Owen's
interest in anatomy was useful at a time when fragmentary
fossils of extinct creatures were being discovered and described
and he is perhaps best remembered for his study of fossil
animal bones, which led him to christen a new class as 'dinosaurs'.
Though Owen's reconstructions
are no longer accepted as correct, he was responsible for
the first-ever public exhibition of full-size models of dinosaurs
in the grounds of the Crystal Palace in 1854.
It was not only dinosaurs
which engaged his interest, he also studied mammals and birds
and was most excited by the first discovery of gorillas in
the wild.
Although refusing a
knighthood earlier in his carreer, Owen accepted a KCB in
1884 and with it £100.00 a year to supplement his civil
list pension.
Sir
Richard Owen, the dinosaur man, died at Sheen Lodge in 1892.
Index
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