Its not too late to celebrate!
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Posted on: January 27, 2008 12:16 AM, by PZ Myers
What? Today was Roy Chapman Andrews' birthday! I almost missed it, but I shall raise a cup of tea to one of my heroes.
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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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Comments
He was a racist as far as I can tell, but I loved his book about the flaming cliffs. In fact, I'm currently reading Novacek's book on the flaming cliffs.
Posted by: craig | January 27, 2008 12:41 AM
Gobi desert. Protoceratops eggs.
Posted by: bad Jim | January 27, 2008 4:53 AM
He had racist tendancies but most people from that period did, I dont hold that against him too much. He did try to find the missing link in Asia because he and many others did not want to accept that the ancestor of modern humans came out of Africa. Beyond that his research was top notch, his expedition found the famed velociraptor in 1922 as well as many other important specimins.
What I liked about Roy Chapman Andrews is how much like Indiana Jones he was.
Posted by: watchdog | January 27, 2008 7:44 AM
The similarity between Andrews and Indiana Jones may not be a coincidence. Although George Lukas has never confirmed it, Andrews is common identified as the (or, at least, one) inspiration for the Jones character. Frankly, I find the real-life Andrews a MUCH greater character, simply because he was REAL.
Posted by: Steve T | January 27, 2008 9:14 AM
Andrews was one of my childhood heroes, too. My grandad bought me a book about his dinosaur-hunting exploits in the Gobi, and I was hooked. I was once doing some work in the mammal collections at the Field Museum and stumbled across a couple of his specimens. Took my breath away.
Most of the scientists of the day were "a little racist." It was part of the culture of the time. Not defending--just saying.
Posted by: Archaeopteryx | January 27, 2008 9:56 AM
"Gobi desert. Protoceratops eggs."
Gobi Desert "Oviraptor eggs"
Posted by: Lago | January 27, 2008 10:58 AM
My very first book on dinosaurs was a small one from, I think, Scholastic Press (you know, publishers of all those middle-school books). It described his expedition to the Gobi desert and had drawings of dinosaurs (a rarity in rural East Texas in the early 1960s -- dinosaurs being an embarrassment to the Southern Baptists around there). Problem was, the dinosaur drawings were done in a lighter shading, so my little brother crudely penciled over them so he could trace them onto 3-hole lined filler paper, engaged in dinosaur wars.
I still have the book packed away somewhere. Just can't recall the title and author.
-- CV
Posted by: CortxVortx | January 27, 2008 11:04 AM
I'm also a big fan of Roy Chapman Andrews. I've read a couple of his books, and wow, did they have adventures. Mongolia was way back of beyond in the early 20th century, not just an exotic tourist stop. I recently saw one of the Dinosaur 3D IMAX movies with old footage of the expedition (in 2D), and it put the more modern, full color, 3D, expedition into real perspective.
Posted by: Kaleberg | January 27, 2008 2:24 PM
Roy Andrews also wrote a grade-school book- All About Dinosaurs- which was my second dinosaur book (after What Dinosaur is it?). And, at age 4, this book showed me that I knew how to read. My father had been reading passages to me nightly and somewhere in there I caught on. So, when one day he suggested gently that "you read it", I found that I (haltingly) could! Thank you Roy! Novak's book does (re)capture the flavor of Andrews expedition. Finally, let's not forget that Andrews' expedition uncovered the thigh bone of the largest known terrestrial mammal- Indracotherium (formerly Baluchatherium).
Posted by: mothra | January 27, 2008 3:22 PM
"All about Dinosaurs" fired my imagination, and is undoubtedly what started me on the way to becoming a geologist! I still have my copy of it, and remember quite well when he died:(
Thinking of "Indiana Jones", I seem to remember that Andrews was once attacked by 2 horse riding, gun-toting, bandits, and counter-attacked with the only weapon he had...one of those 2-ton touring cars... chased them off!
Posted by: FossilBob | January 27, 2008 10:11 PM
It was also my birthday, incidentally :)
*blows party blower*
Posted by: DrFrank | January 28, 2008 4:21 AM
Happy birthday Roy Chapman Andrews! I have the book,
DRAGON HUNTER: ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS AND THE CENTRAL ASIATIC
EXPEDITIONS. Good stuff from a sensible and worthy man.
Read it when you can.
Posted by: holbach | January 28, 2008 8:46 AM
"Good stuff from a sensible and worthy man"
Um, are we talking about the same guy?
Posted by: Lago | January 28, 2008 10:10 AM
Lago: If you are refering to his racist ideas, try to
overlook them and accept his good qualities. He is still
a worthy man.
Posted by: holbach | January 28, 2008 10:51 AM