Publisher's Synopsis
This is the only biography of William Diller Matthew (1871-1930), a paleontologist's paleontologist, and a man who occupies a major position in the history of North American paleontology. Using personal letters, archives, and accounts from those who knew Matthew, Edwin Colbert paints a compelling portrait of the scientist's work, presenting a delightful look at Matthew's family and life in New York at the turn of the century, complete with photographs of his excavations and world travels, relatives, and environs.;Matthew, who could be called the Father of Mammalian Paleontology, entered the field diligently searching for fossils, while at the same time detailing stratigraphic studies that gave significant time-related information on those fossils. Noted for his no-nonsense approach to his work, Matthew carried on elegant research in the laboratory and published the results of his fieldwork and research as scientific monographs and short papers.
