The dragon seekers

Speaker: Professor Chris McGowan
25th March

Set in pre-Victorian England, this is a story of a diverse group of fossilists, whose extraordinary discoveries formed much of the basis for Darwin's theory of evolution, and brought old certainties crashing down. This outstanding group could not have been more disparate: from the penniless Mary Anning, who scratched a living searching for fossils along the coast of Lyme Regis, to the eccentric Reverend William Buckland, who discovered the world's first dinosaur, to the villainous Thomas Hawkins, who had a remarkable talent for "improving" upon fossils. Their human story of individual effort would change the way we think about the origins of our world.

Professor Chris McGowan , a paleontologist at the University of Toronto, is known both for his outstanding books and his equally outstanding study of prehistoric marine reptiles. He has previously authored such books as Diatoms to Dinosaurs and Dinosaurs, Spitfires, and Sea Dragons, and has written a plethora of papers on ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and other marine reptiles. He wrote and presented two 55-minute national radio programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and is currently writing a work of fiction for children and young adults.

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