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Chapter 01 of 5

Gentlemen of Science

The deceptive calm before a storm of fossilized fury.

1. Social Class

   A Duel of Aristocrats

   Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh were not rugged frontiersmen. They were wealthy, educated elites who viewed science as a gentleman's pursuit.

2. The Quaker

   Cope's Privileged Start

   Born to a wealthy Quaker family in Philadelphia, Cope was a child prodigy who published his first scientific paper at age 18.

3. The Scholar

   Marsh's Academic Path

   Marsh relied on his wealthy uncle, George Peabody, to fund his education at Yale and the construction of the Peabody Museum.