author
William Diller Matthew
1871–1930
A leading paleontologist of the early 20th century, he helped shape modern understanding of how mammals evolved and spread across the world. His work combined fossil evidence with big ideas about climate, migration, and deep time.
1 Audiobook
Dinosaurs, with Special Reference to the American Museum Collections
by William Diller Matthew
About the author
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, on February 19, 1871, he became a Canadian-American vertebrate paleontologist known especially for his studies of mammal fossils. He studied at Columbia University and developed his career during the great fossil-hunting era of North American museums.
Much of his best-known work was connected with the American Museum of Natural History, where he built a reputation as an expert on fossil mammals and their evolutionary history. He wrote clearly for both specialists and general readers, and his 1915 book Climate and Evolution became especially influential for its ideas about how changing environments and migration patterns shaped the history of mammals.
Later in his career he joined the University of California, Berkeley, as professor of paleontology. He died in San Francisco on September 24, 1930, but his research remained important to paleontology, biogeography, and the study of mammalian evolution.