry Huxley]]). In this Owen had no supporters at all. Also, his unwillingness to come off the fence concerning evolution became increasingly damaging to his reputation as time went on.
In the first part of his career Owen was regarded rightly as one of the great scientific figures of the age. In the second part of his career his reputation slipped. This was not solely due to his underhanded dealings with colleagues; it was also due to the serious errors of scientific judgement which were discovered and publicized. A fine example was his decision to classify man in a separate sub-class of the Mammalia (see [[Thomas Henry Huxley]]). In this Owen had no supporters at all. Also, his unwillingness to come off the fence concerning evolution became increasingly damaging to his reputation as time went on.

⚫
Owen continued working after his official retirement at the age of 79, but he never recovered the good opinions he had got in his younger days.<ref>Desmond A. 1982. ''Archetypes and ancestors: paleontology in Victorian London 1850-1875''. Muller, London.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://darwin.gruts.com/articles/2001/owen/ |title=Sir Richard Owen: the archetypal villain |access-date=2010-10-19 |archive-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928094951/http://darwin.gruts.com/articles/2001/owen/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


⚫
Owen continued working after his official retirement at the age of 79, but he never recovered the good opinions he had got in his younger days.<ref>Desmond A. 1982. ''Archetypes and ancestors: paleontology in Victorian London 1850-1875''. Muller, London.</ref><ref>[http://darwin.gruts.com/articles/2001/owen/ Sir Richard Owen: the archetypal villain]</ref>
== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}




{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Richard}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Richard}}
[[Category:1804 births]]
[[Category:1804 births]]
[[Category:1892 deaths]]
[[Category:1892 deaths]]


[[Category:English naturalists]]
[[Category:English naturalists]]
[[Category:British zoologists]]
[[Category:British zoologists]]
[[Category:English biologists]]
[[Category:English palaeontologists]]
⚫
[[Category:Paleontologists]]
[[Category:English science writers]]
[[Category:English science writers]]
[[Category:Anatomists]]
[[Category:British anatomists]]
[[Category:English evolutionary biologists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People from Lancashire]]
[[Category:British physiologists]]
⚫
[[Category:British surgeons]]

Revision as of 08:44, 6 June 2023

Richard Owen
Born(1804-07-20)20 July 1804
Lancaster, England
Died18 December 1892(1892-12-18) (aged 88)
Richmond Park, London
NationalityUnited Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
St Bartholomew's Hospital
Known forNatural History Museum
Scientific career
Fieldscomparative 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.

Controversies with his peers

"Owen: the most distinguished vertebrate zoologist and palaeontologist... but a most deceitful and odious man." Richard Broke Freeman (Charles Darwin: a Companion. Dawson 1978)

Owen credited himself and Georges Cuvier with the discovery of the Iguanodon, completely excluding any credit for the original discoverer of the dinosaur, Gideon Mantell. This was not the first or last time Owen would deliberately claim a discovery as his own, when in fact it was not. Owen was finally dismissed from the Royal Society's Zoological Council for plagiarism.

Richard Owen in old age

Owen was highly critical of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, in part because Darwin did not refer much to the previous scientific theories of evolution. Instead, Darwin compared the theory of evolution by natural selection with the unscientific theory in the Bible.

Owen, in Darwin's opinion, was "Spiteful, extremely malignant, clever; the Londoners say he is mad with envy because my book is so talked about".[2] "It is painful to be hated in the intense degree with which Owen hates me".[3]

Owen was also a party to the threat to end government funding of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew botanical collection (see Joseph Dalton Hooker):

"At the root was Owen’s feeling that Kew should be subordinate to the British Museum (and to Owen) and should not be allowed to develop as an independent scientific institution with the advantage of a great botanic garden." [4]

In the first part of his career Owen was regarded rightly as one of the great scientific figures of the age. In the second part of his career his reputation slipped. This was not solely due to his underhanded dealings with colleagues; it was also due to the serious errors of scientific judgement which were discovered and publicized. A fine example was his decision to classify man in a separate sub-class of the Mammalia (see Thomas Henry Huxley). In this Owen had no supporters at all. Also, his unwillingness to come off the fence concerning evolution became increasingly damaging to his reputation as time went on.

Owen continued working after his official retirement at the age of 79, but he never recovered the good opinions he had got in his younger days.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ Rupke, Nicolaas 1994. Richard Owen: Victorian naturalist. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  2. ↑ Darwin 1887, p.149
  3. ↑ "Darwin & Seward 1903, p.300". Archived from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  4. ↑ Turrill W.B. 1963. Joseph Dalton Hooker. Nelson, London. p90.
  5. ↑ Desmond A. 1982. Archetypes and ancestors: paleontology in Victorian London 1850-1875. Muller, London.
  6. ↑ "Sir Richard Owen: the archetypal villain". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
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