John R. Napier: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|British primatologist and paleoanthropologist (1917–1987)}} |
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{{other people|John Napier}} |
{{other people|John Napier}} |
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{{Infobox scientist |
{{Infobox scientist |
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|name = John Russell Napier |
|name = John Russell Napier |
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|image = |
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|caption = |
|caption = |
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|birth_date = 1917 |
|birth_date = 11 March 1917 |
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|birth_place = [[Old Windsor]], [[England]] |
|birth_place = [[Old Windsor]], [[England]] |
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|death_date = 29 August 1987 (aged 70)<ref name="Day1988"/> |
|death_date = 29 August 1987 (aged 70)<ref name="Day1988"/> |
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'''John Russell Napier''', [[Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons|MRCS]], [[Royal College of Physicians|LRCP]], [[Doctor of Science|D.Sc.]] (1917 – 29 August 1987) was a British [[primatologist]], [[Paleoanthropology|paleoanthropologist]], and [[physician]], who is notable for his work with ''[[Homo habilis]]'' and [[OH 7]],<ref name="Napier 1964">{{cite journal |last=Leakey |first=Louis | |
'''John Russell Napier''', [[Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons|MRCS]], [[Royal College of Physicians|LRCP]], [[Doctor of Science|D.Sc.]] (11 March 1917 – 29 August 1987) was a British [[primatologist]], [[Paleoanthropology|paleoanthropologist]], and [[physician]], who is notable for his work with ''[[Homo habilis]]'' and [[OH 7]],<ref name="Napier 1964">{{cite journal |last=Leakey |first=Louis |author2=Phillip Vallentine Tobias |author3=John Russell Napier |date=April 1964 |title=A New Species of The Genus Homo From Olduvai Gorge |journal=Nature |volume=202 |issue=4927 |pages=7–9 |doi=10.1038/202007a0 |url=http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/krigbaum/proseminar/leakey_etal_nature_1964.pdf |access-date=2009-09-12 |pmid=14166722|bibcode=1964Natur.202....7L |s2cid=12836722 }}</ref> as well as on human and primate hands/feet. During his life he was widely considered a leading authority on primate taxonomy,<ref name="Day1988">{{cite journal |last=Day |first=M. H. |date=August 1988 |title=In Memoriam: Professor John Russell Napier, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., D.Sc. |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=227–229 |pmc=1262025 }}</ref><ref name="NapierMIT"/> but is perhaps most famous to the general public for his research on [[Bigfoot]]. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Napier was an [[orthopedic surgeon]] at the [[University of London]] before being invited by Sir [[Wilfrid Le Gros Clark]] to join him in his paleoanthropology research.<ref name="Kelley2007">{{cite journal |last=Kelley |first=Elizabeth A. | |
Napier was an [[orthopedic surgeon]] at the [[University of London]] before being invited by Sir [[Wilfrid Le Gros Clark]] to join him in his paleoanthropology research.<ref name="Kelley2007">{{cite journal |last=Kelley |first=Elizabeth A. |author2=Robert W. Sussman |date=March 2007 |title=An Academic Genealogy on the History of American Field Primatologists |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=132 |issue=3 |pages=406–25 |pmid=17154360 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20532 |url=http://www.anthro.ucdavis.edu/faculty/mchenry/Ant202/Kelley.pdf |access-date=2009-09-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612103326/http://www.anthro.ucdavis.edu/faculty/mchenry/Ant202/Kelley.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-12 }}</ref> Napier then dedicated his life afterward to primatology, becoming the founder of the Primate Society of Great Britain, and was among the group, with [[Louis Leakey]] and [[Phillip V. Tobias|Philip Tobias]], that named ''[[Homo habilis]]'' in the 1960s.<ref name=smithonian1>[http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/hab.html Human evolution: Homo]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[Smithsonian Institution]]</ref> |
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Napier later became Director of the Primate Biology Program at the [[Smithsonian Institution]], where he examined the famous purported footage of [[Bigfoot]], the [[ |
Napier later became Director of the Primate Biology Program at the [[Smithsonian Institution]], where he examined the famous purported footage of [[Bigfoot]], the [[Patterson–Gimlin film]]. After leaving the Smithsonian, Napier became a Visiting Professor of Primate Biology at [[Birkbeck, University of London|Birkbeck College]] in [[London]]. He also served as President of [[Twycross Zoo]] in [[Leicestershire]], [[England]].<ref name="NapierMIT">Napier J. R, Napier P. H. ''[http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/?tid=9400&ttype=2 The Natural History of the Primates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311171756/http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/?tid=9400&ttype=2 |date=2007-03-11 }}'', {{ISBN|0-262-14039-X}}</ref> Napier was married to British primatologist [[Prudence Hero Napier]] (1916 – 6 June 1997), the daughter of Sir [[Sir Hugo Rutherford, 2nd Baronet|Hugo Rutherford]].<ref name="Groves1998">{{cite journal |last=Groves |first=Colin P. |date=April 1998 |title=Obituary: Prudence Hero Napier (1916-1997) |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=203–205 |issn=1573-8604 |doi=10.1023/A:1020348119579 |s2cid=29988500 |doi-access=free }}</ref> |
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===Bigfoot research=== |
===Bigfoot research=== |
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Napier was one of the first notable scientists to give serious attention to the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon. His investigations included interviewing amateur investigators and purported eyewitnesses, visiting alleged Bigfoot sighting areas, studying the scant physical evidence, and screening the 1967 [[ |
Napier was one of the first notable scientists to give serious attention to the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon. His investigations included interviewing amateur investigators and purported eyewitnesses, visiting alleged Bigfoot sighting areas, studying the scant physical evidence, and screening the 1967 [[Patterson–Gimlin film]]. Napier concluded the film was a clever hoax: "the scientific evidence taken collectively points to a hoax of some kind."{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} However, by the same token, in reference to the Patterson–Gimlin film, Napier did also state on page 89 of his 1973 book 'Bigfoot: The Yeti And Sasquatch In Myth And Reality', "there was nothing in this film which would prove conclusively that this was a hoax." |
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In his 1973 book on the subject, Napier ultimately judged the evidence to be inconclusive: there was not enough hard proof to confirm to Napier that Bigfoot was a real creature, |
In his 1973 book on the subject, Napier ultimately judged the evidence to be inconclusive: there was not enough hard proof to confirm to Napier that Bigfoot was a real creature.<ref>Bigfoot; The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality (New York: E P Dutton, 1973)</ref> However, Napier judged the indirect evidence – especially footprints – as compelling and intriguing enough to avoid dismissing the subject as entirely unworthy of serious study. |
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==Institutions== |
==Institutions== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[ |
*[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E3D8173BF932A25752C0A967948260 NY Times review of Napier's book "Hands"] |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME =Napier, John |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = 1917 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Old Windsor]], [[England]] |
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| DATE OF DEATH =1987-08-29 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH =[[Isle of Mull]], [[Scotland]] |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, John}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, John}} |
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[[Category:1917 births]] |
[[Category:1917 births]] |
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[[Category:Cryptozoologists]] |
[[Category:Cryptozoologists]] |
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[[Category:Primatologists]] |
[[Category:Primatologists]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:British paleoanthropologists]] |
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[[Category:British |
[[Category:20th-century British zoologists]] |
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[[Category:English zoologists]] |
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[[Category:Smithsonian Institution people]] |
[[Category:Smithsonian Institution people]] |
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[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]] |
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]] |
Latest revision as of 01:11, 13 February 2024
John Russell Napier | |
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Born | 11 March 1917 |
Died | 29 August 1987 (aged 70)[2] |
Alma mater | Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital (MB BS; 1943) University of London (D.Sc.) |
Known for | Important contributions to primatology and Bigfoot research |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Primatology Paleoanthropology |
Institutions | See the text |
Notable students | Alison Richard[1] |
John Russell Napier, MRCS, LRCP, D.Sc. (11 March 1917 – 29 August 1987) was a British primatologist, paleoanthropologist, and physician, who is notable for his work with Homo habilis and OH 7,[3] as well as on human and primate hands/feet. During his life he was widely considered a leading authority on primate taxonomy,[2][4] but is perhaps most famous to the general public for his research on Bigfoot.
Biography
[edit]Napier was an orthopedic surgeon at the University of London before being invited by Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark to join him in his paleoanthropology research.[1] Napier then dedicated his life afterward to primatology, becoming the founder of the Primate Society of Great Britain, and was among the group, with Louis Leakey and Philip Tobias, that named Homo habilis in the 1960s.[5]
Napier later became Director of the Primate Biology Program at the Smithsonian Institution, where he examined the famous purported footage of Bigfoot, the Patterson–Gimlin film. After leaving the Smithsonian, Napier became a Visiting Professor of Primate Biology at Birkbeck College in London. He also served as President of Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire, England.[4] Napier was married to British primatologist Prudence Hero Napier (1916 – 6 June 1997), the daughter of Sir Hugo Rutherford.[6]
Lectures
[edit]In 1970 he was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Monkeys Without Tails: A Giraffe's Eye-view of Man.
Bigfoot research
[edit]Napier was one of the first notable scientists to give serious attention to the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon. His investigations included interviewing amateur investigators and purported eyewitnesses, visiting alleged Bigfoot sighting areas, studying the scant physical evidence, and screening the 1967 Patterson–Gimlin film. Napier concluded the film was a clever hoax: "the scientific evidence taken collectively points to a hoax of some kind."[citation needed] However, by the same token, in reference to the Patterson–Gimlin film, Napier did also state on page 89 of his 1973 book 'Bigfoot: The Yeti And Sasquatch In Myth And Reality', "there was nothing in this film which would prove conclusively that this was a hoax."
In his 1973 book on the subject, Napier ultimately judged the evidence to be inconclusive: there was not enough hard proof to confirm to Napier that Bigfoot was a real creature.[7] However, Napier judged the indirect evidence – especially footprints – as compelling and intriguing enough to avoid dismissing the subject as entirely unworthy of serious study.
Institutions
[edit]- St Bartholomew's Hospital, Senior House Surgeon, Chief Assistant to the Orthopaedic Unit, Registrar of the Peripheral Nerve Injury Unit (1934–1946)
- University College London Medical School, Demonstrator in the Department of Anatomy (1944–1949)
- King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Lecturer in Anatomy (1949–1967); Director of the Unit of Primatology and Human Evolution (1952–1967)
- Smithsonian Institution, Conservator of the Division of Mammals and Director of the Unit of Primatology and Human Evolution (1967–1969)
- Queen Elizabeth College, Director of the Program in Primate Biology (1969–1973)
- Birkbeck College, Visiting Professor of Primate Biology (1973–1978)
Selected bibliography
[edit]- A Handbook of Living Primates (New York: Academic Press, 1967, with Prudence Hero Napier)
- Old World Monkeys: Evolution, Systematics, and Behavior (New York: Academic Press, 1970, with Prudence Hero Napier)
- Roots of Mankind (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971)
- Bigfoot; The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality (New York: E P Dutton, 1973)
- Bigfoot (New York: Berkley Pub. Corp., 1974)
- Monkeys without Tails (New York: Taplinger Pub. Co., 1976)
- Primate Locomotion (London: Oxford University Press, 1976)
- Primates and Their Adaptations (Burlington, NC: Scientific Publications Division, Carolina Biological Supply Co., 1977.)
- Hands (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980)
- The Natural History of the Primates (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1988, with Prudence Hero Napier)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Kelley, Elizabeth A.; Robert W. Sussman (March 2007). "An Academic Genealogy on the History of American Field Primatologists" (PDF). American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 132 (3): 406–25. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20532. PMID 17154360. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
- ^ a b Day, M. H. (August 1988). "In Memoriam: Professor John Russell Napier, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., D.Sc". Journal of Anatomy. 159 (1): 227–229. PMC 1262025.
- ^ Leakey, Louis; Phillip Vallentine Tobias; John Russell Napier (April 1964). "A New Species of The Genus Homo From Olduvai Gorge" (PDF). Nature. 202 (4927): 7–9. Bibcode:1964Natur.202....7L. doi:10.1038/202007a0. PMID 14166722. S2CID 12836722. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ a b Napier J. R, Napier P. H. The Natural History of the Primates Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine, ISBN 0-262-14039-X
- ^ Human evolution: Homo[permanent dead link], Smithsonian Institution
- ^ Groves, Colin P. (April 1998). "Obituary: Prudence Hero Napier (1916-1997)". International Journal of Primatology. 19 (2): 203–205. doi:10.1023/A:1020348119579. ISSN 1573-8604. S2CID 29988500.
- ^ Bigfoot; The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality (New York: E P Dutton, 1973)