Richard Owen

Hello! My name is Richard Owen. I was born a very long time ago, on July 20th, 1804, in a town in England called Lancaster. Even when I was a little boy, I was fascinated by animals. I didn't just love watching them run and play; I was curious about what was on the inside! I loved looking at animal skeletons and learning how all their bones fit together like a puzzle. This love for bones and animals would stay with me my whole life and lead me to some amazing discoveries that people still talk about today.

When I grew up, I became a scientist who studied animals, both living and extinct. In my time, people started digging up giant, mysterious bones from the earth. They had never seen anything like them! I got to study the fossils of huge creatures like the Megalosaurus and the Iguanodon. I looked closely at their bones and realized they weren't like any lizard or crocodile we have today. They were something completely new! In 1842, I decided this special group of animals needed a special name. I called them 'Dinosauria,' which is a big word that means 'terrible lizards.' That's right, I came up with the name 'dinosaur'!

Seeing these amazing dinosaur skeletons was so exciting, and I believed that everyone, not just scientists, should get to see them. I had a big dream: to build a giant museum where we could display these incredible finds for the whole world. I worked for many years to make this happen, and finally, in 1881, the beautiful Natural History Museum opened in London. It was a palace full of nature's wonders, with dinosaur skeletons standing tall for children and families to visit and enjoy.

I lived a long and exciting life and was 88 years old when I passed away. Today, people remember me for giving the dinosaurs their famous name and for helping to create one of the greatest museums in the world. So the next time you see a picture of a mighty dinosaur or visit a museum to look up at its giant bones, you can think of the story of the 'terrible lizards' and the scientist who named them.