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Richard Owen 
1804-1892 

Richard Owen was born on 20 July 1804 in Lancaster.  He trained with a local surgeon and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, completing his medical training at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. He was appointed assistant curator of the Hunterian Collection at the College of Surgeons, London, in 1824. Owen was a significant figure in the scientific establishment and held several important posts.  His interest in zoology and dissection led him to write a number of important papers on the subjects.  He became superintendent of the natural history collections at the British Museum in 1856, a post which he held until his retirement in 1883.As a scientist and medical practitioner, Owen was a prolific thinker and developed a range of ideas and described many species of living and fossil animals.  His approach to science was tempered by his religious beliefs and a desire to fit everything into the existing scientific framework.  One significant advance in his written work was that he submitted copies of his papers to a great number of libraries and learning centres throughout Britain.

Owen, R. 1840 Description of the remains of a bird, tortoise, and lacertian saurian from the Chalk. Proc. geol. Soc. Lond. 3, 298–300.

Owen, R. 1840 Report on British fossil reptiles. Part 1. Rep. Br. Ass. Advmnt Sci.

Owen, R. 1840–1845 Odontography. London. vol. 1, p. 273.

Owen, R. 1842 Description of the remains of a bird, tortoise, and lizard from the Chalk of Kent. Trans. geol. Soc. Lond. Ser. 2, 6, 411–413 & pl. 39.

Owen, R. 1842 Report on British fossil reptiles. Part 2. Rep. Br. Ass. Advmnt Sci. (1841), pp. 94–103, 156; Edinb. new phil. J. 33, 65–88.

Owen, R. 1846 A history of British fossil mammals and birds. London: J. van Voorst. pp. 545–558

Owen, R. 1846 On the supposed fossil bones of birds from the Wealden. Quart.J.Geological Society. London. 2, pp 96–102.

Owen, R. 1848 On the archetype and homologies of the vertebrate skeleton. London.

Owen, R. 1849–1884 A history of British fossil reptiles (4 vols). London: Cassell. (Reprint of Pal. Soc. Monographs)

Owen, R. 1851 Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous Formations. Part I. Chelonia, Lacertilia, etc. The Palaeontographical Society, London. pp. 80–104 & pls 27, 28, 30–32.

Owen, R. & Bowerbank, J. S. 1852 On a new species of pterodactyle (Pt. compressirostris, Owen) from the Chalk. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. 10, 372–391.

Owen, R. 1852 On a new species of pterodactyle (Pt. compressirostris, Owen) from the Chalk, with some remarks on the nomenclature of the previously described species. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. pp. 21–34 & pl. 5.

Owen, R. 1859 Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous Formations. Supplement No. 1. Pterosauria (Pterodactylus). The Palaeontographical Society, London. volume for 1857; pp. 1–19 & pls 1–4.

Owen, R. 1859 On a new genus (Dimorphodon) of pterodactyle, with remarks on the geological distribution of flying reptiles.Rep. Br. Ass. Advmnt Sci.28 (1858), 97–103.

Owen, R. 1859 On remains of new and gigantic species of Pterodactyle (Pter. fittoni and Pter. sedgwickii) from the Upper Greensand near Cambridge.Rep. Br. Ass. Advmnt Sci. 28 (1858), 98–103.

Owen, R. 1859 On the vertebral characteristics of the order Pterosauria (Owen) as exemplified in the genera Pterodactylus (Cuvier) and Dimorphodon (Owen). Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 9, 703–704.

Owen, R. 1860 On a new genus of pterosauria with remarks on the geological distribution. Edinb. New. philos. J. 9, 151–153.

Owen, R. 1860 On the orders of fossil reptilia and their distribution in time. Edinb. New phil. J. 9, 294–306.

Owen, R. 1860 On the orders of fossil reptilia and their distribution in time. Rep. Br. Ass. Advmnt Sci. 29 (1859), 153–166.

Owen, R. 1860 On the vertebral column of the order Pterosauria, as exemplified in the genera Pterodactylus (Cuvier) and Dimorphodon (Owen). Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 149, 161–169 & pl. 10.

Owen, R. 1861 Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous Formations. Supplement III. Pterosauria (Pterodactylus). The Palaeontographical Society, London. (volume for 1858; pp. 1–19 & pls 1–4)

Owen, R. 1861 Palaeontology or a systematic summary of extinct animals and their geological remains. Edinburgh: A. & C. Black. pp. 270–275; 2nd edn 1861.

Owen R; 1865, A monograph on the fossil reptilia of the Liassic formations, Palaeontographical Society, London. 17, p1-40

Owen, R. 1870 A Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Liassic Formations. I. Part III. Plesiosaurs, Dimorphodon, and Ichthyosaurs. The Palaeontographical Society, London. pp. 41–81 & pls 17–20.

Owen R; 1870, Monograph on the Order Pterosauria, Palaeontographical Society, London

Owen, R. 1874 A Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Mesozoic Formations. 1. Pterosauria. The Palaeontographical Society, London. pp. 1–14 & pls 1–2.

Owen, R., 1874, Supplement (No.1) to the Monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous formations, Palaeontographical Society, London.

Owen R; 1874, Supplement (No.3) to the Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous formations, Palaeontographical Society, London

Owen R, 1881, A monograph of the fossil Reptilia of the Liassic formations. Part III. Palaeontographical Society, London.  35, p. 83-134.