Richard Owen

Richard Owen was born on 20 July 1804 in England and became a comparative anatomist with what peers called a remarkable gift for reading fossils. In 1839 he served as the first president of the Microscopical Society of London, editing its journal and producing a vast body of scientific work. He coined the word "Dinosauria" — "Terrible Reptile" — giving the ancient giants their enduring label. Owen agreed evolution happened but rejected Darwin's mechanism of natural selection, calling it too simple; his approach anticipated questions that evolutionary developmental biology would later raise. He…