George Washington died before Dinosaurs were discovered

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George Washington died before dinosaurs were discovered.

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Although humans have probably lived alongside dinosaur fossils for thousands of years, the first fossilized dinosaur bone was described in 1842 – more than four years after George Washington’s death.

That George Washington died before the existence of dinosaurs was discovered is a claim that has been circulating on online channels for years.

Its simple Google search suggests that this claim has since been shared online 2018 at leastand similar iterations divided by Reddit, Quora, TikTok, Instagram and Xincluding the post below which received over 8,000 views as of this publication:

This is true. According to the National Constitution Centrethe former president died on December 14, 1799. Meanwhile, the first official scientific description of “Dinosauria” took place in 1842, writes the University of California Museum of Paleontology.

But as the Biodiversity Heritage Library admits, humans probably lived alongside dinosaur fossils for thousands of years. legends of dragons, for examplesome believe they were inspired by dinosaur bones.

Megalosaurus It was the first dinosaur officially described in scientific literature in 1842, writes the Natural History Museum. However, it is supposed to be the fossils of the now-extinct carnivore theraps – once 30 feet tall – were discovered almost two centuries earlier. At the time, however, they were thought to be the femur bones of giants.

Let’s walk through time.

There was a large bone found in an Oxfordshire quarry recorded by the naturalist Robert Plot in the 1677 edition of Natural history of Oxford-shire, according to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Included was expression of the then unnamed bone, as well as a description which suggested that the bone resembled the bone of the lower part of human femur.

The story continues

At first, Plota suggested that the bone belonged to an elephant. After further examination, he concluded that it probably belonged to an ancient giant.

Almost a century later in 1763, an English doctor Richard Brookes a review of Plota’s work in his book collection, A New and Accurate System of Natural History. In it, Brookes agreed that the fossil belonged to the person – even though it was a different body part altogether. So the deceased now”Human scrotum” became the official documented name. It appeared in volume five of Brookes’ book when he wrote that “stones have been found which directly represent the private parts of men.”

(Natural History in Oxfordshire / Public Domain)

It was not until 1842, more than four decades after Washington’s death, that the biologist Richard Owens published the class “Dinosaur” for the first time in his book, Report on British Fossil Reptiles. Three genes were used to define this new group: the carnivore Megalosaurusthe herbalist Iguanodon, and the armored Hylaeosaurus.

Based on diagrams like the one above, many scientists agree that bone belongs to a Megalosaurus. However, neither Plot nor Brookes described it as such, and as the fossil is now lost, the story of its origin is probably lost.

Sources:

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

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

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

Brookes, R. (Richard). A new system of natural history. . London, Printed for J. Newbery, 1763. Internet Archivehttp://archive.org/details/newaccuratesyste05broo.

Brookes, Richard. Natural History of Fishes and Snakes, Including Sea Turtles, Crustaceans and Shells, with Their Medicinal Uses: Illustrated with Clippings. LEAGUE STREET Press, 2023.

Dinosaur: How the “Terrible Recruits” Got Their Name. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-dinosaurs-got-their-name.html. Accessed 3 January 2024.

George Washington Died Before Dinosaurs – 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=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDU3Asource=UT ip=1. Accessed 3 January 2024.

“Https://Twitter.Com/ShwrThght/Status/1240370454075858944?Lang=en.” X (formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/ShwrThght/status/1240370454075858944?lang=en . Accessed 3 January 2024.

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

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

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

Attitude, Robert. The Natural History of Oxford-Shire : Being an Essay towards the Natural History of England. Oxford: in the Theatre; London: by S. Millers, 1677. Internet Archivehttp://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00plotuoft.

—. The Natural History of Oxford-Shire : Being an Essay towards the Natural History of England. Oxford: in the Theatre; London: by S. Millers, 1677. Internet Archivehttp://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof00plotuoft.

“Robert Plot’s Lost Dinosaur Bone.” Tetrapod Zoology16 December 2022, https://tetzoo.com/blog/2022/12/12/robert-plots-lost-dinosaur-bone.

“Birth of the Dinosaurs: Richard Owen and Dinosauria.” Biodiversity Heritage Library16 Oct. 2015, https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2015/10/the-birth-of-dinosaurs-richard-owen-and-dinosauria.html.

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

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

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

“Why didn’t George Washington know Dinosaurs existed?” Quora, https://www.quora.com/Why-did-George-Washington-never-know-dinosaurs-existed. Accessed 3 January 2024.

https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2015/10/the-first-described-and-validly-named-dinosaur-megalosaurus.html. Accessed 3 January 2024.