Henry Fairfield Osborn

1857 - 1935  (78 years)  Submit Photo / Document

• Name	Henry Fairfield Osborn
  Born	8 Aug 1857	Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut
  Gender	Male
  Biographical Information	It needs to be mentioned that Osborn was a racist and a eugenicist. He was born into money in the age of the robber baron and he thought superiority came from hereditary. This life view polluted his science. He so wanted to prove that not all humanity originated in Africa that he named a whole new species of man from a single fossil tooth. That tooth was eventually proven to have come from a peccary (wild pig). His views did not go unopposed including by people who worked for him. Eventually his theories were all proven to be nonsense.
  		The Passing of the Great Race The Passing of the Great Race: Or, The Racial Basis of European History is a 1916 book by anthropologist, Madison Grant. He put forth absurd theories that claimed the "Nordic race" is superior to other human beings. This book was praised by Nazis and by Adolf Hitler. It used as theoretical justification for the Nazi regime of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Osborn wrote the forward for this book.
  Occupation	Paleontologist
  		Henry Fairfield Osborn Henry Fairfield Osborn was the president of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 years. As the museum curator hired a remarkable team of fossil hunters and preparators. He encouraged the building of models to perfect museum displays before they were built. The quality level of the displays made the museum a world class exhibition site and forced the world to play catch-up. As we visit museums today it can be considered his legacy that they are not static and boring. This photo is of the 1/6th scale model he had made of how he wished to display the first two T-Rex skeletons found by Barnum brown arguing over the corps of their prey. While this display has a number of anatomical inaccuracies it is incredibly dynamic in contrast to other displays of the day. Unfortunately between the display space required and mechanical requirements he wasn't able to pull it off. Photo from Tyrannosaurus: restoration and model of the skeleton. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 32, article 4.
  		Tyrannosaurus skeletal diagram. It was during Osborn's tenure that Barnum Brown, assistant curator of the American Museum of Natural History, discovered the first Tyrannosaurus skeleton. Previously only some teeth and vertebrae had been found. In total Brown ended up finding 5 T-Rex skeletons. Osborn wrote the papers describing the finds and thus became the one to name the species. Tyrannosaurus is derived from Greek and means "Tyrant Lizard". Rex is Latin for "King". This picture is from Osborn's work where he described the species. We now know tripod pose is anatomically incorrect. Also the hands had not been fully recovered so some guess work was done using the Allosaurus as a guide. While the Allosaurus had three fingers, Rex only had two. This drawing was the basis for the silhouette on the "Jurassic Park" book jacket as well as the logo for the resulting movies. They did at least remove the extra finger.
  Died	6 Nov 1935	Garrison, Putnam, New York
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I57607	Nagel
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2021

  
  

  Father	William Henry Osborn,   b. 21 Dec 1820, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts ,   d. 2 Mar 1894, New York, New York, New York  (Age 73 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Virginia Reed Sturges,   b. 9 Feb 1830, New York, New York, New York ,   d. 7 Feb 1902, Manhattan, New York, New York  (Age 71 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Married	14 Dec 1853	New York, New York, New York
  Family ID	F16988	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lucretia Thatcher Perry,   b. 19 Apr 1858, Georgia ,   d. 26 Aug 1930, Philipstown, Putnam, New York  (Age 72 years)
  Married	1881
  Last Modified	17 Mar 2021
  Family ID	F16980	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 8 Aug 1857 - Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut Died - 6 Nov 1935 - Garrison, Putnam, New York  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Henry Fairfield Osborn. Henry Fairfield Osborn.
  		Professor H. F. Osborn & Wife. Professor H. F. Osborn & Wife.
  		Henry Fairfield Osborn President of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 years. He was responsible for the naming of Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Velociraptor and more. This awesome artwork by Pelycosaur24 of deviantart.com contrasts the reality against the fiction that Jurassic Park gave us.