P001385 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn updated 2026-01-13 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P001385b.htm person Owen Richard KCB FRS AACR2 20 July 1804 18 December 1892 Place of Birth Lancaster, England Place of Death London, England Naturalist Anatomist Museum director Richard Owen was a British anatomist and palaeontologist who is regarded as one of the most prominent scientific figures of the Victorian era. He initially trained in medicine, and established medical practice in London. For many years he worked at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, giving up his medical practice. Between 1856 and 1881 he was Superintendent of the natural history departments at the British Museum. He was a committed advocate for the establishment of an independent of natural history museum: in 1881 he became the inaugural Director of the British Museum (Natural History). Owen made a significant contributions to the study of fossil animals and is credited with coining the term "dinosaur". He was noted for his work on Australian and New Zealand fossil animals, notably the Diprotodon (specimens of which were discovered in the Wellington Caves, New South Wales, and sent to him by Thomas Mitchell), the Thylacoleo, and the New Zealand giant Moa (Dinornis maximus. Owen's relations with his peers not always cordial: he held strong views on evolution and disputed others' views, particularly those of Darwin. 1826 1826 Education - Member, Royal College of Surgeons, London 1827 1836 Career position - Assistant Conservator, Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons, London 1834 1892 Award - Fellow, Royal Society, London 1836 1856 Career position - Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons, London c. 1837 c. 1837 Career event - Medical practice lapsed 1838 1838 Award - Wollaston Medal, Geological Society of London 1839 1839 Career position - President, Microscopical Society of London 1843 1843 Award - Elected Foreign Member, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1845 1845 Award - Elected Member, American Philosophical Society 1846 1846 Award - Royal Medal, Royal Society, London 1851 1851 Award - Copely Medal, Royal Society, London 1852 1852 Award - Doctor in Civil Law (DCL), University of Oxford 1856 1881 Career position - Superintendent, natural history departments, British Museum 1858 1858 Career position - President, British Association for the Advancement of Science 1858 1858 Career event - Appointed Fullerian Professor of Comparative Anatomy, Royal Institution, London 1859 1859 Award - LLD, University of Cambridge 1869 1869 Award - Baly Medal, Royal College of Physicians, London 1878 1878 Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales 1881 1884 Career position - Inaugural Director, British Museum (Natural History) 1884 1884 Career event - Retired 1884 1884 Award - Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) 1888 1888 Award - Linnean Medal, Linnean Society of London Mitchell, Thomas Livingstone (1792 - 1855)

Supplied specimens of Diprotodon to Owen

 Australian Joint Copying Project, National Library of Australia; and State Library of New South Wales (1945 - 1993)

AJCP M2271 - M2278

 Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales (1878 - )

Awarded the Medal 1878

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Owen, Richard (1804-1892)

Trove

 'Owen, Richard', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Owen, Richard Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Sir Richard Owen and His Influence on Australian Zoological and Palaeontological Science Moyal, Ann Mozley Sir Richard Owen and His Influence on Australian Zoological and Palaeontological Science 1976 Records of the Australian Academy of Science 3 2 41-56 Book: Researches on the fossil remains of the extinct mammals of Australia; with a notice of the extinct marsupials of England Owen, Richard Researches on the fossil remains of the extinct mammals of Australia; with a notice of the extinct marsupials of England London J. Erxleben 1877 Book: On the extent and aims of a national museum of natural history Owen, R. On the extent and aims of a national museum of natural history London Saunders, Otley & Co. 1862 Journal Article: On the fossil mammals of Australia, part I: description of a mutilated skull of a large marsupial carnivore (Thylacoleo carnifex, Owen) from a calcareous conglomerate, eighty miles S.W. of Melbourne, Victoria Owen, R. On the fossil mammals of Australia, part I: description of a mutilated skull of a large marsupial carnivore (<span style="font-style:italic">Thylacoleo carnifex</span>, Owen) from a calcareous conglomerate, eighty miles S.W. of Melbourne, Victoria 1859 Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London 119 343-75 Journal Article: On the discovery of the remains of a mastodontoid pachyderm in Australia Owen, R. On the discovery of the remains of a mastodontoid pachyderm in Australia 1843 Annals and magazine of natural history 11 7-12 Book: The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836: edited and superintended by Charles Darwin, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., Sec. G.S. naturalist to the Expedition, part 1: fossil mammalia Owen, Richard The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836: edited and superintended by Charles Darwin, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., Sec. G.S. naturalist to the Expedition, part 1: fossil mammalia London Smith, Elder and Co. 1840 Book: The life of Richard Owen Owen, Richard The life of Richard Owen London John Murray 1894 Book Section: Dr George Bennett and Sir Richard Owen: a Case Study of the Colonisation of Early Australian Science Newland, Elizabeth Dr George Bennett and Sir Richard Owen: a Case Study of the Colonisation of Early Australian Science Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Press 1991 International Science and National Scientific Identity: Australia between Britain and America R. W. Home and Sally Gregory Kohlstedt 55-74 Book: Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals Olsen, Penny Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals Canberra National Library of Australia 2010 Journal Article: Anniversary address Warren, W. H. Anniversary address 1893 Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 27 4 Book: Richard Owen: Victorian naturalist Rupke, Nicolaas A. Richard Owen: Victorian naturalist New Haven, Mass.: London Yale University Press 1994 Journal Article: A question of property rights: Richard Owen's evolutionism reassessed Richards, Evellen A question of property rights: Richard Owen's evolutionism reassessed 1987 British journal for the history of science 29 2 128-71 Journal Article: Julian Tenison Woods, Richard Owen and ancient Australia Player, Anne Julian Tenison Woods, Richard Owen and ancient Australia 1992 Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 125 107-10 Journal Article: Obituary: Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B. Anon Obituary: Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B. 1892 British medical journal 1892 11 1411-5 Journal Article: Richard Owen in the antipodean context: a review Branagan, David Richard Owen in the antipodean context: a review 1992 Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 125 95-102 Book Section: The discovery and interpretation of Thylacoleo carniflex (Thylacoleonidae, Marsupialia) Finch, M. E. The discovery and interpretation of <span style="font-style:italic">Thylacoleo carniflex</span> (Thylacoleonidae, Marsupialia) Mosman, N.S.W Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 1982 Carnivorous marsupials Archer, Michael 2 537-51 Book: Owen's ape and Darwin's bulldog: beyond Darwinism and Creationism Cosans, Christopher E. Owen's ape and Darwin's bulldog: beyond Darwinism and Creationism Bloomington, Indiana Indiana University Press 2009 Book: The Cranbourne meteorite Murphy, Sean The Cranbourne meteorite North Melbourne Australian Scholarly publishing 2023 Journal Article: Australian museums, Aboriginal skeletal remains, and the imagining of human evolutionary history Turnbull, Paul Australian museums, Aboriginal skeletal remains, and the imagining of human evolutionary history 2015 Museum & society 13 1 72-87 Journal Article: Making the "marsupial lion": bunyips, networked colonial knowledge production between 1830-59 and the description of Thylacoleo carnifex Minard, Pete Making the "marsupial lion": bunyips, networked colonial knowledge production between 1830-59 and the description of <span style="font-style:italic">Thylacoleo carnifex</span> 2018 Historical Records of Australian Science 29 2 91-102 Richard Owen - Records Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales Richard Owen - Records ML MSS 1066 1880 - 1885 Lecture notes c1880 on conchology, cephelopoda with diagrams, 'On the external and structural characters of the male Spirula Australis', skeletons of zoophytes, encephala, eye of sepia, and the 'Nervous system of Mollusks' [1 folder, ML MSS 1066]. 1 folder Artwork Richard Owen - Records Royal Society of Tasmania Richard Owen - Records Ms 104/2 1857 Manuscript entitled 'Manual of fossil mammals...lectures at Metropolitan School of Science' 1857 [1 item, Ms 104/2]. 1 document