Robert Bakker
Robert T. "Bob" Bakker (born March 24, 1945 in Ridgewood , Bergen County , New Jersey ) is an American paleontologist and painter in the field of dinosaurs .
Life
In 1955, as a fourth grader, Bakker read an article about "mysterious beasts" called dinosaurs . This article and its dramatic illustrations captivated the 10-year-old and fascinated him so much that even then he decided to become a dinosaur expert. He studied from 1968 under the famous paleontologist John Harold Ostrom (1928–2005) at Yale University and received his Dr. phil. Degree in Paleontology from Harvard University . Since then, Bakker taught until 1984 as a professor of anatomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , Maryland , and headed the research department there. He is also a visiting professor at several universities in Wyoming and Colorado . He was an assistant curator at the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College , Wyoming. He is the curator of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science .
research
At the end of the 1960s, Bakker revolutionized the representation of dinosaurs in his drawings as upright animals with protruding tails (for balance ). Various theses about the characteristics and ways of life of these creatures earned him recognition. Ostrom and Bakker put together the theory that dinosaurs no cold-blooded giant lizard should have been, but more warm-blooded relatives of birds , both well adapted to their environment, very intelligent and very social. At first they were skeptical about this, but Ostrom reinforced this thesis with significant evidence, and they soon followed suit. Bakker never missed an opportunity to revise previous knowledge about the interesting world of prehistoric life on the basis of his own research results. In his work The dinosaur heresies (1986-93) he presented his “warmblood theory” to the public, and the presentation in the field of dinosaurs immediately changed accordingly: museums across the country e. B. dismantled decades-old dinosaur skeletons and built new exhibits that let the old bones appear in a new light. Until then, it had been believed that the dinosaurs should be slow to move around and that their big tails were dragged along; but now they suddenly held their tails horizontally and came forward so much faster and with great agility, just as Bakker's thesis assumes. Bakker has also provided evidence that allosaurs have provided parental care for their offspring.
He became an expert in the field of behavioral research on dinosaurs - both carnivorous and herbivorous . He liked to discuss and comment on the connections between prehistoric life. Bakker always wanted to completely immerse himself in the world of dinosaurs, not just study on lifeless museum pieces. He wanted to present dinosaurs in real life , intellectually visit the Jurassic era , and so he tried to bring the dinosaur kingdom to life for the visitors of his exhibition.
Bakker was the first to assume that dinosaurs should have had feathers, a point of view that has been spectacularly demonstrated over the past decade in very well-preserved fossil finds from China .
Despite his success, Bakker still fights traditional ways of thinking about dinosaur life.
Others
Bakker hardly sees any contradiction between religion and science and belongs to the Pentecostal movement .
He is particularly enthusiastic about creating new works and presenting himself in TV programs. He also wrote popular science and novel-like books for young people, such as Raptor red (1995-99), Raptor pack (2003) and Maximum triceratops (2004), among others. They are based on his theses and paleontological facts. He also likes to work with school children and students and tries to get others excited about prehistoric life through discussions and impromptu illustrations. He was a scientific advisor while filming Jurassic Park .
Bakker continues to direct fossil excavations in his home state of Wyoming.
He introduced the genera Chassternbergia , Denversaurus , Nanotyrannus (1988), Drinker (1990) and Edmarka (1992).
On October 8, 2014, an asteroid was named after him: (27425) Bakker .
Works
- The dinosaur heresies. Morrow, Zebra, Penguin, Longman, "Scientific & Technical" & Kensington, New York, London, Harlow 1986-93. (including autobiography) ISBN 0-688-04287-2 , ISBN 0-8217-5608-7 , ISBN 0-14-010055-5 , ISBN 0-14-015792-1 , ISBN 0-582-00420-9 , ISBN 0-8217-2859-8 .
- Raptor red. Bantam & Goldmann, New York, London, Milan, Munich 1995-99. ISBN 0-553-10124-2 , ISBN 0-553-57561-9 , ISBN 0-553-50369-3 , ISBN 0-593-03919-X , ISBN 3-442-41595-0 .
- The great dinosaur debate. Citadel, New York 2001, ISBN 0-8065-2260-7 .
- Raptor pack. Random House, New York 2003, ISBN 0-375-82303-4 , ISBN 0-375-92303-9 .
- Maximum triceratops. Random House, New York 2004, ISBN 0-375-82304-2 , ISBN 0-375-92304-7 .
- Dactyls! Random House, New York 2005, ISBN 0-375-83013-8 , ISBN 0-375-93013-2 .
- Dinosaurs! Random House, New York 2005, ISBN 0-375-83141-X , ISBN 0-375-93141-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Prehistoricplanet.com (accessed January 20, 2010)
- ↑ Biography ( Memento of the original dated June 16, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Cartage.org (accessed January 20, 2010)
- ↑ Picture at the fossil discovery (accessed on January 20, 2010)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bakker, Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bakker, Robert T .; Bakker, Bob (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American paleontologist and painter in the field of dinosaurs |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 24, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ridgewood , Bergen County , New Jersey |