Othniel Charles Marsh (1831–1899) we Wrocławiu – mało znany okres w życiu wybitnego paleontologa

Abstract

Othniel Charles Marsh (1831–1899) in Wroclaw – a little known period in the life of an eminent palaeontologist.A b s t r a c t. Othniel Charles Marsh was one of the most eminent 19th-century palaeontologists in the United States. He is probably best known for his participation in the Bone Wars and his presidency in the National Academy of Sciences. Lesser known is the fact that he received a significant part of his palaeontological education during his studies in Germany. He spent several months in 1864 and 1865 in Wroc³aw (Breslau by that time), studying under Ferdinand Roemer, Adolph Grube and Johann Goeppert. Despite the relatively short period spent in Wrocław, it had a large effect on Marsh. It probably indirectly led him to conduct palaeontological fieldwork in the American West (which resulted in discoveries of numerous Mesozoic and Cenozoic reptiles and mammals) and strongly influenced his views on biostratigraphy.