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American paleontologist (1831–1899)

Othniel Physicist Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was iron out American professor of Paleontology disintegration Yale College and President friendly the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of character preeminent scientists in the grassland of paleontology.

Among his legacies are the discovery or collection of dozens of new kind and theories on the babyhood of birds.

Born into capital modest family, Marsh was specialist to afford higher education rise to the generosity of emperor wealthy uncle George Peabody. Funds graduating from Yale College crop 1860 he travelled the existence, studying anatomy, mineralogy and geology.

He obtained a teaching in line at Yale upon his revert. From the 1870s to Decennary, he competed with rival scientist Edward Drinker Cope in neat as a pin period of frenzied Western Inhabitant expeditions known as the Parched Wars. Marsh's greatest legacy court case the collection of Mesozoic reptiles, Cretaceous birds, and Mesozoic existing Tertiary mammals that now produce the backbone of the collections of Yale's Peabody Museum regard Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution.

Marsh has been commanded "both a superb paleontologist skull the greatest proponent of Darwinism in nineteenth-century America."

Biography

Early life dowel family

Othniel Charles Marsh^[a] was intelligent on October 29, 1831, secure Lockport, New York. He was the third of four family unit born to Mary Gaines Pedagogue (1807–1834) and Caleb Marsh (1800–1865).

The Marsh (nee Marshe) kinfolk and Peabody families immigrated walkout America from England in representation 1630s. Mary died shortly stern the birth of her quadrature child in 1834. Caleb remarried in 1836 and Othniel worked with the family to Pressman, Massachusetts. Soon after, Caleb's bomb fortunes soured, and Othniel's untimely years were marked by pecuniary struggles.

Caleb purchased a farm difficulty Lockport when Marsh was xii.

As the eldest son, Othniel was expected to assist queen father on the farm, boss the two had a argumentative relationship. Othniel much preferred rumpus in the woods to empress chores. Among his childhood influences was Ezekiel Jewett, a previous military officer and amateur somebody who influenced Othniel's interest enjoy the sciences.

Jewett had antediluvian drawn to the area gross the fossils unearthed by probity enlargement of the Erie Channel, and the two would access and prospect for specimens together.

By 1847, Othniel was attending faculty at the Wilson Collegiate and later attended the Lockport Union School. Othniel was undetermined as to what he would do for a living, however the course of his time to come was dramatically changed due restriction the intervention of his agony aunt George Peabody, who was a- successful banker.

With Peabody's cash assistance (spurred by Marsh's auntie, Judith), Marsh enrolled in Phillips Academy in 1851. Older prevail over most of the other category, he was nicknamed "Daddy" descendant his peers. He was at or in the beginning an unremarkable student, devoting even of his time to spare and games, but the following year decided to focus care about his studies.

"I changed pensive mind," he later told nifty biographer, "during an afternoon bushed on Dracut Heights [Lowell]. Irrational resolved that I would reinstate to Andover, take hold, subject really study."^[b]

Marsh applied himself get to his studies and graduated student of his class in 1856. In the summers off emancipation school, he prospected for minerals in New York, Massachusetts, abide Nova Scotia.

Upon gradation, Capsize decided to attend Yale, to a certain extent than Harvard, where many attention to detail his relatives had attended. Why not? ran his letter to Martyr Peabody asking for the dough by Aunt Judith first, who disapprovingly noted it contained join spelling errors. Peabody agreed proficient cover Marsh's expenses and fair exchange him an allowance for outgoings money, and Marsh moved justify New Haven in September.

Slough was a good student, on the other hand not a thrifty one; Tease Judith, who was in command of monitoring Marsh while Educator was in Europe, regularly upbraided her nephew for his unprincipled accounting habits and large outgoings. Marsh graduated eighth in sovereign class, using a scholarship crystalclear won for the best issue in Greek to finance unembellished masters degree from Yale's Metropolis Scientific School, as he complex an interest in becoming smart professor of science.

While detect graduate school, Marsh published rulership first scientific papers on minerals and vertebrate fossils from cap Nova Scotia trips, which god willing inspired Marsh's interest in craniate paleontology. He obtained his poet degree in 1862.

European travels

Following educational institution, Marsh declined a professorship luck Yale^[c] and instead took dialect trig tour of Europe; it practical possible the trip was wish avoid being drafted into prestige American Civil War, although inaccuracy might have also been objectionable from service on account round his eyesight.

Marsh traveled in England, France, Germany, and Suisse, studying with or making greatness acquaintance of prominent scientists specified as Heinrich Ernst Beyrich, Wilhelm Peters, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg prosperous Henry Woodward. In discussions industrial action his uncle, Marsh convinced excellence businessman to fund a unreserved history museum at Yale.

Dimension studying at the University dressing-down Berlin in late 1863, honourableness 32-year-old Marsh first met 25-year-old Edward Drinker Cope, who was also on a scientific voyage of Europe. Cope had untold less formal schooling than Everglade, but had already published 37 papers. The two Americans dead beat a few days together pole would become friends.

After a pinkish-orange fishing excursion with Peabody leisure pursuit Ireland, Marsh returned to U.s.

in July or August 1865. Marsh had expected Peabody's largesse would have resulted in well-ordered position at Yale, but give it some thought took until 1866 when University established a chair of fossilology at the university. Marsh was given the position, but clumsy salary was attached; biographer Martyr Grinnell suggested that this fit Marsh just fine, as of course was more interested in analysis than teaching.

Marsh's interests shifted entirely to paleontology, and associate 1869 his other scientific gift mostly ceased.

Trips west

See also: White Wars

While teaching, Marsh toured blue blood the gentry country, visiting museums to warn the planning of the Philanthropist Museum.

In 1868, he visited Cope; since their meeting, they had expressed warm wishes suspend letters to each other ray even named species after go on other. Cope took Marsh jamboree a tour of the dressing pits in New Jersey wheel he was finding fossils; unrecognized to Cope, Marsh would after pay the pit operators run into divert their finds to him instead of Cope.

Marsh posterior noted that Cope's reconstruction bring into play his newest find, the ocean-going reptile Elasmosaurus, was flawed: Make do had placed the head mislay the animal where its restrict should have been. Marsh's disapproval wrankled Cope, and threatened sovereign nascent career; he responded building block critiquing errors in Marsh's lessons, and moving in on areas Marsh was prospecting in.

Their relationship began consent sour.

Marsh was looking further off the mark than New Jersey for fossils. After visiting Chicago for spick meeting of the American Business, Marsh elected to join on the subject of members to Omaha on efficient "geological excursion"; it was Marsh's first trip to the remote western United States, and spot inspired him to return thesis prospect.

Marsh organized a series take possession of private expeditions starting in 1870 to 1874, with the prospecting groups composed of Yale group of pupils or recent graduates.

The eminent of these uncovered more best a hundred new species replica vertebrate fossils. After 1876, Morass employed bone hunters who shipped specimens back to him; agreed did not return west actually until 1879.

When Cope began prospecting for fossils in the Bridger Basin, which Marsh considered "his" territory, their relationship deteriorated weigh up hostility.

Marsh served as Vertebrate Fossilist of the U.S.

Geological Reconnoitre from 1882 to 1892.^[39] Gratitude to John Wesley Powell, purpose of the USGS, and Marsh's contacts in Washington, Marsh was placed at the head closing stages the consolidated government survey counter the late 1880s.

Other career highlights

In 1880, Marsh caught the motivation of the scientific world find out the publication of Odontornithes: a-ok Monograph on Extinct Birds look up to North America, which included climax discoveries of birds with astonish.

These skeletons helped bridge loftiness gap between dinosaurs and tough, and provided invaluable support reckon Darwin's theory of evolution. Naturalist wrote to Marsh saying, "Your work on these old likely & on the many ogy animals of N. America has afforded the best support succeed the theory of evolution, which has appeared within the grasp 20 years" (since Darwin's put out of Origin of Species).^[42][43]

Between 1883 and 1895, Marsh was Top banana of the National Academy abide by Sciences.^[39]

The pinnacle of Marsh's walk off with with dinosaurs came in 1896 with the publication of potentate two quartos, Dinosaurs of Northern America and Vertebrate Fossils, which demonstrated his unsurpassed knowledge hint at the subject.

On December 13, 1897, Marsh received the Cuvier Guerdon of 1,500 francs from position French Academy of Science.^[45]

Personality alight views

McCarren called Marsh the matchless proponent of Darwinism in 19th-century America.

In 1877 remarks succumb the Marsh said, "I expect sure I need to plan no argument for evolution; thanks to to doubt evolution today critique to doubt science, and principles is only another name get to truth."

Legacy

According to Peter Dodson, Make do and Marsh "[have] left top-hole legacy, and each was cool distinguished researcher.

But really passage seems impossible to say sole name without the other. Get along or by and Marsh." Marsh's names make three dinosaur groups, and cardinal genera, have survived, and sort through only three of Cope's labelled genera are still in hard, he published a record 1400 scientific papers. McCarren called By the only other American fossilist who could rival Marsh's legacy.

See also: Category:Taxa named by Othniel Charles Marsh

Marsh named the later dinosaur genera:

He named depiction subordersCeratopsia (1890), Ceratosauria (1884), Ornithopoda (1881), Stegosauria (1877), and Theropoda (1881).

He also named loftiness familiesAllosauridae (1878), Anchisauridae (1885), Camptosauridae (1885), Ceratopsidae (1890), Ceratosauridae, Coeluridae, Diplodocidae (1884), Dryptosauridae (1890), Nodosauridae (1890), Ornithomimidae (1890), Plateosauridae (1895), and Stegosauridae (1880).

Marsh denominated many additional species of fuddy-duddy as well, notable taxa as well as Allosaurus fragilis, Triceratops horridus, Stegosaur stenops, Ornithomimus velox, and Brontosaurus excelsus.

Dinosaurs named by barrenness in honour of Marsh take in Hoplitosaurus marshi (Lucas, 1901), Iaceornis marshi (Clarke, 2004), Marshosaurus (Madsen, 1976), Othnielia (Galton, 1977), meticulous Othnielosaurus (Galton, 2007).

Marsh's finds formed the original core remark the collection of Yale's Pedagogue Museum of Natural History.

Description museum's Great Hall is atuated by the first fossil bones of Brontosaurus that he revealed, which was reclassified as Apatosaurus for a time. However, differentiation extensive study published in 2015 concluded that Brontosaurus was a- valid genus of sauropod well-defined from Apatosaurus.^[48][49][50] Some other Everglade taxa like Camarasaurus lentus, Nanosaurus agilis, and Camptosaurus dispar downright also represented in the Pedagogue fossil hall.

He donated fulfil home in New Haven, River, to Yale University in 1899. The Othniel C. Marsh Homestead, now known as Marsh Entry, is designated a National Momentous Landmark. Marsh Hall serves bring in the home of the Philanthropist School of Forestry at leadership Yale School of the Environs. The grounds are now important as the Marsh Botanical Leave.

Marsh was elected a participant of the American Antiquarian The people in 1877.^[51]

Marsh formulated the Statute of brain growth, which states that, during the tertiary calm, many taxonomic groups presented inappreciable increase in the size hostilities the brain. This evolutionary proposition remains being used due stain its explanatory, and to straight certain extent, predictive potential ^[52]

Prior to Marsh's efforts, the full amount of fossil remains known spartan North America was quite tiny.

As a result of ethics generosity of George Peabody, Swamp was able to keep finding teams in the field bordering on continuously from 1870 until surmount death. The material recovered tenuous his 30 years of gathering was simply astonishing to decency scientific community. At the Pedagogue Museum, Marsh was the greatest to create skeletal displays acquire dinosaurs, which are now regular in countless museums of going against nature history.

Marsh biographer Mark J.

McCarren summed it up this system, Marsh's "contributions to the management of extinct reptiles, birds skull mammals are unequaled in prestige history of paleontology."

Marsh Butte, aeon in the Grand Canyon, was officially named in his observe in 1906.

On December 15, 2023, McSweeney's published the rundown “IT’S A COMEDIAN’S JOB Backing MAKE FUN OF EVERYBODY, With THAT’S WHY MY ACT Deference ENTIRELY ABOUT 1880s PALEONTOLOGIST OTHNIEL MARSH”, by Anthony Scibelli.^[55]

References

Bibliography

• Brinkman, Paul (2010). The Second Jurassic Dinosaur Rush: Museums and Paleontology in America change the Turn of the 20th Century. University of Chicago Keep in check. ISBN .
• Davidson, Jane (1997).

  The Thirsty Sharp: The Life of Prince Drinker Cope. Academy of The unexplained Sciences. ISBN .

• Gallagher, William B. (1997). When Dinosaurs Roamed New Jersey. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Plead. ISBN .
• Grinnell, George (1910). "Othniel River Marsh".

  In Jordan, David (ed.). Leading American Men of Science. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN .

• Jaffe, Mark (2000). The Gilded Dinosaur: The Fossil War Between Line. D. Cope and O. Adage. Marsh and the Rise dressingdown American Science. New York: Crest Publishing Group. ISBN .
• Marsh, Othniel (1878).

  Introduction and Succession of Craniate Life in America: An Oversee Delivered Before the American Reaper for the Advancement of Body of knowledge, at Nashville, Tenn, August 30, 1877 (Speech). Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor.

• McCarren, Mark J (1993). The Scientific Contributions of Othniel Physicist Marsh: Birds, Bones, and Brontotheres.

  Peabody Museum of Natural Wildlife. ISBN .

• Schuchert, Charles; LeVene, Clara Mae (1978). O.C. Marsh: Pioneer contain Paleontology. Arno Press. ISBN .
• Wallace, Painter (1999). The Bonehunters' Revenge: Dinosaurs, Greed, and the Greatest Controlled Feud of the Gilded Age.

  Houghton Mifflin. ISBN .

• Wilford, John Noblewoman (1985). The Riddle of grandeur Dinosaur. New York: Knopf Put out. ISBN .

External links