Cope had no degrees, though he was already accruing a slew of scientific papers to his name.Ĭope and Marsh had interests in common – in particular, the emerging science of palaeontology. Marsh already had two degrees when they first met, and was undertaking further study at the University of Berlin courtesy of his uncle George Peabody, one of the major financiers of the 19th Century. They spent a few days together and toured the city before parting, exchanging addresses so they could keep in touch. Their warring troupes would brandish weapons at one another over the fossil-beds of the western US, and each man would pen lengthy character assassinations spilling over dozens of thirsty pages in the sensationalist press.īut as 1863 drew to a close in Berlin, neither of them knew anything about all that. What began amicably in Berlin would descend throughout their lives into all-consuming jealousy, via subterfuge, spying and sabotage. These two men were also about to embroil themselves in one of the bitterest feuds in the history of science. After their Berlin meeting, they would go on to name a roll call of the world's most iconic dinosaurs: Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus and enormous Pterodactyls among them. He wore a drooping walrus moustache and his hair was beginning to thin.īefore they met, each man was enjoying the early fruits of promising careers studying fossils, geology and natural history – both were talented, ambitious and had access to family money. At 32 years old, Marsh was reserved and a little pompous. He'd been born to a poor farming family in rural New York, but had the benefit of a very rich uncle to fund his education. The man he was talking to was Othniel Charles Marsh. He had been sent to Europe by his genteel Philadelphian family to put an ocean between him and a young lady they deemed unsuitable. The younger of the two was a tall and handsome 23-year-old named Edward Drinker Cope, who wore his thick hair slicked sideways and talked a lot. In the chilly Berlin winter of 1863, two talented American palaeontologists got talking at an otherwise unremarkable scientific meeting.
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