Edwin Harris Colbert

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Edwin Harris Colbert

Born	1905
Died	2001
Fields	Paleontology
Institutions	American Museum of Natural History Columbia University
Known for	Coelophysis Effigia okeeffeae
Religious stance	Unitarian

Edwin Harris Colbert (1905 – 2001) was a distinguished vertebrate paleontologist and prolific researcher and author. He received his A.B. from the University of Nebraska and his Masters and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Among the positions he held was Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, and Professor Emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontogy at Columbia University. He was a friend of Henry Fairfield Osborn, and a foremost authority on the Dinosauria. He described dozens of new taxa and authored major systematic reviews, including the discovery and description of the small Triassic dinosaur Coelophysis at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, and a review of ceratopsian phylogeny. He also discovered what later was named and classified as Effigia okeeffeae.

His fieldwork in Antarctica helped solidify the acceptance of continental drift, while his popularity and his text books on dinosaurs, paleontology, and stratigraphy (with Marshall Kay) introduced a generation of scientists and amateur enthusiasts to the subject. He was the recipient of numerous prizes and awards commemorating his many achievements in the field of science.