Wm. Buckland, DD, a dean at Oxford, in the UK, was a theologian, but also a self-determined geologist. For his singular accomplishment he will always be linked to the study of dinosaurs and other ancient lifeforms because (Ta-Daaa!) he was the first person to give his specimens Names. This may not seem major to you, dear Readers, but his process and studies made for a good deal of fuss back in the 1820s, 30s and 40s. He got lots of medals.

Shown here is a Megalosaurus, meaning Giant Lizard. But Mr. Buckland was working his theories out based on a handful of random bones. (No complete Megalosaur has ever been found, though they formed a large and varied family.) Nobody had done it before, and it makes an interesting study.

The major error of Mr. Buckland’s model is that Megalosaurus walked on his hind legs. Easy for us to say now, but back then the models to work from were the animals, like crocodiles, still around. The history of how folks come to grip with this world is fascinating, say We Rhinos.