Jurassic Matrix Diggers


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Why call them "diggers"? Aren't "diggers" the grunts -- the students and volunteers digging in the dirt? Why does JM use this term to describe the distinguished professionals and amateurs, representing many disciplines, who have dedicated their lives and talents towards increasing human knowledge? Using the term "diggers" sounds disrespectul.

To the contrary, JM sees the term "digger" as a token of great respect. Whether digging through the dirt or through museum archives or delving into the intricacies of complicated scientific theory, the term "digger" represents the dedication and patience of talented individuals often working in uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous situations - dangerous both to the their health and their personal reputations - in order to gather piece by piece the tiny bits of information used to create new theories and flesh out the times and the creatures they've unearthed.

Without the diggers the science of paleontology would not exist.

To Select a Digger, Click on the Button with the Digger's Name.
NameLifespanShort Bio
 1911 - 1988 A world-renowned physicist and Nobel Award winner, Luis Walter Alvarez worked on the development of specialized radar for Britain during World War II before joining the Manhattan Project. After the war he developed a liquid hydrogen bubble chamber to visualize and record accelerated nuclear particles - the work that won his Nobel Prize in 1968. He also made numerous contributions to aviation-related technologies. In no way did his earlier work presage his final theory that upended paleontological discussions on the extinction of the dinosaurs.
1940 - Geologist specializing in plate tectonics and Mediterranean paleomagnetism. He was the first to notice the iridium layer near Gubbio, Italy and associate it with K-T (K-Pg) boundary. He then recruited his father Luis Walter Alvarez (a Nobel laureate in Physics) to help explain this anomaly. Together with Frank Asaro and Helen Michel (analytical chemists) they studied the clay at the anomaly and postulated a major impact event as the primary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous.
1884 - 1960 Adventurer, naturalist, museum director and author, Roy Chapman Andrews is thought to be one of the inspirations for Indiana Jones. His trips to the Gobi for the American Museum of Natural History discovered the first dinosaur egg beds and the dinosaurs protoceratops andrewsi and oviraptor.
1866 - 1924 Andrews was a vertebrate paleontologist connected to the British Museum both as a curator and in the field. His specialties were fossil birds and marine reptiles. He sadly died early, but, as his health began to fail, he moved to Egypt and there studied fossil freshwater fish and discovered and described Moeritherium and Palaeomastodon, two proboscideans.
1799 - 1847 Early paleontologist famous for her work with marine fossils.
1983 - Although specializing in the study of ankylosaurs, Dr. Arbour has also won acclaim for creation and use of 3-D computer models and fossil analysis and her work encouraging more women to enter the field of paleontology.
1879 - 1940 Professor Arkhangelsky was a geologist and a professor at Moscow State University. He was also first a corresponding member and then an academician of the Division of Physical-Mathematical Sciences. He is also known as a field collector of some paleontological material. He won the Lenin Prize in 1928.
1927 - 2014 Chemist famous for analyzing several important artifacts including the Colossi of Memnon and Drake's Plate. He was enlisted by Luis Walter Alvarez to examine the composition of the iridium layer at the K-T (K-Pg) boundary, leading to the hypothesis that a large impact event may have caused the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous.
1980 - Russian paleoartist known "for his clean, detailed style reminiscent of classic National Geographic illustrations." He specializes in working with paleontologists to illustrate newly discovered species.
1956 - Illustrator and cartoonist, he illustrated the book Dinosaurs of Utah and Dino Destinations.
1945 - Paleontologist and paleoartist. His strong support for warm-blooded dinosaurs continues to be controversial yet opened a new conversation on exactly what were dinosaurs and how they lived. His exuberant manner makes him a popular figure on TV paleontology documentaries. His ability to draw detailed pictures of the animals he's describing during his lectures enchants his audience whenever he speaks.
1971 - Dr. Barrett has been a Merit Researcher for the Natural History Museum, Earth Sciences, United Kingdom since 2012. His specialties include dinosaurs, macroevolution, systemics and taxonomy. He has also worked with National Geographic to author National Geographic Dinosaurs. (Below birthdate is approximate.)
1935 - 2025 This work of this very influential Mongolian paleontologist was largely hidden from the non-Communist world when (1) most of his papers were written in Russian; and (2) the Russian's lead avian paleontologist (Evgeny Kurochkin) refused to accept a dinosaur-avian link. Nevertheless, Dr. Barbold persisted in voicing his observations that &ornithization" (some theropods becoming birds) did exist based on his work in the Mongolian Gobi, which has made him the acknowledged expert on Gobi theropods. He is now recognized as being one of the first paleontologists to both acknowledge and formally describe the connection between dinosaurs and birds. He is also recognized as an expert in Mesozoic stratigraphy.
1956 - British paleontologist famous for his works on Triassic fossils and extinction events. He has published over 50 books including several standard paleontological texts.
1928 - 2020 This self-taught paleontologist became one of the foremost collectors of the last 50 years, personally jump-starting South American paleontology by discovering and describing over 22 dinosaur species although he claimed he most liked to study prehistoric mammals. For his work he received an honorary doctorate and became curator at the National University of Tucumán and a senior scientist at Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales in Buenos Aires. He was the first to theorize that there was a major special migration between North and South America at the end of the Cretaceous. He appeared on several TV documentaries. His methodology was somewhat controversial, but none can argue he was a major presence not only in Argentinian but in world paleontology.
1803 - 1857 Talk about an interesting, multi-faceted life: Charles Lucien Bonaparte is best remembered as a dedicated ornithologist who, among a great many other things, discovered and sponsored the works of John James Audubon. He won world-wide fame for his scholarship primarily concerning the birds, he is now credited as the authority for 165 genera, 203 species, and 262 subspecies. He also erected the taxon of the mammalian monotremes. He did a lot of work comparing species including widely separated species such as those seen in Philadelphia and in Europe.
Unknown Paleobiologist known for combining traditional anatomical studies with computer aided analysis and modeling techniques. He had discovered several new dinosaurs.
Unknown Norman Boss was a preparator for the Smithsonian's fossil collections at the beginning of the 20th century. Often working with Charles Gilmore, Boss was the first to mount and thus introduce the rest of us to such critters as Edmontosaurus (1903) and Triceratops (1905). The attached photo shows him still at it, 30 years later, preparing exhibits for the Chicago World's Fair (1933/34). He is also known for joining digs with Prof. Gilmore.
1866 - 1951 Paleontologist and medical doctor, Robert Broom first became known for his work with African therapsids. He later turned his attention to studying hominids from the Karoo region and the other critters found with them. He received numerous awards for his work.
1873 - 1963 Barnum Brown had a lot in common with his namesake (P.T. Barnum). This was a man who had an eye for the interesting and had no problem in exploiting it. Though famous for his early dinosaur discoveries, he collected anything he thought might be of interest to his customers, primarily the American Museum of Natural History, and frequently sent unsolicited boxes of bones and other things to AMNH for the museum' appraisal. In his defense, it must be stated that he operated only a few years after the Bone Wars and the American West was still wild and dangerous. It must also be noted that he was one of the most successful collectors in paleontology, his discoveries including such critters as T-Rex.
1984 - An "evolutionary biologist" Dr. Brusette specializes in the study of dinosaurs. He is currently "Professor of Palaeontology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh."
1784 - 1856 Famous in the paleontology world for describing the first dinosaur (Megalosaurus) after consulting with Georges Cuvier. He also gave the name coprolites to fossilized faeces. In his day, Buckland was an influential scientist, able and honest enough to abandon his own well-reasoned theories for others that could be better proven: e.g., his adoption of Agassiz's glaciation theory.
1797 - 1857 Early paleontology appears to have been fairly open to the ladies. Mary Morland won a name for herself as a talented paleoartist or draughtswoman long before the former term was invented.
1950 - Doctor of Science and Director of Research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Dr. Buffetaut is a recognized specialist in fossil archosaurs, especially crocodylomorphs, dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
1961 - 2023 The first paleontologist to live and work in the Nequén Province of Argentina, Dr. Calvo was instrumental in developing Argentinian paleontology and paleontological tourism. Scientist, researcher, discoverer, and professor, he was eventually the Director of more than 15 national and international research projects as well as the founder of three paleontological museums including the Geology and Paleontology Museum of the University of Comahue.
Unknown Currently the Field Operations Specialist, Collections Manager and Prep Lab Manager for the Tate Museum at Casper College in Casper Wyoming, he has authored several papers on different phases of his research. He has been a member of a number of major international paleontological expeditions. He has also appeared on a PBS special concerning dinosaurs. He also is the field advisor to the Tate's summer digs.
1962 - He is best known for being the first to discover sauropod nesting sites in Patagonia in 1997. He has since become the Vice President of Research and Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and director of the museum's Dinosaur Institute and the curator of the Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
1962 - Vertebrate paleontologist known for her studies of the microstructure of teeth and bones in fossil and modern animals. She is a prolific writer gearing her works for everything from scientific works including special definition to popular books for children and adults.
Unknown United States National Park Service paleontologist. Served for 38 years, longest serving paleontologist in the system.
1947 - 2020 Paleontologist specializing in the "fish to tetrapod" transition. She was also the curator at the University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology and a Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at that same university.
Unknown Paleontologist specializing in flying animals and ancestry of modern birds.
Unknown Long-time coordinator and field representative for the Tate Geological Museum's summer digs, she also taught geology at Casper College, WY. One of her specialities: the study of pterosaurs. She has also appeared on a PBS special on dinosaurs.
1840 - 1897 American paleontologist prospecting extensively during the late 1800s. Largely famous for his competition with Othniel Charles Marsh, known as the Bone Wars.
1959 - An Argentine paleontologist, he is best known for his work with Argentinosaurus (one of the largest known sauropods) and Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus (two of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs - both larger than T-rex.)
1942 - 2008 Although a fully trained medical doctor, Crichton never practiced medicine. Instead he followed a lucrative career writing fiction adaptable into screen plays. His preferred genre was science fiction, and he wrote several works dealing with modern bioengineering, the most famous of which are Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World (AKA Jurassic Park II). Both were turned into highly successful movies that introduced modern audiences to the modern interpretation of dinosaurs as highly successful and active animals.
1949 - Paleontologist and museum curator who reopened the Mongolian Gobi for the first time since Roy Chapman Andrews' expeditions in the 1920s.
1769 - 1832 Sometimes called the "Father of Paleontology" he's most famous for his work in comparative anatomy where he recognized fossilized bones as belonging to extinct creatures related to modern day animals. He also worked on stratification.
1452 - 1519 Not a name one normally associates with paleontology, but Leonardo da Vinci also was instrumental in the later development of the science by recognizing fossils as the remains of organic organisms as opposed to being geological, inorganic curiosities. Interestingly, he also was the first to recognize trace fossils such as fossil borings. All of this was the result of his studies of sedimentary collections from the hills of Parma and Piacenza and some fossils delivered to him by peasants from the area while he was working on his famous horse in Milan. These theories were recorded in his Leicester Code folios, 9r, 9v and 10v.
1809 - 1882 The father of evolution. A five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle led him to question reasons for biodiversity and speciation. This led to his landmark work "On the Origin of the Species" in which he formulated his theories on evolution.
1937 - 2024 One of China' foremost paleontologists, according to Wikipedia Dong "discovered and described over 42 genera of dinosaurs, 27 of which are still considered valid." This makes him the all-time leader in the naming of valid dinosaur species. He is also famous for the unusual names he gave those genera, e.g., Gasosaurus (for a gas-plant their excavation disrupted. Also "gas": means "trouble" in Chinese).
1859 - 1930 A physician who took to writing and gave some of the world's most memorable characters, the most famous of course being Sherlock Holmes and his supposed chronicler Dr. John Watson. Somewhat less famous is Professor Challenger, the somewhat over-the-top naturalist who led an exhibition into the depths of the Amazon to The Lost World, a book that has inspired numerous full-length film versions since the days of silent pictures.
Unknown Researcher specializing in geophysics and vertebrate paleontology.
Unknown His specialty is modern crocodiles, but he is also an avid paleontologist who has measured the bite strength of T-Rex and aged "Sue" by counting her growth rings. His experience and outgoing personality has made him a favorite of the documentaries - as of 2017, he had appeared in 135 films.
1980 - Canadian paleontologist who specializes in "the evolution and paleobiology of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs, particularly in North American ecosystems." He is a curator of the Royal Ontario Museum and on the faculty of the University of Toronto.
1874 - 1945 A long-time Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology for the National Museum of Natural History (the Smithsonian), he was a prolific author and a determined collector, describing and/or naming numerous dinosaur genera such as Alamosaurus, Brachyceratops, and Thescelosaurus.
1941 - 2002 A visit to the American Museum of Natural History Hall of Dinosaurs when he was five decided Dr. Gould that wanted to become a paleontologist. Unlike so many children, he met his goal when he completed his graduate work at Columbia University to be immediately hired by Harvard University as a professor of geology and the curator of its Museum of Comparative Zoology where he worked until he died in 2002.
Unknown This paleoartist is famous for his work with National Geographic, Jurassic Park, and numerous paintings and murals at museums. One of his earliest recognized works was his cover page for Dr. Robert Bakker's Dinosaur Heresies, a remarkable achievement considering the fact that Bakker himself is a fine paleoartist.
1958 - Artist best known for his illustrated book series concerning the continent of Dinotopia - a fantasy island where humans and intelligent dinosaurs interact in a utopian society. He also is a scientific paleoartist whose artwork occasionally tours world natural history and art museums.
1905 - 1981 A long-time staff member at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he is recognized as one of the founders of zoological studies in Israel.
Unknown Participated in 8 expeditions to Antarctica between 1977 and 2017. Credited with finding the first carnivorous dinosaur there, Crylophosaurus ellioti.
1861 - 1904 Working his way through college as a coal miner, John Bell became interested in paleontology and geology. He graduated from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School and was almost immediately brought to the attention of Othniel C. March who hired him as a collector to work under the supervision of Charles Hazelius Sternberg. He was the first to use a grid system at digsite. While working under Marsh, he discovered and recovered the first Torosaurus. Nevertheless, he was unhappy and sought other employment but finally signed a contract with Marsh for another three years until funding for his position dried up. He then worked for Princeton and the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences for seven years. During this time he mounted three expeditions to Patogonia and hired a young Barnum Brown. Hatcher then moved to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and was responsible for the study and mount of the famous "Dippy" the Diplodocus. Afterwards he wrote a scientific monograph on the study and the restoration. He died very young (age 42) while working on a monograph on Ceratopsia.
1807 - 1894 The first paleosculptor, he is most famous for his Crystal Palace Dinosaurs an exhibit of 33 concrete dinosaurs he put together in collaboration with Sir Richard Owen (1851-1853). Although these sculptures do not resemble how the particular creatures are described by modern scientists, they were put together to the best scientific estimates of the day, and many can still be seen in London's Crystal Palace Park. Hawkins had less luck with an exhibition he planned for New York. "Boss" Tweed sent his goons to destroy those models when he did not get enough protection money from the artist.
1848 - 1932 Lepidopterist, paleontologist, zoologist, teacher, linguist and ordained Presbyterian minister, Rev. Holland stands as a model of the 19th century natural philosophers who contributed so much to paleontology. Although his main interest was lepidopterology, he's today most famous as being one of the first directors of the Carnegie Museum where he taught himself paleontology and erected several casts of Diplodocus. All-in-all a very important paleontological figure but today frequently overlooked.
Unknown This paleontologist got his start as a working zoologist at the London Zoo. Having turned his attention to much older creatures, he focuses on their behavior and ecology. He as described several dinosaurs including Zhuchengtyrannus.
1935 - Now retired, he worked as a professor, paleontologist and paleobiologist at the University of Chicago and as a research associate at the Field Museum of Natural History.
1946 - American paleontologist and author famous for finding evidence that dinosaurs cared for their young and for suggesting that dinosaurs could be recreated by reverse engineering of chicken DNA. He also served as a technical advisor to the Jurassic Park films.
Unknown Specializes in Devonian system, series and stage boundaries.
Unknown Journalist covering Western weather, water and legal issues.
1878 - 1969 Perhaps the most influential German dinosaur specialist of the early-middle 20th century, Professor Janensch led the Tendaguru expedition to what is now Tanzania and discovered, among other things, the first fossils of Giraffatitan. (He had assigned them to Brachiosaurus.) He won several awards for his work there including the Prussian Academy of Sciences Leibniz Medal in 1911. He also served as a curator for the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin and as a professor of geology and paleontology at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität.
Unknown Journalist for the "1998 Telluride Times Journal Summer Examiner"
1990 - Inventor, artist and animator known for his use of photicular (also called lenticular) photography to create moving images capable of being displayed in books (a la those seen in the Harry Potter movies).
Unknown Known for his study of the different animals of the Paleozoic/Mesozoic transition, how they were impacted the Permian extinction event and the rise of new groups during the Triassic.
1925 - 2015 Dr. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska is one of the most influential paleontologists of the 20th century. Born in Poland, studying in post-war Warsaw where she earned her masters in zoology and doctorate in paleontology. She was "the first woman to serve on the committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences ", and is best known for her seven expeditions to the Gobi now remembered as the Polish-Mongolian expeditions. During her career she studied trilobites and discovered numerous species of Gobi Mesozoic animals including crocodiles, dinosaurs, birds and multituberculates. She published frequently both as a scientist and a popularist, recounting her experiences in the Gobi. She won many awards including the Romer-Simpson Medal in 1996 for "sustained and outstanding scholarly excellence in the discipline of vertebrate paleontology" from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. At least one of her contemporaries and sometime collaborator, Zhe-Xi Lou, "describes her contribution to paleontology as unmatched by any living experts".
Unknown Specializes in tabulate corals and biostratigraphy of the Middle Palaeozoic of South Tien-Shan.
1874 - 1953 One of the first paleoartists who is credited with originating this entire classification of art. His murals (mostly outdated) continue to grace the walls of many of our finest natural history museums.
1947 - Russian paleontologist known for his work in Mongolia and in the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia.
1965 - 2018 Dr. Lü was an expert on Mesozoic reptiles conducting field expeditions throughout China and in a number of foreign countries including the Canada, USA, UK and Mongolia. He is credited with discovering a number of new species and describing same. Sadly he died early, of diabetes, in 2018. He will be missed.
Unknown Famous for his field work with titanosaurs including the discovery of Dreadnoughtus, he is also known for his pioneering work in 3-D paleontological printing.
1884 - 1917 A noted geologist, he spent much of his career as a part-time professor at what would become the Colorado School of Mines. During his field work he discovered a fossilized vertebra he sent to Othniel Marsh who then hired him in 1877 to continue prospecting and collecting. He went on to unearth specimens of Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camptosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex and Allosaurus. He is also unfortunately credited with having, inadvertently, set off the "Bone Wars" by collaborating with Cope in Como Bluffs. He later worked for the U.S. Geological Survey before eventually retiring and moving to British Columbia.
1863 - 2019 Early Canadian paleontologist famous for his dinosaur discoveries in the fossil beds of Alberta from 1897 to 1919. He worked as a geologist, paleontologist and zoologist for the Geological Survey of Canada. In tribute to his work, the Lambeosaurus lambei was named after him.
1848 - 1933 This gentleman was a Christian missionary who spent much of his early career in East Africa. He was also a dedicated naturalist who explored wherever he was stationed. He discovered among other things the Mangapwani caves in Zanzibar and Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis in Madagascar. He is also known as a collector of conches.
1707 - 1778 This Swedish taxonomist is known as the father of modern, e.g., heirarchical, taxonomy and the inventor of Linnaean Classification and binomial nomenclature. He studied and taught at Uppsala University throughout his career saving a period of time in the Netherlands where he first published his seminal work Systema Naturae.
Unknown Vertebrate paleontologist and lecturer at the University of Utah. Has identified several new dinosaur species and appeared on numerous television documentaries.
Unknown Paleontologist and, currently, Senior Lecturer at University of Bath. Is credited with over 160 publications. Specializes in using fossils to study the patterns of macroevolution via catastrophic global events.
Unknown Dr. Maidmont is now a senior researcher for the Natural History Museum, London, and an honorary professor at the University of Birmingham.
Unknown Modern paleontologist apparently specializing in phylogeny and the ichthyosaurs. Frequently quoted in Wikipedia. Unable to find any bio info.
1915 - 1966 Russian paleaontologist specializing in Asian paleontological research, he is famous for his descriptions of Tarbosaurus and Therizinosaurus.
1795 - 1869 Legend has it that Mrs. Mantell accompanied her doctor husband on trip to a patient and, while waiting, happened to unearth the very first teeth of Iguanodon. Over the course of time her husband both supported and refuted that tale as the two of them fought for some recognition of their discovery after Cuvier initially dismissed it.
1790 - 1852 This is the man now officially credited as the first person to study dinosaurs scientifically. Whether or not he or his wife (Mary Ann Mantell) found Iguanodon teeth while he was attending a patient in 1822, he had the scientific knowledge and curiosity both to recognize the discovery as something different and pursue formal recognition of the difference from the acknowledged expert of the day, Georges Cuvier. It should also be noted that many of his scientific publications are now considered of historical significance, still published, and available via sellers such as Amazon.
1831 - 1899 American paleontologist best known popularly for his competition with Edward Drinker Cope in the so-called Bone Wars. As the first director of the Yale Peabody Museum, he was responsible for commissioning the field paleontologists who discovered some of the same critters that captured the fascination of the public at large. Marsh was the paleontologist who first described and named them: Allosaurus, Brontosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, et. al. Less well known were his talents in preparing lithographic plates of those critters he studied.
Unknown This Spanish paleoartist is famous for his museum-quality depictions of dinosaurs which appear in such museums as the American Museum of Natural History. He also illustrated paleontological articles for several magazines including Scientific American and National Geographic. He has also illustrated a number of paleontological books. He has been inspired by the school of hyperrealism, where artists attempt to achieve the realism of high-definition photography in their works. "As of 2001, he works with the paleontology department at the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, Spain".
1866 - 1947 Dr. Matley was a geologist and paleontologist who worked in the British West Indies, India, and Wales. During the early 1900s he discovered, recovered, and described a number of new species, including an extensive Jamaican collection. He won the Murchison Medal from the Geological Society of London in 1929.
Unknown Modern paleontologist frequently quoted in Wikipedia. Specialty appears to be in taxonomy. Unable to locate any biographical data.
1946 - Author, historian and folklorist, Ms. Major is known for her thought-provoking books concerning ancient science. Her works have been much acclaimed and have inspired several TV series.
Unknown Best known for his research on North American dinosaurs of the Cretaceous, he is currently the Curator/Educator for the Western Science Center in Hemet, CA. He is also a prolific publication contributor both as author and reviewer.
1923 - 2015 A theoretical nuclear physicist, physics professor, and expert on sauropod dinosaurs, he is best known for determining the correct skull of Apatosaurus at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
1932 - American chemist specializing in analytical chemistry of archaeological objects. She was recruited to study the iridium layer and helped formulate the theory that a major impact event ended the Cretaceous.
Unknown Researcher on physics-based functional morphology specializing in the evolution of animal shapes. Specializes in Mesozoic marine reptiles, esp. ichthyosaurs.
Unknown Currently a PhD student at the University of Chile who already has 67 publications under his belt.
1817 - 1879 An avid fossil collector, he was never formally trained in paleontology but kept extensive fields notes and sent his finds to both Marsh and Cope. Among those finds, some of the most famous of dinosaurs including Allosaurus and Diplodocus. He was ably assisted in much of his field work by his protégé Samuel Wendell Williston who shares much of his credits.
Unknown According to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS): A vertebrate paleontologist apparently specializing in meat-eating dinosaurs, Dr. Napoli is currently engaged in their Dueling Dinosaurs Project.
Unknown Principal Investigator for the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria, South Africa, Dr. Neveling states that his primary interests are "(1) The geology and paleontology of Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic continental ecosystems; and (2) Sedimentary processes."
1877 - 1933 When his younger sister found some dinosaur bones at their family estate in 1895, Nopska was encouraged to study them. He got his PhD in geology, his doctorate again focusing on his family estate. About this time he became an Albanian nationalist and spy for Austria-Hungary, which included his becoming the first aircraft hijacker in history. His side lost in WWI, and he lost his estates. For a while he headed the Hungarian Geological Institute. He then resumed his studies of fossils. He later was forced to sell his collection to the Natural History Museum, London, and, finally facing penury, shot his long-time lover and himself.
1957 - Mark A. Norell is an American paleontologist and molecular geneticist, acknowledged as one of the most important living vertebrate paleontologists. He is currently the chairman of paleontology and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History.
Unknown Dr. Ohashi currently is working as the Senior curator / Researcher, Natural History Division, Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History.
1857 - 1935 Professor of zoology at Columbia University and first Curator of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, Henry Osborn had a profound affect upon early 20th century paleontology, recruiting among others Roy Chapman Andrews and Charles Knight. He also described and named such dinosaur superstars as Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor and Ornitholestes. He believed in the power of visualization and sponsored AMNH's early mounts and murals, some of which remain there to this day. Sadly some of those early exhibits were used to support his personal eugenist theories that now can only be called racist.
1928 - 2005 Dr. Ostrom and his student Dr. Robert Bakker together revolutionized the way the rest of us see dinosaurs. It was Ostrom who insisted that critters like Deinonychus (which he discovered in 1964) were obviously fast moving, agile predators built like and closely related to birds -- a direct contrast to early 20th century thought that all dinosaurs were fat, sluggish, and cold-blooded, i.e., nothing more than super-sized lizards.
1804 - 1892 Talented naturalist most famous for coining the term dinosauria.
Unknown She is a Scottish paleontologist connected with the University of Oxford and is a researcher with National Museums, Scotland. She is also a scientific commentator and published author having written for The Guardian and appearing on BBC as well as other TV and radio programs.
1868 - 1936 Seen to follow in the tradition of Lawrence Lambe, this Canadian paleontologist authored 80 scientific papers during his lifetime while describing and naming numerous new species. He is most famous for being part of the expedition that discovered Parasaurolophus, a critter that Dr. Parks subsequently named and described.
Unknown After 20 years in advertising, Pastori began illustrating dinosaurs for paleontologists, various projects, museums and collectors.
1954 - Noted paleoartist whose close work with paleontologists pioneered the "new look" of dinosaurs as active beasts. That work led him to independent paleontological research, theory, and the visualization of new ways to mount the skeletons. He has participated in the classification and naming of some of the newly discovered critters. He's authored numerous scientific and popular works on dinosaurs. He is also known for his theory of "terramegathermy" that all land animals over one tonne in weight must have high basal metabolic rates.
Unknown Chinese paleontologist long associated with the Zigong Dinosaur Museum. He may be best known for his description of Agilisaurus louderbacki.
Unknown Writer and journalist based in Norfolk, England
1974 - A primary researcher at the Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio he is famous for his field work including his and José Luis Carballido's discovery of Patagotitan mayorum, the largest known dinosaur. He is also deputy edito of Ameghiniana. He has won several awards.
Unknown Biologist, paleontologist and researcher, Dr. Porfiri has discovered at least 8 new dinosaurs and published at least sixty works concerning his work, primarily with the National University of Camahue.
1974 - Dr. Prieto-Marquez is a paleontologist who earned his academic qualifications at some of the most prestigious paleontological institutions in the world including (per EverbodyWiki): the University of Barcelona, Montana State University, Florida State University, "the American Museum of Natural History, Paläontologisches Museum München, Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich; the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles; the University of Bristol, Bristol; and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago." EverybodyWiki.com also claims he "is currently a Researcher in Dinosaur Paleobiology at the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP-CERCA) at the Universitat Autnòoma de Barcelona and an adjunct professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona" - an impressive resumé.
Unknown Specializing in the evolution of dinosaurs, Dr. Rauhut has described several new species of dinosaurs as well as the first Jurassic mammal (Asfaltomylos found in South America.
1874 - 1942 Russian/Soviet paleontologist who led the first expeditions to the Amur and described the first dinosaur found in China. He also is known for his studies of fossilized turtles. Sadly, he died during the Siege of Leningrad in 1942.
1941 - This Australian paleontologist was born in the United States and earned his Ph.D. in Geology at Columbia University. His interest in mammalian evolution apparently drew him to Australia where he and his wife, Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich have described a number of dinosaur genera including Leaellynasaura and Timimus. As of 2019 he was the Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Museums Victoria.
1894 - 1973 Dr. Romer was a key player in vertebrate paleontology during his long career as a professor and theorist, field collector and museum director, completing his career at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. His textbook Vertebrate Paleontology defined the traditional classification of vertebrates and laid the foundation for the ongoing work of today. He was first to recognize what is now called Romer's Gap - i.e., a 30-million-year blank spot in the tetrapod fossil record between the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. He popularized the romerogram, a spindle diagram representing taxonomic diversity over time. He received many awards during his lifetime, including the Penrose, Linnean and Wollaston Medals. At least four genera/species were named after him. He was unquestionably a towering figure in 20th-century paleontology.
Unknown Dr. Ryan has focused on ceratopsian research and contributed in several other areas as well as having done extensive fieldwork as far afield as Mongolia. He is currently an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
1910 - 1948 Swedish paleontologist and geologist who participated in expeditions as far-ranging as Cyprus (1930), East Greenland (1931-1934, 1936), England and Scotland (1934) and Estonia (1936). He was given an honorary doctorate by Uppsala in 1942.
Unknown Argentinian paleontologist best known for his descriptions of several taxa including Giganotosaurus carolinii.
1961 - This paleontologist is currently the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Before that he worked at numerous well-known scientific institutions and was featured in two television series on dinosaurs.
1953 - Geologist and paleogeographer who created the Paleomap Project to display how earth has looked over the past billion years. Teacher and geographer he written many articles and produced fascinating animations of how earth has changed over its history. He has also projected how earth's plate techtonics will bring all of the continents back together in the future.
1839 - 1909 A man of many professions before he turned 20 (piano maker, law student, actuary, museum secretary) Harry Seely at last set his ambitions on Geology and went to Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge where he graduated then went on to St. John's but never took a degree. The British Museum and the British Geological Survey offered him positions which he refused. Instead he worked on his own for the next 28 years until he finally accepted a position as Professor of Geology in 1876 at King's College, Cambridge and several other institutions.
1957 - Dr. Paul Sereno is National Geographic's "explorer-in-residence"" famous for his discoveries in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco, and Niger. He has discovered and named a number of new species, and is a popular commentator appearing in numerous dinosaur documentaries. During his explorations, he also discovered a stone-age cemetery of people living 10,000 to 5,000 years ago on the edge of a large lake in what is now the Nigerien Sahara.
1857 - 1922 Despite naming and defending his description of a plant as a hadrosaur, Abbé Smets was otherwise recognized as a dedicated and talented scientist.
1850 - 1943 American paleontologist who collected for both Cope and Marsh, finding and identifying many new species at the beginning of the American fossil rush. He ended his career as curator of the San Diego Natural History Museum.
1871 - 1952 This German paleontologist is best known for his Egyptian expedition in 2010 that recovered numerous new dinosaurs including Spinosaurus, Aegyptosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and Bahariasaurus, as well as several other important fossils including a giant crocodile, Stomatosuchus. Most of these came from the Bahariya Oasis, a then little-known area in Western Egypt.
Unknown Attracted to fossils from an early age, he left college to pursue his passion by joining numerous digs sponsored by the Natural History Museum of Utah. This led to his authoring of several books on dinosaurs, a blog, and publication of several articles in publications such as Scientific American.
Unknown Specializes in Silurian & Devonian biostratigraphy and global events in relationship to crustal dynamics.
Unknown A freelance science writer, photographer, and explorer, Mr. Tamisiea's work has been featured and/or commissioned by such organizations as the Smithosonian magazine, The New York Times and Scientific American.
Unknown Paleoartist and physicist, his art is featured on Wikimedia, esp. for life renderings of the more obscure species. He was born in France and works at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is determined to draw as many prehistoric critters as he can. That is the only bio material JM has been able to find. Do check out the following online interview by Jacqueline Ronson.
1988 - 2020 Per his website, paleontologist whose "primary scientific research focuses on patterns of biodiversity and extinction in deep time, and the biological, geological and environmental controls of these patterns. Apparently, I seem to have also developed a keen interest in the evolutionary history of crocodiles and their ancestors."
Unknown Per Wikipedia: "one of the most productive paleontologists of his time."
Unknown Professor and paleontological analyst, Dr. Upchurch has produced over 200 publications on subjects as diverse as "how to date a crocodile" and various osteological findings. He frequently works with other paleontologists appearing as either the lead or within that well-known category, " et al.". He is currently a professor at the University College of London, Earth Sciences Department.
1944 - Born in the United States, she has a varied career working in places as far apart as Nevada and Costa Rica, New York, Texas, and now, since 1976, at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She is currently Emeritus Professor in Palaeontology there. She is recognized as an expert in origin and evolution of Australasian vertebrates with a special interest in Australian avian fossils. She has led research teams around world. This is all in addition to her work with her husband, Dr. Thomas Rich, locating fossil localities within Victoria and describing their findings.
1875 - 1969 This German paleontologist was one of the most prolific field paleontologists and analysts of the early 20th century. Born in Tübingen, Germany, worked on such projects as the recovery of the thirty-five Plateosaurus skeletons from Trossingen, Saltapus in 1910, Proceratosaurs in 1926 and Antactosaurus in 1929. Wikipedia credits him with naming a total of 59 species during his long career.
Died: 2018 Artist who illustrated several popular books about paleontology in the 1950s.
Unknown Mr. Wallace was picked to author The American Museum of Natural History's Book of Dinosaurs, a publication celebrating the 1996 opening of their refurbished dinosaur halls. He is also known for writing other science-related books for non-professional adults.
Unknown Specializes in Lower & Middle Devonian conodont studies.
1880 - 1930 Alfred Wegener was a polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist whose specialties center about polar air circulation and Greenland ice cores. In this effort he made several expeditions to Greenland, dying on his last one in 1930. Neither paleontologist nor geologist, Wegener nonetheless was the first to hypothesize the former existence of a Pangaea-like continent (he called it "Urkontinent") and continental drift, essentially creating the science of plate tectonics.
Unknown An author who specializes in everything Utah, she co-authored Dinosaurs of Utah and Dino Destinations with Pat Bagley.
1851 - 1918 He went on his first paleontological expedition in 1874 under the tutelage of Benjamin Franklin Mudge, and, three years later began leading his own expeditions for March and Yale Peabody where he later pursued his post-graduate studies. He then became a professor of anatomy and geology, the Dean of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, a medical and health examiner, before becoming the chair of paleontology at the University of Chicago. In 1903 he became the president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. He also become a renowned Fellow of the Entomological Society of America with special expertise in Dipera (the flies).
Unknown Science journalist and author of a series of children's books and photicular books in collarboration with Dan Kienen, providing a factual description of the animals he has illustrated.
Unknown A consulting geologist with a lifelong interest in dinosaurs, he noticed that nothing had ever been published concerning the "enormous number of dinosaurs"found in Wyoming. He consequently wrote a book on the subject.
1969 - This Chinese paleontologist has named more new dinosaurs than any other living paleontologist. He claims to have been inspired by the work of Roy Chapman Andrews. His major contributions, to date, deal with the discover and analysis of primarily avian dinosaurs and the evolution of feathers.
Unknown Independent author and reviewer of numerous paleontological studies. Has served as the Senior Curator of Earth Science at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and the Museum of Central Australia.
Unknown Specializes in researching Ordivician - Devonian periods.
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