OWEN, Richard.

Fragment only of an Autograph Letter bearing a good example of Owen’s signature: “...yours faithfully Richard Owen”. 4 x 4 inches. Dated overleaf: British Museum, 20 November 1856.

Sir Richard Owen (1804–1892), biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. He was the driving force behind the establishment, in 1881, of the British Museum of Natural History in London. In 1841 Owen coined the word ‘dinosaur' from the Green words Deinos (fearfully great) and sauros (lizard).