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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. […]

Punch's Almanack for 1855 cartoon titled, "A visit to the antediluvian reptiles at Sydenham – Master Tom strongly objects to having his mind improved".

Punch 1855 Cartoon Visiting Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Punch, or The London Charivari, was a British weekly magazine famous for its illustrated commentary and satire of politics and culture across the nineteen century and twentieth century. Mr Punch [...]

Theodosius Dobzhansky’s (1937) Genetics and the Origin of Species. Title page

Genetics and the Origin of Species (1937) by Theodosius Dobzhansky

Theodosius Dobzhansky‘s (1900-1975) book, Genetics and the Origin of Species, was first published in 1937 by Columbia University Press in their Columbia Biological Series. This book played an important part [...]

Gideon Mantell (1851) Petrifactions and Their Teaching, frontispiece, Notoris mantelli

Gideon Mantell’s 1851 Guide to Fossils at British Museum

Gideon Mantell’s 1851 guide to fossils at British Museum, including Iguanodon, Megalosaurus, Hylaeosaurus, marine reptiles, and more. […]

HPSC0011 STS Perspectives on Big Problems

The theme for 2026-27 will be “Food”. “Science and technology are two of the most important drivers of our world. As a field of study, STS is organised to interpret those activities in the past, […]

HPSC0010 History of Modern Science

This page is in development. Please return in September 2026. Until then, please enjoy these cartoons. What are these?

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 […]

Philip Henry Gosse (1854) Handbook to the Marine Aquarium - Euston Grove Press ISBN 9781906267186 | starfish in aquarium at London Zoo ZSL

Handbook to the Marine Aquarium, 1856 Manual | EGP

This handbook to the marine aquarium was one of the first manuals with practical instructions for constructing, stocking, and maintaining a marine fish tank, and for collecting plants and animals to stock that tank. It’s […]

Genetics: Sewall Wright Taught Me, volume 2. Edited by Joe Cain. ISBN 9781906267032

Genetics: Sewall Wright Taught Me, volume 2 | EGP

Sewall Wright taught throughout his long career. Between 1926-1955, he worked at the University of Chicago. During this time, he developed and taught both undergraduate and graduate courses. By the early 1930s, Wright’s teaching load […]

Professor Joe Cain

UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Synthesis Period in Evolutionary Studies

Genetics: Sewall Wright Taught Me, volume 2 | EGP

Systematics and the Origin of Species (1942) by Ernst Mayr

One Hundred and One Mendelians – Buttolph (2008)

Descended from Darwin – Context for the Evolutionary Synthesis

Comparing Tempo and Mode (1944) with Major Features (1953) by George Gaylord Simpson

Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

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

Punch 1855 Cartoon Visiting Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

GenAI in Research

Genetics and the Origin of Species (1937) by Theodosius Dobzhansky

Gideon Mantell’s 1851 Guide to Fossils at British Museum

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#205 Why Green Activism Must Turn Blue | WeAreSTS

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HPSC Modules 2026-27

HPSC0011 STS Perspectives on Big Problems

HPSC0010 History of Modern Science

HPSC0028 History of Life Sciences

Open Access Titles | Euston Grove Press

Handbook to the Marine Aquarium, 1856 Manual | EGP

Genetics: Sewall Wright Taught Me, volume 2 | EGP

Evolution: Sewall Wright Taught Me, volume 1 | EGP