Christopher McGowan

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Christopher McGowan (born March 30, 1942 in Beckenham, Kent , England) is a British paleontologist. He was a long-time associate at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto , Canada . His main research interests are vertebrate paleontology and the paleobiology of the Mesozoic Era .

Life

McGowan is the son of Wilfred Clarence and Gwendoline Daisy McGowan, née Morphew. His father was a baker, his mother a housewife. In 1965 he obtained a Bachelor of Science from the Polytechnic College in London . In 1969 he was at Birkbeck College of the University of London for Ph.D. PhD in zoology.

From 1969 to 1970, he was a curator in the Vertebrate Paleontology Department at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. From 1970 to 1974 he was assistant curator, from 1974 to 1980 he was deputy curator and from 1980 to 1994 he was curator. From 1994 until his retirement in 2002, he was the senior curator in the paleobiology department at the Royal Ontario Museum. From 1972 to 1989 he was an associate professor, from 1990 to 2002 he was a professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Toronto .

As a researcher and senior curator in the Paleobiology Department of the Royal Ontario Museum, McGowan is a renowned expert on Mesozoic vertebrate biology, on which he published numerous papers. He makes comparisons between living and extinct animals and presents a spectrum of topics ranging from the size to the intellect of the animals. Alongside this, McGowan focuses on science and technology to explain curiosities like the similarities between extinct animals and modern machines.

McGowan is a member of the Society for Experimental Biology , the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the Paleontological Society .

McGowan has been married since 1965. He has three daughters.

Fonts

  • Evolutionary Trends in Longipinnate Ichthyosaurs, with Particular Reference to the Skull and Fore Fin, Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1972.
  • Differential Growth in Three Ichthyosaurs: Ichthyosaurus Communis, I. Breviceps, and Stenopterygius Quadriscissus, Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1973.
  • The Cranial Morphology of the Lower Liassic Latipinnate Ichthyosaurs of England, British Museum (London, England), 1973.
  • A Revision of the Latipinnate Ichthyosaurs of the Lower Jurassic of England, Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1974.
  • In the Beginning: A Scientist Shows Why the Creationists Are Wrong, Prometheus (Buffalo, NY), 1983.
  • The Successful Dragons: A Natural History of Extinct Reptiles, Samuel Stevens (Toronto, Ontario Canada), 1983.
  • Dinosaurs, Spitfires, and Sea Dragons, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1991.
  • Discover Dinosaurs: Become a Dinosaur Detective, illustrated by Tina Holdcroft, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA), 1992.
  • Diatoms to Dinosaurs: The Size and Scale of Living Things, illustrated by Julian Mulock, Island Press for Shearwater Books (Washington, DC), 1994.
  • Make Your Own Dinosaur out of Chicken Bones: Foolproof Instructions for Budding Paleontologists, illustrated by Julian Mulock, HarperPerennial (New York, NY), 1997.
  • The Raptor and the Lamb: Predators and Prey in the Living World, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 1997. (German: Kettle in order to live. Hunters and hunted in nature, Piper, 1998)
  • A Practical Guide to Vertebrate Mechanics, illustrated by Julian Mulock, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1999.
  • T. Rex to Go: Build Your Own from Chicken Bones, illustrated by Julian Mulock, HarperPerennial (New York, NY), 1999.
  • Dinosaur: Digging up a Giant, North Winds Press, 1999.
  • The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered the Dinosaurs and Paved the Way for Darwin, Perseus Publications (Cambridge, MA) 2001.
  • Ichthyopterygia, F. Pfeil (Munich) 2003.
  • Rail, Steam, and Speed: The "Rocket" and the Birth of Steam Locomotion, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 2004.
  • Dinosaur Discovery: Everything You Need to be a Paleontologist, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2011.

literature

  • Christopher McGowan. In: Contemporary Authors Online , Biography in Context, 2016 Online. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  • Christopher McGowan. In: The Writers Directory , St. James Press, Biography in Context, 2016.Retrieved online January 15, 2017.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME McGowan, Christopher
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British paleontologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 30, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Beckenham, Kent , England