Barnum Brown
Encyclopedia
Barnum Brown a paleontologist born in Carbondale, Kansas
, and named after the circus showman P.T. Barnum, discovered the second fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex
during a career that made him one of the most famous fossil hunters working from the late Victorian era into the early 20th century.
Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History
(AMNH), Brown traversed the country bargaining and trading for fossils. His field was not limited to dinosaurs. He was known to collect or obtain anything of possible scientific value. Often, he simply sent money to have fossils shipped to the AMNH, and any new specimen of interest often resulted in a flurry of letters between the discoverer and Brown.
After working a handful of years in Wyoming
for AMNH in the late 1890s, Brown led an expedition to the Hell Creek Formation
of Southeastern Montana
. There, in 1902, he discovered and excavated the first documented remains of Tyrannosaurus rex.
The Hell Creek digs produced extravagant quantities of fossils, enough to fill up whole train cars. As was common practice back then Brown's crews used controlled blasts of dynamite to remove the tons of rock covering their fossil discoveries. Everything was moved with horse-drawn carriages and pure man-power. Seldom was any site data recorded.
After nearly a straight decade in Montana
, Brown headed to Alberta, Canada and the Red Deer River
near Drumheller. Here, Brown and his crew spent the middle 1910's floating down the river on a flatboat
and stopping along the way to prospect for fossils at promising-looking sites. Trying to outdo them along the same stretch of river was the famous Sternberg
family of fossil hunters. It was to be a playful but friendly rivalry for the Browns and the Sternbergs. Their competing discoveries went down in the annals of paleontology.
In one of its most significant finds, made in 1910, Brown's team uncovered several hind feet from a group of Albertosaurus
collected in Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
. For years the fossils were largely forgotten in the recesses of the American Museum of Natural History
in New York
. Then Dr. Phil Currie
, who was the Head of Dinosaur Research at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in the 1990s, relocated the site of the bones using only an old photograph as a guide, and reopened the site for excavation in the summer of 1998. Examination of the site under Tyrrell Museum auspices lasted until August, 2005. However, once Dr. Currie took a new job at the University of Alberta
, his new crew worked the site in 2006 and intends to continue for several years.
An homage to the paleontologist was made in the 1998 IMAX
film T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous
in which he was played by actor Laurie Murdoch.
Brown lived at the tail end of an unprecedented age of scientific discovery, and surely he was one of its more colorful practitioners. He was affectionately known as Mr. Bones by his admirers. At dig sites in Canada Barnum was frequently photographed wearing a large fur coat—as in the photo above right. Later during World War I
and II
, he worked as an "intelligence asset." During his many trips abroad he wasn't above picking up spare cash acting as a corporate spy
for oil companies.
Brown's second wife, Lilian Brown, wrote a book of memoirs I Married a Dinosaur (Dodd Mead, 1950) about her expeditions with her husband. He was buried in Oxford, New York
, the hometown of his first wife.
Carbondale, Kansas
Carbondale is a city in Osage County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,478 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, and named after the circus showman P.T. Barnum, discovered the second fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
during a career that made him one of the most famous fossil hunters working from the late Victorian era into the early 20th century.
Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
(AMNH), Brown traversed the country bargaining and trading for fossils. His field was not limited to dinosaurs. He was known to collect or obtain anything of possible scientific value. Often, he simply sent money to have fossils shipped to the AMNH, and any new specimen of interest often resulted in a flurry of letters between the discoverer and Brown.
After working a handful of years in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
for AMNH in the late 1890s, Brown led an expedition to the Hell Creek Formation
Hell Creek Formation
The Hell Creek Formation is an intensely-studied division of Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana...
of Southeastern Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. There, in 1902, he discovered and excavated the first documented remains of Tyrannosaurus rex.
The Hell Creek digs produced extravagant quantities of fossils, enough to fill up whole train cars. As was common practice back then Brown's crews used controlled blasts of dynamite to remove the tons of rock covering their fossil discoveries. Everything was moved with horse-drawn carriages and pure man-power. Seldom was any site data recorded.
After nearly a straight decade in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Brown headed to Alberta, Canada and the Red Deer River
Red Deer River
The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the South Saskatchewan River.Red Deer River has a total length of and a drainage area of...
near Drumheller. Here, Brown and his crew spent the middle 1910's floating down the river on a flatboat
Flatboat
Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...
and stopping along the way to prospect for fossils at promising-looking sites. Trying to outdo them along the same stretch of river was the famous Sternberg
Sternberg
Sternberg is surname of:- Persons :* Counts of Sternberg, Bohemian nobility* Ben-Zion Sternberg , a Zionist statesman* Charles Hazelius Sternberg , an American paleontologist...
family of fossil hunters. It was to be a playful but friendly rivalry for the Browns and the Sternbergs. Their competing discoveries went down in the annals of paleontology.
In one of its most significant finds, made in 1910, Brown's team uncovered several hind feet from a group of Albertosaurus
Albertosaurus
Albertosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, more than 70 million years ago. The type species, A. sarcophagus, was apparently restricted in range to the modern-day Canadian province of Alberta, after which...
collected in Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park is a provincial park in Central Alberta, Canada, located about southeast of Red Deer and east of Trochu. The park is situated along the Red Deer River and features badlands topography...
. For years the fossils were largely forgotten in the recesses of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Then Dr. Phil Currie
Phil Currie
Philip John Currie, AOE is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton...
, who was the Head of Dinosaur Research at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in the 1990s, relocated the site of the bones using only an old photograph as a guide, and reopened the site for excavation in the summer of 1998. Examination of the site under Tyrrell Museum auspices lasted until August, 2005. However, once Dr. Currie took a new job at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, his new crew worked the site in 2006 and intends to continue for several years.
An homage to the paleontologist was made in the 1998 IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
film T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous is a 1998 edu-tainment feature filmed for the IMAX 3D format. The film is directed by Brett Leonard, renowned for his Computer-generated imagery special effects productions. Executive producer/co-writer Andrew Gellis and producers Antoine Compin and Charis Horton also...
in which he was played by actor Laurie Murdoch.
Brown lived at the tail end of an unprecedented age of scientific discovery, and surely he was one of its more colorful practitioners. He was affectionately known as Mr. Bones by his admirers. At dig sites in Canada Barnum was frequently photographed wearing a large fur coat—as in the photo above right. Later during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he worked as an "intelligence asset." During his many trips abroad he wasn't above picking up spare cash acting as a corporate spy
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
for oil companies.
Brown's second wife, Lilian Brown, wrote a book of memoirs I Married a Dinosaur (Dodd Mead, 1950) about her expeditions with her husband. He was buried in Oxford, New York
Oxford, New York
Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village named Oxford. Oxford is an interior town in the south-central part of the county, southwest of the City of Norwich. At the 2000 census the town population was 3,992...
, the hometown of his first wife.
Related Publications
- "Barnum Brown: Dinosaur Hunter" Walker Books for Young Readers (2006) ISBN 0802796028
- Archival Field Notebooks of Paleontological Expeditions - American Museum of Natural History
- "Bones for Barnum Brown: Adventures of a Dinosaur Hunter" (1985) ISBN 0875650112
- "Tyrannosaurus Rex & Barnum Brown" (Dinosaurs & Their Discoverers Series) by Brooke Hartzog (1999) ISBN 0823953289
- "A Triceratops Hunt In Pioneer Wyoming: The Journals Of Barnum Brown & J.p. Sams: The University Of Kansas Expedition Of 1895" (2004) ISBN 0931271770
- "Barnum Brown: The Man Who Discovered Tyrannosaurus Rex" by Lowell Dingus and Mark A. Norell (2010) ISBN 0520252640