Othniel Charles Marsh
| Othniel Charles Marsh | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
October 29, 1831 Lockport, New York, USA |
| Died | March 18, 1899 (aged 67) New Haven, Connecticut, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Institutions | Yale University |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
| Notable awards | Bigsby Medal (1877) |
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Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American paleontologist. Marsh was one of the preeminent scientists in the field; the discovery or description of dozens of new species and theories on the origins of birds are among his legacies.
Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education thanks to the generosity of his wealthy uncle George Peabody. After graduating from Yale College in 1860 he traveled the world, studying anatomy, mineralogy and geology. He obtained a teaching position at Yale upon his return. From the 1870s to 1890s he competed with rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in a period of frenzied Western American expeditions known as the Bone Wars.
A comprehensive personal and scientific biography of Professor Marsh, written for the National Academy of Sciences by the American paleontologist Charles Schuchert is available on the NAS website.
Marsh was born October 29, 1831 in Lockport, New York, United States, to a family of modest means. However, he was the nephew of the very wealthy banker and philanthropist, George Peabody. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover in 1856 and Yale College in 1860. He then studied geology and mineralogy at Yale's Sheffield Scientific School (1860-1862), and afterwards paleontology and anatomy in Berlin, Heidelberg and Breslau (1862-1865). He returned to the United States in 1866 and was appointed professor of vertebrate paleontology at Yale University. He persuaded his uncle George Peabody to establish the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale.
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