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remelyretiring—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