A Short History of Nearly Everything-第16章

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n　new　year’s　eve　1853　a　famous　dinner　for　twenty…one　prominentscientists　was　held　inside　the　unfinished　iguanodon。　gideon　mantell；　the　man　who　had　foundand　identified　the　iguanodon；　was　not　among　them。　the　person　at　the　head　of　the　table　wasthe　greatest　star　of　the　young　science　of　paleontology。　his　name　was　richard　owen　and　bythis　time　he　had　already　devoted　several　productive　years　to　making　gideon　mantell’s　lifehell。

owen　had　grown　up　in　lancaster；　in　the　north　of　england；　where　he　had　trained　as　a　doctor。

he　was　a　born　anatomist　and　so　devoted　to　his　studies　that　he　sometimes　illicitly　borrowedlimbs；　organs；　and　other　parts　from　cadavers　and　took　them　home　for　leisurely　dissection。

once　while　carrying　a　sack　containing　the　head　of　a　black　african　sailor　that　he　had　justremoved；　owen　slipped　on　a　wet　cobble　and　watched　in　horror　as　the　head　bounced　awayfrom　him　down　the　lane　and　through　the　open　doorway　of　a　cottage；　where　it　came　to　rest　inthe　front　parlor。　what　the　occupants　had　to　say　upon　finding　an　unattached　head　rolling　to　ahalt　at　their　feet　can　only　be　imagined。　one　assumes　that　they　had　not　formed　any　terriblyadvanced　conclusions　when；　an　instant　later；　a　fraught…looking　young　man　rushed　in；wordlessly　retrieved　the　head；　and　rushed　out　again。

in　1825；　aged　just　twenty…one；　owen　moved　to　london　and　soon　after　was　engaged　by　theroyal　college　of　surgeons　to　help　organize　their　extensive；　but　disordered；　collections　ofmedical　and　anatomical　specimens。　most　of　these　had　been　left　to　the　institution　by　johnhunter；　a　distinguished　surgeon　and　tireless　collector　of　medical　curiosities；　but　had　neverbeen　catalogued　or　organized；　largely　because　the　paperwork　explaining　the　significance　ofeach　had　gone　missing　soon　after　hunter’s　death。

owen　swiftly　distinguished　himself　with　his　powers　of　organization　and　deduction。　at　thesame　time　he　showed　himself　to　be　a　peerless　anatomist　with　instincts　for　reconstructionalmost　on　a　par　with　the　great　cuvier　in　paris。　he　bee　such　an　expert　on　the　anatomy　ofanimals　that　he　was　granted　first　refusal　on　any　animal　that　died　at　the　london　zoologicalgardens；　and　these　he　would　invariably　have　delivered　to　his　house　for　examination。　once　hiswife　returned　home　to　find　a　freshly　deceased　rhinoceros　filling　the　front　hallway。　he　quicklybecame　a　leading　expert　on　all　kinds　of　animals　living　and　extinct—from　platypuses；echidnas；　and　other　newly　discovered　marsupials　to　the　hapless　dodo　and　the　extinct　giantbirds　called　moas　that　had　roamed　new　zealand　until　eaten　out　of　existence　by　the　maoris。　hewas　the　first　to　describe　the　archaeopteryx　after　its　discovery　in　bavaria　in　1861　and　the　firstto　write　a　formal　epitaph　for　the　dodo。　altogether　he　produced　some　six　hundred　anatomicalpapers；　a　prodigious　output。

but　it　was　for　his　work　with　dinosaurs　that　owen　is　remembered。　he　coined　the　termdinosauria　in　1841。　it　means　“terrible　lizard”　and　was　a　curiously　inapt　name。　dinosaurs；　aswe　now　know；　weren’t　all　terrible—some　were　no　bigger　than　rabbits　and　probably　extremelyretiring—and　the　one　thing　they　most　emphatically　were　not　was　lizards；　which　are　actually　ofa　much　older　（by　thirty　million　years）　lineage。　owen　was　well　aware　that　the　creatures　werereptilian　and　had　at　his　disposal　a　perfectly　good　greek　word；　herpeton；　but　for　some　reasonchose　not　to　use　it。　another；　more　excusable　error　（given　the　paucity　of　specimens　at　the　time）was　that　dinosaurs　constitute　not　one　but　two　orders　of　reptiles：　the　bird…hipped　ornithischiansand　the　lizard…hipped　saurischians。

owen　was　not　an　attractive　person；　in　appearance　or　in　temperament。　a　photograph　fromhis　late　middle　years　shows　him　as　gaunt　and　sinister；　like　the　villain　in　a　victorianmelodrama；　with　long；　lank　hair　and　bulging　eyes—a　face　to　frighten　babies。　in　manner　hewas　cold　and　imperious；　and　he　was　without　scruple　in　the　furtherance　of　his　ambitions。　hewas　the　only　person　charles　darwin　was　ever　known　to　hate。　even　owen’s　son　（who　soonafter　killed　himself）　referred　to　his　father’s　“lamentable　coldness　of　heart。”

his　undoubted　gifts　as　an　anatomist　allowed　him　to　get　away　with　the　most　barefaceddishonesties。　in　1857；　the　naturalist　t。　h。　huxley　was　leafing　through　a　new　edition　ofchurchill’s　medical　directory　when　he　noticed　that　owen　was　listed　as　professor　ofparative　anatomy　and　physiology　at　the　government　school　of　mines；　which　rathersurprised　huxley　as　that　was　the　position　he　held。　upon　inquiring　how　churchill’s　had　madesuch　an　elemental　error；　he　was　told　that　the　information　had　been　provided　to　them　by　dr。

owen　himself。　a　fellow　naturalist　named　hugh　falconer；　meanwhile；　caught　owen　takingcredit　for　one　of　his　discoveries。　others　accused　him　of　borrowing　specimens；　then　denyinghe　had　done　so。　owen　even　fell　into　a　bitter　dispute　with　the　queen’s　dentist　over　the　creditfor　a　theory　concerning　the　physiology　of　teeth。

he　did　not　hesitate　to　persecute　those　whom　he　disliked。　early　in　his　career　owen　used　hisinfluence　at　the　zoological　society　to　blackball　a　young　man　named　robert　grant　whose　onlycrime　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