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nlycrime was to have shown promise as a fellow anatomist。 grant was astonished to discover thathe was suddenly denied access to the anatomical specimens he needed to conduct hisresearch。 unable to pursue his work； he sank into an understandably dispirited obscurity。
but no one suffered more from owen’s unkindly attentions than the hapless andincreasingly tragic gideon mantell。 after losing his wife； his children； his medical practice；and most of his fossil collection； mantell moved to london。 there in 1841—the fateful yearin which owen would achieve his greatest glory for naming and identifying the dinosaurs—mantell was involved in a terrible accident。 while crossing clapham mon in a carriage；he somehow fell from his seat； grew entangled in the reins； and was dragged at a gallop overrough ground by the panicked horses。 the accident left him bent； crippled； and in chronicpain； with a spine damaged beyond repair。
capitalizing on mantell’s enfeebled state； owen set about systematically expungingmantell’s contributions from the record； renaming species that mantell had named yearsbefore and claiming credit for their discovery for himself。 mantell continued to try to dooriginal research but owen used his influence at the royal society to ensure that most of hispapers were rejected。 in 1852； unable to bear any more pain or persecution； mantell took hisown life。 his deformed spine was removed and sent to the royal college of surgeonswhere—and now here’s an irony for you—it was placed in the care of richard owen； directorof the college’s hunterian museum。
but the insults had not quite finished。 soon after mantell’s death an arrestingly uncharitableobituary appeared in the literary gazette。 in it mantell was characterized as a mediocreanatomist whose modest contributions to paleontology were limited by a “want of exactknowledge。” the obituary even removed the discovery of the iguanodon from him andcredited it instead to cuvier and owen； among others。 though the piece carried no byline； thestyle was owen’s and no one in the world of the natural sciences doubted the authorship。
by this stage； however； owen’s transgressions were beginning to catch up with him。 hisundoing began when a mittee of the royal society—a mittee of which he happenedto be chairman—decided to award him its highest honor； the royal medal； for a paper he hadwritten on an extinct mollusc called the belemnite。 “however；” as deborah cadbury notes inher excellent history of the period； terrible lizard； “this piece of work was not quite asoriginal as it appeared。” the belemnite； it turned out； had been discovered four years earlierby an amateur naturalist named chaning pearce； and the discovery had been fully reported ata meeting of the geological society。 owen had been at that meeting； but failed to mentionthis when he presented a report of his own to the royal society—in which； not incidentally；he rechristened the creature belemnites owenii in his own honor。 although owen was allowedto keep the royal medal； the episode left a permanent tarnish on his reputation； even amonghis few remaining supporters。
eventually huxley managed to do to owen what owen had done to so many others： he hadhim voted off the councils of the zoological and royal societies。 as a final insult huxleybecame the new hunterian professor at the royal college of surgeons。
owen would never again do important research； but the latter half of his career was devotedto one unexceptionable pursuit for which we can all be grateful。 in 1856 he became head ofthe natural history section of the british museum； in which capacity he became the drivingforce behind the creation of london’s natural history museum。 the grand and belovedgothic heap in south kensington； opened in 1880； is almost entirely a testament to his vision。
before owen； museums were designed primarily for the use and edification of the elite； andeven then it was difficult to gain access。 in the early days of the british museum； prospectivevisitors had to make a written application and undergo a brief interview to determine if theywere fit to be admitted at all。 they then had to return a second time to pick up a ticket—that isassuming they had passed the interview—and finally e back a third time to view themuseum’s treasures。 even then they were whisked through in groups and not allowed tolinger。 owen’s plan was to wele everyone； even to the point of encouraging workingmento visit in the evening； and to devote most of the museum’s space to public displays。 he evenproposed； very radically； to put informative labels on each display so that people couldappreciate what they were viewing。 in this； somewhat unexpectedly； he was opposed by t。 h。
huxley； who believed that museums should be primarily research institutes。 by making thenatural history museum an institution for everyone； owen transformed our expectations ofwhat museums are for。
still； his altruism in general toward his fellow man did not deflect him from more personalrivalries。 one of his last official acts was to lobby against a proposal to erect a statue inmemory of charles darwin。 in this he failed—though he did achieve a certain belated；inadvertent triumph。 today his statue mands a masterly view from the staircase of themain hall in the natural history museum； while darwin and t。 h。 huxley are consignedsomewhat obscurely to the museum coffee shop； where they stare gravely over peoplesnacking on cups of tea and jam doughnuts。
it would be reasonable to suppose that richard owen’s petty rivalries marked the low pointof nineteenth…century paleontology； but in fact worse was to e； this time from overseas。 inamerica in the closing decades of the century there arose a rivalry even more spectacularlyvenomous； if not quite as destructive。 it was between two strange and ruthless men； edwarddrinker cope and othniel charles marsh。
they had much in mon。 both were spoiled； driven； self…centered； quarrelsome； jealous；mistrustful； and ever unhappy。 between them they changed the world of paleontology。
they began as mutual friends and admirers； even naming fossil species after each other；and spent a pleasant week together in 1868。 however； something then went wrong betweenthem—nobody is quite sure what—and by the following year they had developed an enmitythat would grow into consuming hatred over the next thirty years。 it is probably safe to saythat no two people in the natural sciences have ever despised each other more。
marsh； the elder of the two by eight years； was a retiring and bookish fellow； with a trimbeard and dapper manner； who spent little time in the field and was seldom very good atfinding things when he was there。 on a visit to the famous dinosaur fields of o bluff；wyoming； he failed to notice the bones that were； in the words of one historian； “lyingeverywhere like logs。” but he had the means to buy almost anything he wanted。 although hecame from a modest background—his father was a farmer in upstate new york—his uncle was the supremely rich and extraordinarily indulgent financier george peabody。 when marshshowed an interest in natural history； peabody had a museum built for him at yale andprovided funds sufficient for