The Bone Wars

“SCIENTISTS WAGE BITTER WARFARE,” the New York Herald announced on January 12, 1890. With that newspaper article, one of the most bitter rivalries in the history of paleontology — and maybe all of science — burst out into the open.

Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh were brilliant paleontologists of the late 1800s. The two scientists led teams that dug up fossils at various sites in the United States, and they traveled the world to talk about their discoveries. Thanks to their efforts, the world learned about many extinct animals, including some of the first dinosaurs ever found. Between the two of them, they discovered Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, Coelophysis and many other extinct animals. Their work helped build the young field of paleontology, increasing the number of known dinosaur species from a mere handful to more than a hundred. Many scientists go about their work humbly — but not Cope and Marsh. They loved being famous. The more famous, the better. And best of all was being more famous than each other. Each man wanted to be the first to discover the fossil of an unknown animal and the first to publish his findings in scientific journals. That way, he’d have the right to name the new species.

But their rivalry — which became known as the “Bone Wars” — soon became as important as their science. They rushed to find the next big fossil discovery, resulting in careless mistakes. They even resorted to ruthless tactics to find fossils — and to hurt their rival’s reputation, according to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

Friendship sours

Marsh and Cope started out as friends. They met in 1863 in Germany, where they were studying natural history, and hit it off. After they returned to the United States, they even named new fossil discoveries for each other. In 1867, Cope named a flat-headed newt-like amphibian fossil Ptyonius marshii after Marsh. The following year, Marsh returned the honor by naming a huge swimming reptile Mosasaurus copeanus.

But their friendship did not last long.

In 1868, Cope invited his friend to a mineral quarry in New Jersey, where Cope had arranged for the miners to send him interesting fossils they unearthed. Marsh was impressed with the fossils — so impressed that he wanted them for himself! Behind Cope’s back, Marsh bribed the miners to send the fossils directly to him at Yale University instead of to Cope. When Cope later found out, he was furious. He never considered Marsh a true friend again.

The bad feelings only grew worse. That same year, Cope announced the discovery of a huge prehistoric sea reptile he called Elasmosaurus, and he prepared a scientific article with a drawing of the beast. But Cope mixed up its long neck and tail — and drew the beast’s head at the tip of its tail!

Cope’s mentor at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, the respected paleontologist Joseph Leidy, pointed out the mistake. Marsh also claimed that he noted the error when he saw the creature’s skeleton in a museum. “When I informed Professor Cope of it, his wounded vanity received a shock from which it has never recovered, and he has since been my bitter enemy,” Marsh wrote in an 1890 letter to the New York Herald newspaper.

Cope was so embarrassed that he tried to collect all the copies of his scientific article and replace them with a corrected version, according to the Academy of Natural Sciences. But Marsh kept a copy of the original article with the mistake and taunted Cope about it for decades.

Battle heats up

The competition to be the first to discover and name cool new fossils grew ever more extreme. Cope rushed to publish his findings first. Early on, he announced his findings via telegram — the only way to instantly communicate information back then. Then, in 1877, he took the bold step of buying a scientific journal, The American Naturalist, so he could publish his discoveries in it. Between 1879 and 1880 alone, he published a whopping 76 scientific papers.

Marsh battled back. He came from a rich family and knew lots of important people — two advantages he used to try to gain the upper-hand in the rivalry. He hired a small army of assistants to help him unearth more fossils quickly. He even hired spies to make sure Cope wasn’t finding better discoveries. Sometimes his assistants even destroyed fossils so that Cope wouldn’t get them, and both scientists’ assistants probably raided their rival’s dig sites.

Marsh also decided to use his wealth and connections to limit Cope’s access to some of the best fossil sites. In 1878, Marsh bought a Wyoming quarry that contained tons of fossils, including a great skeleton of a massive, long-necked dinosaur that Marsh named Brontosaurus. He also got himself named chief paleontologist of the newly formed U.S. Geological Survey, which gave him the power to make sure Cope’s work didn’t receive any government funding — a source of support that both scientists had relied on.

Cope wouldn’t go down without a fight. He took what money he had left and bought silver mines in New Mexico. But the risky move did not pay off, and Cope lost everything.

In a desperate attempt to bring down Marsh, Cope went to the New York Herald with accusations against him. The resulting article, “SCIENTISTS WAGE BITTER WARFARE,” created a public scandal and even prompted a Congressional investigation. As a result, Congress eliminated the U.S. Geological Survey’s paleontology department, costing Marsh his position and most of his income.

Rivals ruined

Despite their immense contributions to the field of paleontology — work that is still respected today — the bitter rivalry between Cope and Marsh cost them their reputations and livelihoods, leaving them angry and poor.

Even as he faced the end of his life, Cope would not give up the fight. He donated his skull to science and challenged Marsh to do the same. That way, he figured, the world would know who had the bigger brain. Marsh did not accept the challenge.