The most prominent naturalist in Britain before Charles Darwin, Richard Owen made empirical discoveries and offered theoretical innovations that were crucial to the proof of evolution. Among his many lasting contributions to science was the first clear definition of the term homology the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function. He also graphically demonstrated that all vertebrate species were built on the same skeletal plan and devised the vertebrate archetype as a representation of the simplest common form of all vertebrates.
Just as Darwin s ideas...

Owen was the founder of the Natural History Museum, bringing the collections over from the British Museum. Although he was a supporter of evolutionary theory, he was reluctant to accept Darwin's version of evolution. This volume examines fossil evidence for change in species over time.

Fred Reichheld's 2006 book The Ultimate Question, that question being, "How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?"-challenged the conventional wisdom of customer satisfaction programs. It coined the terms 'bad profits' and 'good profits' and pointed to a faster, much more accurate way of gauging customers' real loyalty to a company, introducing a quantitative measure (the Net Promoter Score) for establishing a baseline and effectively tracking changes going forward. Richard Owen and Laura Brooks are co-developers, along with Reichheld, of the...

Richard Owen (1804 1892) was a contemporary of Darwin, and like him, attended the University of Edinburgh medical school but left without completing his training. His career as an outstanding palaeontologist began when he was cataloguing the Hunterian Collection of human and animal anatomical specimens which had passed to the Royal College of Surgeons in London. His public lectures on anatomy were attended by Darwin, and he was entrusted with the classification and description of the fossil vertebrates sent back by Darwin from the Beagle voyage. He was responsible for coining many of the...

Richard Owen (1804 92) was a controversial and influential palaeontologist and anatomist. During his medical studies in Edinburgh and London, he grew interested in anatomical research and, after qualifying as a surgeon, became assistant conservator in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and then superintendent of natural history in the British Museum. He became an authority on comparative anatomy and palaeontology, coining the term 'dinosaur' and founding the Natural History Museum. He was also a critic of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and engaged in a long and...

British palaeontologist Thomas Davidson (1817-85) was born in Edinburgh and began his studies at the city's university. Encouraged by German palaeontologist Leopold von Buch, he began to study brachiopod fossils at the age of twenty, and he quickly became the undisputed authority. He was elected fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1852, receiving the Wollaston medal in 1865. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857. Published between 1850 and 1886, this six-volume work became the definitive reference text on the subject. It includes more than two hundred hand-drawn plates and...

British palaeontologist Thomas Davidson (1817-85) was born in Edinburgh and began his studies at the city's university. Encouraged by German palaeontologist Leopold von Buch, he began to study brachiopod fossils at the age of twenty, and he quickly became the undisputed authority. He was elected fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1852, receiving the Wollaston medal in 1865. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857. Published between 1850 and 1886, this six-volume work became the definitive reference text on the subject. It includes more than two hundred hand-drawn plates and...

British palaeontologist Thomas Davidson (1817 85) was born in Edinburgh and began his studies at the city's university. Encouraged by German palaeontologist Leopold von Buch, he began to study brachiopod fossils at the age of twenty, and he quickly became the undisputed authority. He was elected fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1852, receiving the Wollaston medal in 1865. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857. Published between 1850 and 1886, this six-volume work became the definitive reference text on the subject. It includes more than two hundred hand-drawn plates and...

British palaeontologist Thomas Davidson (1817 85) was born in Edinburgh and began his studies at the city's university. Encouraged by German palaeontologist Leopold von Buch, he began to study brachiopod fossils at the age of twenty, and he quickly became the undisputed authority. He was elected fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1852, receiving the Wollaston medal in 1865. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857. Published between 1850 and 1886, this six-volume work became the definitive reference text on the subject. It includes more than two hundred hand-drawn plates and...

British palaeontologist Thomas Davidson (1817 85) was born in Edinburgh and began his studies at the city's university. Encouraged by German palaeontologist Leopold von Buch, he began to study brachiopod fossils at the age of twenty, and he quickly became the undisputed authority. He was elected fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1852, receiving the Wollaston medal in 1865. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857. Published between 1850 and 1886, this six-volume work became the definitive reference text on the subject. It includes more than two hundred hand-drawn plates and...