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Sketch of Dinner in Iguanodon Model as remembered by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, 1862. Source: Letter from Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins to Edward James Alfred Trimmer, 27 August, British Library Add MS 50150 f215. Photo: ProfJoeCain CC BY NC.

Remembering Dinner in the Dinosaur: Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ 1862 Sketch

Near the end of August 1862, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1807-1894) wrote to Edward Trimmer (1827-1904) with a brief mention of the New Year’s Eve dinner in Iguanodon mould. The letter [...]

John Martin's 1837 The Country of the Iguanodon

The Country of the Iguanodon, by Gideon Mantell – Two Versions

“The Country of the Iguanodon” is Gideon Mantell’s attempt to imagine the paleoecology of dinosaurs. Transcripts of 1838 and 1851 descriptions. […]

#208 When Fieldwork Goes Wrong Go Public | WeAreSTS

Today, an experiment: can Generative AI replace this podcast? There’s a new feature in the GenAI service, Google Notebook LM, that creates an audio discussion about texts you give it. [...]

Illustration of "ring species" concept, or Rassenkreis

Society for the Study of Speciation: Bibliographic Analysis Using LLM

I provide data for an LLM-based analysis of the short-lived Society for the Study of Speciation (SSS), organised by Alfred Emerson, through three documents. […]

HPSC0009 Introduction to History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science

This page is in development. Please return in September 2026. Find out more.

HPSC0044 Science and the Publishing Industry

The publishing industry is enormous. It shapes science communication in fundamental ways. This module investigates publishing. How does it work? How does it enable, constrain, and challenge science communication? The module covers a wide range […]

HPSC0028 History of Life Sciences

A historical survey of the biological sciences from the Enlightenment to the present. What are the big names and big ideas? How were they received at the time and appropriated later? Who’s been ignored and […]

Cumberland Clark. 1929. Shakespeare and Science. ISBN 978-1-906267-39-1.

Shakespeare and Science: Biology, Physics, Chemistry and More from the Bard | EGP

Cumberland Clarke’s Shakespeare and Science is a monumental compilation of the William Shakespeare’s many references to natural and celestial phenomena, including a careful study of the Bard’s interest in, and dramatic use of, natural phenomena. […]

Brown Dog and His Memorial (Battersea, London) | EGP

In 1907, London medical students protested over a statue raised to a little brown dog. Bonfires burned late into the night. Large groups marched through the streets clashing with police. Gangs were arrested trying to […]

Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis (Eoornis) | EGP

Meet Eoörnis (Eoornis), the woofen-poof. As the author explains, ‘Through countless ages and successive civilizations this remarkable bird has been the symbol of speed, stamina, grace of line, proportion of members, and beauty of motion.’ […]

Professor Joe Cain

UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Synthesis Period in Evolutionary Studies

Society for the Study of Speciation: Bibliographic Analysis Using LLM

Using LLMs to query 1939 International Genetical Congress

George Gaylord Simpson (1902-1984) bibliography

Patricide in the Repeated Assassination of George Gaylord Simpson

Biodynamica, published by Basile J. Luyet

Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Remembering Dinner in the Dinosaur: Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ 1862 Sketch

The Country of the Iguanodon, by Gideon Mantell – Two Versions

GenAI in Research

#208 When Fieldwork Goes Wrong Go Public | WeAreSTS

Society for the Study of Speciation: Bibliographic Analysis Using LLM

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HPSC Modules 2026-27

HPSC0009 Introduction to History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science

HPSC0044 Science and the Publishing Industry

HPSC0028 History of Life Sciences

Open Access Titles | Euston Grove Press

Shakespeare and Science: Biology, Physics, Chemistry and More from the Bard | EGP

Brown Dog and His Memorial (Battersea, London) | EGP

Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis (Eoornis) | EGP