John Napier (primatologist)
Encyclopedia
John Russell Napier, MRCS
Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
MRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...

, LRCP
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...

, D.Sc.
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...

 (1917 – 29 August 1987) was a British primatologist, paleoathropologist
Paleoanthropology
Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil hominid evidence such as petrifacted bones and footprints.-19th century:...

, and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, who is notable for his work with Homo habilis
Homo habilis
Homo habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately at the beginning of the Pleistocene period. The discovery and description of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis Homo...

and OH 7
OH 7
OH 7 , also nicknamed "Johnny's Child", is the type specimen of Homo habilis. The fossils were discovered on November 4, 1960 in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Jonathan and Mary Leakey...

, as well as on human and primate hands/feet. During his life he was widely considered a leading authority on primate taxonomy, but is perhaps most famous to the general public for his research on Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...

.

Biography

Napier was an orthopedic surgeon at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 before being invited by Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark
Wilfrid Le Gros Clark
Sir Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark was a British anatomist surgeon, primatologist and palaeoanthropologist, today best remembered for his contribution to the study of human evolution....

 to join him in his paleoanthropology research. 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
Louis Leakey
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey was a British archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. He also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there...

 and Philip Tobias
Phillip V. Tobias
Phillip Vallentine Tobias is a South African palaeoanthropologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg...

, that named Homo habilis
Homo habilis
Homo habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately at the beginning of the Pleistocene period. The discovery and description of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis Homo...

in the 1960s.

Napier later became Director of the Primate Biology Program at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, where he examined the famous purported footage of Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...

, the Patterson-Gimlin film
Patterson-Gimlin film
The Patterson-Gimlin film is a famous short motion picture of an unidentified subject the film makers purported to be a "Bigfoot", that was supposedly filmed on October 20, 1967, by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin on the Klamath River outside of Orleans,...

. After leaving the Smithsonian, Napier became a Visiting Professor of Primate Biology at Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He also served as President of Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo is an zoo near the village of Twycross in Leicestershire, close to the border of Warwickshire . The zoo claims the largest collections of monkeys and apes in the World, and in 2006 re-launched itself as "Twycross Zoo – The World Primate Centre."The zoo attracts around 500,000 visitors...

 in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Napier was married to British primatologist Prudence Hero Napier
Prudence Hero Napier
Prudence Hero Napier was one of Britain's most eminent primatologists, and the world's leading expert on the taxonomy of primates. She was the widow of the primatologist, John Napier. -Biography:...

 (1916 – 6 June 1997), the daughter of Sir Hugo Rutherford
Sir Hugo Rutherford, 2nd Baronet
Sir Hugo Rutherford, 2nd Baronet was a Conservative party politician in the United Kingdom.He was Member of Parliament for Liverpool Edge Hill from 1931 to 1935....

.

Bigfoot research

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
Patterson-Gimlin film
The Patterson-Gimlin film is a famous short motion picture of an unidentified subject the film makers purported to be a "Bigfoot", that was supposedly filmed on October 20, 1967, by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin on the Klamath River outside of Orleans,...

, which he concluded was a clever hoax: "the scientific evidence taken collectively points to a hoax of some kind."

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, but Napier judged the indirect evidence – especially footprints – as compelling and intriguing enough to avoid dismissing it entirely.

Institutions

  • St Bartholomew's Hospital
    St Bartholomew's Hospital
    St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...

    , 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
    King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry
    King's College London School of Medicine is the medical school of King's College London, and one of the United Hospitals...

    , Lecturer in Anatomy (1949–1967); Director of the Unit of Primatology and Human Evolution (1952–1967)
  • Smithsonian Institution
    Smithsonian Institution
    The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

    , Conservator of the Division of Mammals and Director of the Unit of Primatology and Human Evolution (1967–1969)
  • Queen Elizabeth College
    Queen Elizabeth College
    Queen Elizabeth College had its origins in the Ladies' Department of King's College London, England, opened in 1885. The first King's 'extension' lectures for ladies were held at Richmond in 1871, and from 1878 in Kensington, with chaperones in attendance.In 1881, the Council resolved 'to...

    , Director of the Program in Primate Biology (1969–1973)
  • Birkbeck College, Visiting Professor of Primate Biology (1973–1978)

Selected bibliography

  • 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)

External links

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