Charles Hazelius Sternberg
Encyclopedia
Charles Hazelius Sternberg (June 15, 1850 - July 20, 1943), was an American
fossil
collector and amateur paleontologist
. His older brother, Dr. George M. Sternberg (1838-1915) was a military surgeon assigned to Fort Harker near Ellsworth, Kansas and brought the rest of Sternberg family to Kansas to live on his ranch about 1868. Once there, Charles became interested in collecting fossil leaves from the Dakota Sandstone Formation
. In the 1870s, he studied at Kansas State under the noted paleontologist Benjamin Franklin Mudge
, but he soon left school in order to spend more time in the field.
During the early years of the Bone Wars
, Charles Sternberg collected fossils in Kansas for Edward Drinker Cope
. He wrote two books: The Life of a Fossil Hunter (1909) and Hunting Dinosaurs in the Badlands of the Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada (1917).
In 1880, Charles married Anna Reynolds. Their three sons, George F. Sternberg
(1883-1969), Charles Mortram Sternberg (1885-1981) and Levi Sternberg (1894-1976), also had careers in vertebrate
paleontology. They are famous for their collecting abilities and many discoveries, including the "Trachodon mummy
", an exquisitely preserved specimen of Edmontosaurus
annectens (see hadrosaurid
). His son George Sternberg is also a noted fossil hunter famous for finding the "fish within a fish", a 13 ft Xiphactinus which had inside it a nicely preserved, 6 ft Gillicus arcuatus.
Sternberg was a deeply religious man. He wrote devotional poetry and published a collection of poems 'The Story of the Past: Or, the Romance of Science'. In his old age, he would visit the American Museum of Natural History
to view his finds, and one visit to the 'Trachodon mummy' inspired the following quote:
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
collector and amateur paleontologist
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
. His older brother, Dr. George M. Sternberg (1838-1915) was a military surgeon assigned to Fort Harker near Ellsworth, Kansas and brought the rest of Sternberg family to Kansas to live on his ranch about 1868. Once there, Charles became interested in collecting fossil leaves from the Dakota Sandstone Formation
Dakota Sandstone
The Dakota Sandstone is a general term for an ill-defined early Cretaceous formation of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. It consists of sandy, shallow-marine deposits with intermittent mud flat sediments, and occasional stream deposits...
. In the 1870s, he studied at Kansas State under the noted paleontologist Benjamin Franklin Mudge
Benjamin Franklin Mudge
Benjamin Franklin Mudge was an American lawyer, geologist and teacher. Briefly the mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts, he later moved to Kansas where he was appointed the first State Geologist. He led the first geological survey of the state in 1864, and published the first book on the geology of Kansas...
, but he soon left school in order to spend more time in the field.
During the early years of the Bone Wars
Bone Wars
The Bone Wars, also known as the "Great Dinosaur Rush", refers to a period of intense fossil speculation and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh...
, Charles Sternberg collected fossils in Kansas for Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
. He wrote two books: The Life of a Fossil Hunter (1909) and Hunting Dinosaurs in the Badlands of the Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada (1917).
In 1880, Charles married Anna Reynolds. Their three sons, George F. Sternberg
George F. Sternberg
George Fryer Sternberg was a paleontologist best known for his discovery in Gove County, Kansas of the "fish-within-a-fish" of Xiphactinus audax. He was the son of Charles Hazelius Sternberg and nephew of Brig. Gen. George M. Sternberg...
(1883-1969), Charles Mortram Sternberg (1885-1981) and Levi Sternberg (1894-1976), also had careers in vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
paleontology. They are famous for their collecting abilities and many discoveries, including the "Trachodon mummy
Trachodon mummy
The Trachodon mummy is a very well preserved fossil of Edmontosaurus annectens, a duckbilled dinosaur. It was found by Charles Hazelius Sternberg and his three sons near Lusk, Wyoming, USA in 1908...
", an exquisitely preserved specimen of Edmontosaurus
Edmontosaurus
Edmontosaurus is a genus of crestless hadrosaurid dinosaur. It contains two species: Edmontosaurus regalis and Edmontosaurus annectens. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks of western North America that date from the late Campanian stage of the Cretaceous Period 73 million years ago,...
annectens (see hadrosaurid
Hadrosaurid
Hadrosaurids or duck-billed dinosaurs are members of the family Hadrosauridae, and include ornithopods such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus. They were common herbivores in the Upper Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia, Europe and North America. They are descendants of the Upper...
). His son George Sternberg is also a noted fossil hunter famous for finding the "fish within a fish", a 13 ft Xiphactinus which had inside it a nicely preserved, 6 ft Gillicus arcuatus.
Sternberg was a deeply religious man. He wrote devotional poetry and published a collection of poems 'The Story of the Past: Or, the Romance of Science'. In his old age, he would visit the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
to view his finds, and one visit to the 'Trachodon mummy' inspired the following quote:
Sternberg Museum
Fossils collected by Charles Sternberg, including dinosaurs from the western United States and Canada, are in museums around the world. Many of the fossils discovered by Charles Sternberg's son, George F. Sternberg, are on display in the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, KansasHays, Kansas
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
.
External links
- Class materials on the Sternbergs from a History of GeologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
course at Emporia State UniversityEmporia State UniversityEmporia State University is a university in the city of Emporia in Lyon County, Kansas, just east of the Flint Hills.- History :...
. - Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, KansasHays, KansasHays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
- Trip to Hays, Sternberg Museum
- Charles H. Sternberg - Oceans of Kansas Paleontology
- Dinosaurs in the Deep
- The Story of the Past - collection of poems written by Sternberg