Owen Lectures 2026 FOR GUESTS
About
Sir Richard Owen - born in Brock Street Lancaster in 1804 - renowned surgeon and anatomist - inventor of the word "dinosauria" and founder of the Natural History Museum, London.The Second Edition of the Owen Lectures is taking place at the Lancaster Royal Grammar School - the school which Sir Richard Owen attended - on Saturday 11 July.
We have three lectures:
Leah George Demetriou (Natural History Museum) - "Richard Owen's Dinosauria in Context: The Rhetoric, Politics and Legacy of the Dinosaurs": 10am
One of the most famous achievements of Richard Owen is his naming of the Dinosauria in 1842. During the Geological Society meeting of 1824, William Buckland (1784– 1856) described and named Megalosaurus, the first of three extinct reptiles that would make up the Dinosauria. The other two, Hylaeosaurus and Iguanodon, were discovered by Gideon Mantell (1790–1852). This lecture will demonstrate how, by combining the three genera together, Owen sought not only to coin a new term but also to leverage the political power that claiming ownership over a taxonomic group could provide, with the goal in mind of creating a new museum icon to forward his plans for his ‘National Museum of Natural History’. After the term was coined, the concept of Dinosauria continued to be contentious amongst contemporary and modern paleontologists alike, its exact definition still not entirely solidified to this day.
Dr Jordan Kistler (Glasgow University) - "Richard Owen, Sea Serpent Killer: Establishing Authority in the Museum": 11am
The most famous naturalist of his day, Richard Owen was regularly consulted on alleged sea serpent sightings. His vehement dismissal of these tall tales earned him the nickname ‘sea serpent killer’ from Prince Albert himself, but it also reveals how Owen mobilised these popular tales to construct and reinforce the authority of museums and their (newly-professionalised) curators.
Logan Winterwoods (Lancaster University) - "The Legacy of Sir Richard Owen in Modern Palaeontology": 12pm
This lecture will describe in detail how the influence of Sir Richard Owen can be detected in modern palaeontology, through the latest developments in the study of the discipline.
Date
Saturday 11 July 2026 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM (UTC+01)Location
Assembly Hall, Lancaster Royal Grammar School
23 East Road, Lancaster , Lancashire LA1 3EF
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Owen Lectures 2026 FOR GUESTS
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