George Washington Died Before Dinosaurs Were Discovered

Allegation:

George Washington died before dinosaurs were discovered.

Evaluation:

Context:

Although humans have likely lived with dinosaur fossils for millennia, a fossilized dinosaur bone was first described in 1842, more than four years after George Washington’s death.

The claim that George Washington died before the existence of dinosaurs was discovered has been circulating on internet channels for years.

Simple Google search revealed that this claim has since been shared online at least 2018similar repetitions are shared reddit, Quora, tiktok, instagram And XIncluding the following post, which has received over 8,000 likes as of this publication:

This is true. According to National Constitution CenterThe former president died on December 14, 1799. By the way, the first official scientific description of a “Dinosaur” occurred in 1842, he writes University of California Museum of Paleontology.

But this way Biodiversity Heritage Library We accept that humans have lived with dinosaur fossils for thousands of years. dragon legends, For exampleIt is thought by some to be inspired by dinosaur bones.

megalosaurus He writes that it was the first dinosaur officially described in scientific literature in 1842 Natural History Museum. However, it is thought that Fossils of the extinct carnivorous therapod, which was once 30 feet long, were discovered almost two centuries ago. However, at that time they were mistaken for the thigh bones of giant humans.

Let’s take a walk through time.

A large bone found in a quarry in Oxfordshire was recorded by naturalist Robert Plot in a 1677 edition Natural History of Oxford-shireAccording to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Included: An example the bone, which was unnamed at the time, as well as a description suggesting that the bone resembled the underside of a bone human femur.

The story continues

Plot at first suggested that the bone belonged to an elephant. After further examination, he concluded that it probably belonged to a very ancient giant human.

Nearly a century later, in 1763, the English doctor Richard Brookes He reviewed Plot’s work in his book compilation, A New and Accurate Natural History System. Brookes, fossil it belonged to a human, albeit a completely different body part. Thus, the obsolete “scrotum human” became the officially documented name. Appeared in volume five “The stones literally represent a man’s private parts,” Brookes wrote in his book.

(Natural History of Oxfordshire/Public domain)

It was not until 1842, more than forty years after Washington’s death, that biologist Richard Owens published this lecture:Dinosaur“For the first time in your book British Fossil Reptiles Report. Three genera were used to define this new grouping: carnivores megalosaurusherbivorous Iguanodon, and armored Hylaeosaurus.

Based on images like the one above, most scientists agree that the bone described is from a rock. megalosaurus. But neither Plot nor Brookes described it as such, and since the fossil is now lost, the story of its formation has probably disappeared as well.

Resources:

British Association for the Advancement of Science and British Association for the Advancement of Science. British Association for the Advancement of Science Report. 1841, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/104191.

—. British Association for the Advancement of Science Report. 1841, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/104191.

Brookes, R. and R. Brookes. A New and Accurate Natural History System. Printed for J. Newbery, 1763, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/111943.

Brookes, R. (Richard). A New and Accurate Natural History System.. Printed for J. Newbery, London, 1763. Internet Archivehttp://archive.org/details/newaccuratesyste05broo.

Brookes, Richard. Natural History and Medical Uses of Fish and Snakes, Including Sea Turtles, Crustaceans, and Shellfish: Illustrated with Cutouts. LEGARE STREET Press, 2023.

Dinosaur: How Did “Scary Lizards” Get Their Name?. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-dinosaurs-got-their-name.html. Access date: January 3, 2024.

George Washington Died Before Dinosaurs Were Discovered – Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=george+washington+died+before+dinosaurs+were+discovered&oq=george+washington+died+before+dinosaurs+were+discovered&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDU5ODZqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8# ip=1. Access date: January 3, 2024.

“Https://Twitter.Com/ShwrThght/Status/1240370454075858944?Lang=tr.” X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/ShwrThght/status/1240370454075858944?lang=tr. Access date: January 3, 2024.

Hylaeosaurus. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dino-directory/hylaeosaurus.html. Access date: January 3, 2024.

Iguanodon. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dino-directory/iguanodon.html. Access date: January 3, 2024.

Magazine, Smithsonian and Joseph Stromberg. “Where Did Dragons Come From?” Smithsonian Magazine, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/where-did-dragons-come-from-23969126/. Access date: January 3, 2024.

Subject, Robert. Oxford-Shire Natural History: Being an Essay on the Natural History of England. Oxford: In Theatre; London: At Mr. S. Millers, 1677. Internet Archivehttp://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00plotuoft.

—. Oxford-Shire Natural History: Being an Essay on the Natural History of England. Oxford: In Theatre; London: At Mr. S. Millers, 1677. Internet Archivehttp://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00plotuoft.

“Robert Plot’s Lost Dinosaur Bone.” Quadruped ZoologyDecember 16, 2022, https://tetzoo.com/blog/2022/12/12/robert-plots-lost-dinosaur-bone.

“The Birth of the Dinosaurs: Richard Owen and the Dinosaur.” Biodiversity Heritage LibraryOctober 16, 2015, https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2015/10/the-birth-of-dinosaurs-richard-owen-and-dinosauria.html.

Dinosaur. https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/verts/dinosauria/index.php#:~:text=The%20term%20%22Dinosauria%22%20%20invented,dinosaurs%20known%20at%20the%20time. Access date: January 3, 2024.

“The Mysterious Death of George Washington | Constitution Center.” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.Org, https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-mysterious-death-of-george-washington. Access date: January 3, 2024.

TikTok – Make Your Day Beautiful. https://www.tiktok.com/@kingoftieland/video/7240164297303756075?lang=en. Access date: January 3, 2024.

“Why Did George Washington Never Know Dinosaurs Existed?” Quora, https://www.quora.com/Why-did-George-Washington-never-know-dinosaurs-existed. Access date: January 3, 2024.

https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2015/10/the-first-describe-and-validly-named-dinosaur-megalosaurus.html. Access date: January 3, 2024.