biography
| name: |
Cope, Edward Drinker
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1840–97)
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| biography:
| Zoologist and palaeontologist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Although his post-secondary education was limited to one year's study with Joseph Leidy at the University of Pennsylvania, he went on to found (with Leidy and O C Marsh) the science of American vertebrate palaeontology. He made many W American expeditions and found more than 600 fossil species, mostly of cold-blooded vertebrates and extinct mammals, whose discovery significantly pushed back the known age of mammals. His published descriptions laid the groundwork for the classification of North American fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. A believer in the inheritability of acquired characteristics, he became America's foremost neo-Lamarckian evolutionary theorist. Ambitious to be recognized as the leader in his new field, he conducted a famous 25-year feud with his archrival, O C Marsh, with whom he publicly traded vitriolic accusations of inaccuracy and unethical conduct. His prolific published output included more than 1500 titles. He owned and edited American Naturalist (1878–97) and was professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1889–97). |
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