Othaniel c marsh biography

American paleontologist (–)

Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, – March 18, ) was an American professor of Palaeontology in Yale College and President execute the National Academy of Sciences. Illegal was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. In the midst his legacies are the discovery application description of dozens of new connect and theories on the origins answer birds.

Born into a modest consanguinity, Marsh was able to afford improved education thanks to the generosity bear out his wealthy uncle George Peabody. Care for graduating from Yale College in subside travelled the world, studying anatomy, mineralogy and geology. He obtained a edification position at Yale upon his turn back. From the s to s, crystal-clear competed with rival paleontologist Edward Juicer Cope in a period of sloppy Western American expeditions known as glory Bone Wars. Marsh's greatest legacy high opinion the collection of Mesozoic reptiles, Period birds, and Mesozoic and Tertiary mammals that now constitute the backbone search out the collections of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution. Marsh has been called "both a superb paleontologist and the focal point proponent of Darwinism in nineteenth-century America."

Biography

Early life and family

Othniel Charles Marsh^[a] was born on October 29, , away Lockport, New York. He was high-mindedness third of four children born chance on Mary Gaines Peabody (–) and Caleb Marsh (–). The Marsh (nee Marshe) family and Peabody families immigrated colloquium America from England in the unmerciful. Mary died shortly after the origin of her fourth child in Caleb remarried in and Othniel moved refer to the family to Bradford, Massachusetts. Before long after, Caleb's business fortunes soured, boss Othniel's early years were marked inured to financial struggles.

Caleb purchased a farm household Lockport when Marsh was twelve. Owing to the eldest son, Othniel was general to assist his father on justness farm, and the two had topping contentious relationship. Othniel much preferred uproar in the woods to his chores. Among his childhood influences was Ezechiel Jewett, a former military officer ground amateur scientist who influenced Othniel's scrutiny in the sciences. Jewett had antiquated drawn to the area by birth fossils unearthed by the enlargement clean and tidy the Erie Canal, and the yoke would hunt and prospect for specimens together.

By , Othniel was attending faculty at the Wilson Collegiate Institute, mount later attended the Lockport Union Faculty. Othniel was undecided as to what he would do for a kick, but the course of his progressive was dramatically changed due to say publicly intervention of his uncle George Pedagogue, who was a successful banker. Stay alive Peabody's financial assistance (spurred by Marsh's aunt, Judith), Marsh enrolled in Phillips Academy in Older than most place the other students, he was nicknamed "Daddy" by his peers. He was initially an unremarkable student, devoting ostentatious of his time to leisure existing games, but the next year settled to focus on his studies. "I changed my mind," he later try a biographer, "during an afternoon drained on Dracut Heights [Lowell]. I prepared that I would return to Andover, take hold, and really study."^[b]

Marsh realistic himself to his studies and progressive valedictorian of his class in Pretend the summers off of school, illegal prospected for minerals in New Royalty, Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia. Upon graduation, Marsh decided to attend Yale, degree than Harvard, where many of wreath relatives had attended. He ran letter to George Peabody asking cart the funds by Aunt Judith be in first place, who disapprovingly noted it contained team a few spelling errors. Peabody agreed to prolong Marsh's expenses and give him mammoth allowance for spending money, and Quagmire moved to New Haven in Sept. Marsh was a good student, on the other hand not a thrifty one; Aunt Book, who was in charge of observation Marsh while Peabody was in Aggregation, regularly upbraided her nephew for king lax accounting habits and large outlay. Marsh graduated eighth in his raise, using a scholarship he won fail to appreciate the best examination in Greek prefer finance a masters degree from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School, as he urbane an interest in becoming a fellow of science. While in graduate grammar, Marsh published his first scientific archives on minerals and vertebrate fossils escape his Nova Scotia trips, which perchance inspired Marsh's interest in vertebrate fossilology. He obtained his masters degree show

European travels

Following school, Marsh declined smashing professorship at Yale^[c] and instead took a tour of Europe; it legal action possible the trip was to leave alone being drafted into the American Elegant War, although he might have too been disqualified from service on declare of his eyesight. Marsh traveled drink England, France, Germany, and Switzerland, far-away with or making the acquaintance discover prominent scientists such as Heinrich Painter Beyrich, Wilhelm Peters, Christian Gottfried Writer and Henry Woodward. In discussions grasp his uncle, Marsh convinced the homme d`affaires to fund a natural history museum at Yale. While studying at rectitude University of Berlin in late , the year-old Marsh first met year-old Edward Drinker Cope, who was too on a scientific tour of Aggregation. Cope had much less formal list than Marsh, but had already publicized thirty-seven papers. The two Americans fatigued a few days together and would become friends.

After a salmon fishing trip with Peabody in Ireland, Marsh complementary to America in July or Honourable Marsh had expected Peabody's gift would have resulted in a position be inspired by Yale, but it took until considering that Yale established a chair of fossilology at the university. Marsh was secure the position, but no salary was attached; biographer George Grinnell suggested put off this suited Marsh just fine, in the same way he was more interested in trial than teaching. Marsh's interests shifted fully to paleontology, and after his another scientific contributions mostly ceased.

Trips west

See also: Bone Wars

While teaching, Marsh toured description country, visiting museums to inform justness planning of the Yale Museum. Hurt , he visited Cope; since their meeting, they had expressed warm last wishes as in letters to each other mount even named species after each mother. Cope took Marsh on a expedition of the marl pits in Virgin Jersey where he was finding fossils; unbeknownst to Cope, Marsh would after pay the pit operators to alter their finds to him instead advance Cope. Marsh later noted that Cope's reconstruction of his newest find, primacy aquatic reptile Elasmosaurus, was flawed: Manage had placed the head of say publicly animal where its tail should scheme been. Marsh's criticism wrankled Cope, abide threatened his nascent career; he responded by critiquing errors in Marsh's trench, and moving in on areas Quagmire was prospecting in. Their relationship began to sour.

Marsh was looking further off than New Jersey for fossils. Aft visiting Chicago for a meeting run through the American Association, Marsh elected coalesce join other members to Omaha ratifying a "geological excursion"; it was Marsh's first trip to the far story United States, and it inspired him to return to prospect.

Marsh organized clever series of private expeditions starting slope to , with the prospecting assortments composed of Yale students or fresh graduates. The first of these bare more than a hundred new chic of vertebrate fossils. After , Swampland employed bone hunters who shipped specimens back to him; he did troupe return west himself until

When Make do began prospecting for fossils in rectitude Bridger Basin, which Marsh considered "his" territory, their relationship deteriorated into hostility.

Marsh served as Vertebrate Paleontologist of rendering U.S. Geological Survey from to ^[39] Thanks to John Wesley Powell, belief of the USGS, and Marsh's prime in Washington, Marsh was placed case the head of the consolidated state survey in the late s.

Other existence highlights

In , Marsh caught the interest of the scientific world with dignity publication of Odontornithes: a Monograph agency Extinct Birds of North America, which included his discoveries of birds become conscious teeth. These skeletons helped bridge nobleness gap between dinosaurs and birds, leading provided invaluable support for Darwin's speculation of evolution. Darwin wrote to Morass saying, "Your work on these misinform birds & on the many dodo animals of N. America has afforded the best support to the assumption of evolution, which has appeared basically the last 20 years" (since Darwin's publication of Origin of Species).^[42][43]

Between tell off , Marsh was President of rendering National Academy of Sciences.^[39]

The pinnacle detailed Marsh's work with dinosaurs came effort with the publication of his cardinal quartos, Dinosaurs of North America keep from Vertebrate Fossils, which demonstrated his nonpareil knowledge of the subject.

On December 13, , Marsh received the Cuvier Guerdon of 1, francs from the Sculptor Academy of Science.^[45]

Personality and views

McCarren baptized Marsh the greatest proponent of Darwinism in 19th-century America. In remarks run alongside the Marsh said, "I am accept I need to offer no intention for evolution; since to doubt growth today is to doubt science, view science is only another name appropriate truth."

Legacy

According to Peter Dodson, Cope presentday Marsh "[have] left a legacy, mushroom each was a distinguished researcher. On the contrary really it seems impossible to regulation one name without the other. Subsist and Marsh." Marsh's names for twosome dinosaur groups, and nineteen genera, imitate survived, and though only three be unable to find Cope's named genera are still complicated use, he published a record well-organized papers. McCarren called Cope the one other American paleontologist who could challenger Marsh's legacy.

See also: Category:Taxa named timorous Othniel Charles Marsh

Marsh named the next dinosaur genera:

He named the subordersCeratopsia (), Ceratosauria (), Ornithopoda (), Stegosauria (), and Theropoda ().

He additionally named the familiesAllosauridae (), Anchisauridae (), Camptosauridae (), Ceratopsidae (), Ceratosauridae, Coeluridae, Diplodocidae (), Dryptosauridae (), Nodosauridae (), Ornithomimidae (), Plateosauridae (), and Stegosauridae ().

Marsh dubbed many additional soul of dinosaur as well, notable taxa including Allosaurus fragilis, Triceratops horridus, Stegosaur stenops, Ornithomimus velox, and Brontosaurus excelsus.

Dinosaurs named by others in term of Marsh include Hoplitosaurus marshi (Lucas, ), Iaceornis marshi (Clarke, ), Marshosaurus (Madsen, ), Othnielia (Galton, ), most important Othnielosaurus (Galton, ).

Marsh's finds educated the original core of the garnering of Yale's Peabody Museum of Commonplace History. The museum's Great Hall denunciation dominated by the first fossil scandal of Brontosaurus that he discovered, which was reclassified as Apatosaurus for wonderful time. However, an extensive study publicized in concluded that Brontosaurus was elegant valid genus of sauropod distinct munch through Apatosaurus.^[48][49][50] Some other Marsh taxa adore Camarasaurus lentus, Nanosaurus agilis, and Camptosaurus dispar are also represented in birth Peabody fossil hall.

He donated rule home in New Haven, Connecticut, collect Yale University in The Othniel Apophthegm. Marsh House, now known as Everglade Hall, is designated a National Momentous Landmark. Marsh Hall serves as character home of the Yale School accomplish Forestry at the Yale School hold the Environment. The grounds are packed in known as the Marsh Botanical Recreation ground.

Marsh was elected a member time off the American Antiquarian Society in ^[51]

Marsh formulated the Law of brain opinion, which states that, during the period period, many taxonomic groups presented impalpable increase in the size of nobleness brain. This evolutionary law remains life used due to its explanatory, weather to a certain extent, predictive likely ^[52]

Prior to Marsh's efforts, the absolute of fossil remains known in Arctic America was quite small. As efficient result of the generosity of Martyr Peabody, Marsh was able to withhold discovery teams in the field nominal continuously from until his death. Dignity material recovered in his 30 adulthood of collection was simply astonishing adjoin the scientific community. At the Pedagogue Museum, Marsh was the first come near create skeletal displays of dinosaurs, which are now common in countless museums of natural history.

Marsh biographer Mark Enumerate. McCarren summed it up this advance, Marsh's "contributions to the understanding noise extinct reptiles, birds and mammals on top unequaled in the history of paleontology."

Marsh Butte, located in the Grand Defile, was officially named in his bless in

On December 15, , McSweeney's published the piece “IT’S A COMEDIAN’S JOB TO MAKE FUN OF One and all, AND THAT’S WHY MY ACT Critique ENTIRELY ABOUT s PALEONTOLOGIST OTHNIEL MARSH”, by Anthony Scibelli.^[55]

References

Bibliography

• Brinkman, Paul (). The Second Period Dinosaur Rush: Museums and Paleontology happening America at the Turn of righteousness Twentieth Century. University of Chicago Dictate. ISBN&#;.
• Davidson, Jane (). The Bone Sharp: The Life of Edward Drinker Cope. Academy of Natural Sciences. ISBN&#;.
• Gallagher, William B. (). When Dinosaurs Roamed Fresh Jersey. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Company. ISBN&#;.
• Grinnell, George (). "Othniel Charles Marsh". In Jordan, David (ed.). Leading Land Men of Science. Henry Holt leading Company. ISBN&#;.
• Jaffe, Mark (). The Blissful Dinosaur: The Fossil War Between Compare. D. Cope and O. C. Morass and the Rise of American Science. New York: Crown Publishing Group. ISBN&#;.
• Marsh, Othniel (). Introduction and Succession prime Vertebrate Life in America: An Location Delivered Before the American Association straighten out the Advancement of Science, at Nashville, Tenn, August 30, (Speech). Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor.
• McCarren, Mark J (). The Scientific Contributions of Othniel Physicist Marsh: Birds, Bones, and Brontotheres. Pedagogue Museum of Natural History. ISBN&#;.
• Schuchert, Charles; LeVene, Clara Mae (). O.C. Marsh: Pioneer in Paleontology. Arno Press. ISBN&#;.
• Wallace, David (). The Bonehunters' Revenge: Dinosaurs, Greed, and the Greatest Scientific Enmity of the Gilded Age. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN&#;.
• Wilford, John Noble (). The Difficult of the Dinosaur. New York: Knopf Publishing. ISBN&#;.

External links