Charles H. Sternberg

Charles H. Sternberg began his career working under the prominent American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope during the late 19th century. He later transitioned to running his own commercial fossil collecting business, selling specimens to museums worldwide.

Sternberg and his sons are famous for discovering numerous significant dinosaur and marine reptile fossils across the American West and Canada. His finds include the iconic 'fish within a fish' fossil (a Xiphactinus containing a smaller fish) currently housed at the Sternberg Museum.

Yes, Sternberg established a multi-generational fossil hunting dynasty with his three sons, George, Charles M., and Levi. The Sternberg family collectively made significant contributions to North American paleontology and museum collections well into the 20th century.

Sternberg developed innovative field techniques for excavating and jacketing delicate fossil bones in plaster, which greatly improved specimen preservation during transport. He detailed these rigorous methods and his adventurous expeditions in his autobiography, 'The Life of a Fossil Hunter.'