Distributed for Reaktion Books
Richard Owen
A biography of the provocative nineteenth-century English naturalist.
Brilliant, hard-working, and immensely productive, the naturalist Richard Owen was a great ambassador for science and played an outsized role in shaping London’s Natural History Museum. Still, Owen was a provocative bully, accused of plagiarism, and the only man Charles Darwin claimed to hate since Owen staunchly opposed his ideas about natural selection despite sharing similar views himself. This biography gives an account of Owen’s life and work and offers some speculation about the reasons behind his controversial behavior and strained relationships.
Brilliant, hard-working, and immensely productive, the naturalist Richard Owen was a great ambassador for science and played an outsized role in shaping London’s Natural History Museum. Still, Owen was a provocative bully, accused of plagiarism, and the only man Charles Darwin claimed to hate since Owen staunchly opposed his ideas about natural selection despite sharing similar views himself. This biography gives an account of Owen’s life and work and offers some speculation about the reasons behind his controversial behavior and strained relationships.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Northern Origins: Childhood and Early Life
2 Early Days in London: St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the Zoological Society and the Royal College of Surgeons
3 Monsters and Curiosities: Extant, Extinct and Non-Existent
4 Dr Owen, Dr Mantell and the Dinosaurs
5 Darwin and Owen
6 Huxley, the Hippocampus and Histrionics
7 The Evolution of Owen’s Evolutionary Ideas
8 Museums and Committees
9 A Cottage in Richmond Park, by Grace and Favour of Her Majesty
10 Owen’s Character and Personality
Chronology
References
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
1 Northern Origins: Childhood and Early Life
2 Early Days in London: St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the Zoological Society and the Royal College of Surgeons
3 Monsters and Curiosities: Extant, Extinct and Non-Existent
4 Dr Owen, Dr Mantell and the Dinosaurs
5 Darwin and Owen
6 Huxley, the Hippocampus and Histrionics
7 The Evolution of Owen’s Evolutionary Ideas
8 Museums and Committees
9 A Cottage in Richmond Park, by Grace and Favour of Her Majesty
10 Owen’s Character and Personality
Chronology
References
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements