description Edward Hitchcock Overview
Edward Hitchcock (1793-1864) was an American geologist, professor of natural history at Amherst College, and later its president. He studied the fossil footprints preserved in the sandstone of the Connecticut River Valley, beginning published work in 1836, and assembled a large collection of track specimens. In Ichnology of New England (1858), he described many tracks as the footprints of ancient birds; later research identified many of the trackmakers as dinosaurs.
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Who was Edward Hitchcock?
Edward Hitchcock was an American geologist, professor of natural history at Amherst College, and its president from 1845 to 1854. He lived from 1793 to 1864.
What did Edward Hitchcock study in the Connecticut River Valley?
He studied fossil footprints preserved in the Triassic sandstone of the Connecticut River Valley. Hitchcock began publishing work on those tracks in 1836.
Did Edward Hitchcock recognize the tracks as dinosaur footprints?
Hitchcock believed the tracks were made by gigantic ancient birds rather than dinosaurs. Later scientific research identified many of the trackways as belonging to dinosaurs or related archosaurs.
What is the Hitchcock Ichnological Cabinet?
It is a collection of fossil footprints assembled by Edward Hitchcock, chiefly from the Connecticut River Valley. His wife, Orra White Hitchcock, illustrated some of the scientific material connected with his work.
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