The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
By
Barbara Kerley
1. Horse-drawn carriages clattered down the streets of
London in 1853. 2. Gentlemen tipped their hats to ladies
1. _______
passing by. 3. Children ducked and dodged on their way to
2. _______
school.
3. _______
4. But Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins had no time to
be out and about. 5. Waterhouse, as he liked to call himself,
4. _______
hurried toward his workshop in a park south of town. 6. He
5. _______
was expecting some very important visitors. 7. He didn’t
6. _______
want to be late.
7. _______
8. As he neared his workshop, Waterhouse thought of
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the hours he’d spent outside as a boy. 9. Like many artists,
8. _______
he had grown up sketching the world around him. 10. By the
9. _______
time he was a young man, he’d found his true passion: animals. 10. ______
11. He loved to draw and paint them. 12. But what he really
11. ______
loved was sculpting models of them. 13. Through his care and 12. ______
hard work, they seemed to come to life.
13. ______
14. Now Waterhouse was busy with a most exciting
project: He was building dinosaurs! 15. His creations would
14. ______
prowl the grounds of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s new
art and science museum, the Crystal Palace.
15. ______
16. Even though the English had found the first known
dinosaur fossil many years before -- and the bones of
more dinosaurs had been unearthed in England since
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then—in 1853, most people had no idea what a dinosaur
looked like.
16. ______
17. Scientist weren’t sure either, for the only fossils
were some bits and pieces—a tooth here, a bone there. 18. But 17. ______
they thought that if they studied a fossil and compared it to a
living animal, they could fill in the blanks.
18. ______
19. And so, with the help of scientist Richard Owen,
who checked every muscle, bone, and spike, that’s exactly
what Waterhouse was doing. 20. He wanted to create such
19. ______
perfect models that anyone—a crowd of curious children,
England’s leading scientists, even the Queen herself!—could
gaze at his dinosaurs and see into the past.
21. Waterhouse threw open the doors to his workshop.
20. ______
21. ______
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22. Nervously, he tidied up here and there. 23. His assistants
22. ______
came, then Richard Owen.
23. ______
24. At last, the visitors arrived: Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert!
25. The Queen’s eyes grew wide in surprise.
24. ______
25. ______
26. Waterhouse’s creatures were extraordinary! 27. How on
26. ______
earth had he made them?
27. ______
28. He was happy to explain: The iguanodon, for
instance, had teeth that were quite similar to the teeth of an
iguana. 29. The iguanodon, then, must surely have looked like 28. ______
a giant iguana. 30. Waterhouse pointed out that the few
29. ______
iguanodon bones helped determine the model’s size and
proportion. 31. And another bone—almost a spike—most
30. ______
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likely sat on the nose, like a rhino’s horn.
32. Just so for the megalosaurus. 33. Start with its
31. ______
32. ______
jawbone. 34. Compare it to the anatomy of a lizard. 35. Fill
33. ______
34. ______
in the blanks. 36. And voila! 37. A dinosaur more than forty
35. ______
36. ______
feet long.
37. ______
38. Waterhouse was also making ancient reptiles and
amphibians. 39. While Richard Owen could imagine their
38. ______
shapes, it took an artist to bring the animals to life.
39. ______
40. Designing the creatures was only the first step.
41. There was still the monumental task of building them.
40. ______
41. ______
42. Waterhouse showed his guests the small models
he’d made, correct in every detail, from scales on the nose to
nails on the toes. 43. With the help of his assistants, he had
42. ______
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formed the life-size clay figures and created the molds from
them. 44. Then he erected iron skeletons, built brick
43. ______
foundations, and covered the whole thing with cement casts
from the dinosaur-shaped molds.
45. Designing the creatures was only the first step.
46. There was still the monumental task of building them.
44. ______
45. ______
46. ______
47. Waterhouse showed his guests the small models
he’d made, correct in every detail, from scales on the nose to
nails on the toes. 48. With the help of his assistants, he had
47. ______
formed the life-size clay figures and created the molds from
them. 49. Then he erected iron skeletons, built brick
48. ______
foundations, and covered the whole thing with cement casts
from the dinosaur-shaped molds.
49. ______
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50. “It is no less,” Waterhouse concluded, “than
building a house upon four columns.”
50. ______
51. In the weeks to follow, Waterhouse basked in the
glow of the Queen’s approval. 52. But he would soon face a
51. ______
much tougher set of critics: England’s leading scientists.
52. ______
53. Waterhouse wanted to be accepted into this circle of
eminent men. 54. What would they think of his dinosaurs?
55. There was only one way to find out.
53. ______
54. ______
55. ______
56. Waterhouse would show them. 57. But why not do it with 56. ______
a little style?
58. A dinner party. 59. On New Year’s Eve, no less.
57. ______
58. ______
59. ______
60. And not just any dinner party. 61. Waterhouse would stage 60. ______
an event that no one would ever forget!
61. ______
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62. He sketched twenty-one invitations to the top
scientists and supporters of the day, the words inscribed on a
drawing of a pterodactyl wing. 63. He pored over menus with 62. ______
the caterer.
64. The iguanodon mold was hauled outside.
65. A platform was built. 66. A tent erected.
63. ______
64. ______
65. ______
66. ______
67. As the hour drew near, the table was elegantly set,
and names of famous scientists—the fathers of
paleontology—were strung above the tent walls. 68. All was
67. ______
ready.
68. ______
69. With great anticipation, Waterhouse dressed for the
occasion in his finest attire. 70. He was ready to reveal his
69. ______
masterpiece!
70. ______
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71. When the guests arrived, they gasped with delight!
71. ______
72. Waterhouse smiled as he signaled for dinner to
begin. 73. With solemn formality, the footmen served course
72. ______
after course from silver platters. 74. Up and down the steps of 73. ______
the platform they carried the lavish feast: rabbit soup, fish,
ham, and even pigeon pie. 75. For dessert, there were nuts,
74. ______
pastries, pudding, and plums. 76. Two footmen stayed busy
75. ______
simply pouring the wines.
76. ______
77. For eight hours, the men rang in the New Year.
77. ______
78. They laughed and shouted. 79. They made speech after
78. ______
speech, toasting Waterhouse Hawkins. 80. All the guests
79. ______
agreed: The iguanodon was a marvelous success. 81. By
80. ______
midnight they were belting out a song created especially for
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the occasion:
THE JOLLY OLD BEAST IS NOT DECEASED
THERE’S LIFE IN HIM AGAIN!
81. ______
82. The next months passed by in concrete, stone, and
iron, as Waterhouse put the finishing touches on his dinosaurs. 82. ______
83. Inside the iguanodon’s lower jaw he signed the work:
B. HAWKIND, BUILDER, 1854. 84. The models were now
83. ______
ready for the grand opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham
Park.
84. ______
85. Forty thousand spectators attended the regal
ceremony. 86. In the sun-filled center court, Waterhouse
85. ______
mingled with scientists and foreign dignitaries. 87. At last,
86. ______
the Queen arrived! 88. The crowd cheered, “Hurrah!”
87. ______
88. ______
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89. Cannons boomed, music swelled, and a choir of one
thousand voices sang. 90. Waterhouse bowed before the
89. ______
Queen. 91. Then she and Prince Albert invited the spectators
90. ______
to enjoy the amazing sights.
91. ______
92. First two, then ten, then a dozen more…Gasped!
Shrieked! Laughed and cried: So this was a dinosaur!
93. Waterhouse was thrilled. 94. For in addition to
being an artist, he also saw himself as a teacher. 95. He was
92. ______
93. ______
94. ______
convinced that the best way for people to learn about
something was to see it. 96. With this love of art and teaching, 95. ______
he knew he could do more. 97. Educational posters.
96. ______
97. ______
98. Small models anyone could buy. 99. Lectures.
98. ______
99. ______
100. Books to illustrate. 101. For the next fourteen years,
100. _____
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Waterhouse did it all.
102. News of his success had reached America.
101. _____
102. _____
103. In 1868, Waterhouse traveled to New York City, filling
a lecture hall for talks about dinosaurs, evolution, even
dragons. 104. As he spoke, he sketched such marvelous
103. _____
illustrations that the audience burst into applause.
104. _____
105. And then, Waterhouse received a delightful
surprise: a letter from the head of Central Park, inviting him to
build American dinosaurs! 106. His models would inhabit a
105. _____
museum planned for the park’s southwest corner.
106. _____
107. Waterhouse was excited. 108. America’s first two 107. _____
dinosaurs, Hadrosaurus and Laelaps, had only recently been
discovered. 109. Here was his chance to bring these dinosaurs 108. _____
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to life for all to see.
110. Waterhouse set right to work. 111. He spent the
109. _____
110. _____
next six months traveling to American museums to learn about
American dinosaurs. 112. Again, he built something no one
111. _____
had ever seen before: the first model of a complete dinosaur
skeleton.
112. _____
113. He presented the Hadrosaurus to The Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, where it was a welcomed
with great enthusiasm.
113. _____
114. Now Waterhouse was ready to build his dinosaurs. 114. _____
115. He returned to New York City to the workshop built for
him in Central Park. 116. He hired an assistant, and the real
115. _____
work began. 117. Small models. 118. Life-size clay figures.
116. _____
117. _____
118. _____
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119. Iron skeletons. 120. Dinosaurs.
119. _____
120. _____
121. While he and his assistant toiled inside, workmen
outside began building the museum. 122. Like the Crystal
121. _____
Palace, the Paleozoic Museum would be an enormous
structure of iron and glass with a beautiful arched ceiling.
123. Day after day, workmen dug the foundation.
122. _____
123. _____
124. Then disaster struck. 125. William “Boss” Tweed, 124. _____
a corrupt politician who controlled much of New York City,
said the museum was a waste of money. 126. At six tall and
125. _____
three hundred pounds, Boss Tweed was a big man, with an
even bigger thirst for power. 127. He reorganized the Parks
126. _____
Department and put his own men in charge. 128. Waterhouse 127. _____
watched in dismay as work on the museum was stopped.
128. _____
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129. He began looking for a new home for his dinosaurs. 129. _____
130. But he was frustrated that a thieving scoundrel could
thwart almost two years of work.
130. _____
131. In March of 1871, Waterhouse gave a speech at the
New York Lyceum of Natural History. 132. He stressed the
131. _____
importance of science and art, then shared the troubles he’d
had with the Boss.
132. _____
133. “I trust, however,” Waterhouse concluded, “that in
time the good sense of the people will awaken and that they
will realize the vast importance of my work.”
134. The audience agreed. 135. One man called the
133. _____
134. _____
Boss greedy. 136. Another said that the Boss was an “Enemy 135. _____
of Mankind.” 137. The New York Times printed it all.
136. _____
137. _____
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138. Waterhouse carried on with his work, but on May
3, his dream was shattered.
138. _____
139. Vandals broke into his workshop. 140. Wielding
139. _____
sledgehammers, they smashed the dinosaurs. 141. Then they
140. _____
carted the pieces outside and buried them in the park.
141. _____
142. Waterhouse arrived to find chaos: chunks of
rubble, mangled wire, plaster shards, and dust. 143. He
142. _____
simply couldn’t believe it.
143. _____
144. Waterhouse stumbled outside, only to find mounds
of dirt and dinosaur rubble. 145. Two years of his life, utterly 144. _____
ruined.
146. This could only be the work of Boss Tweed.
145. _____
146. _____
147. The more Waterhouse thought about, the angrier he
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became. 148. He protested to the Parks Department. 149. The 147. _____
148. _____
situation was outrageous! 150. Criminal! 151. Surely
149. _____
150. _____
something could be done!
151. _____
152. But Waterhouse was bluntly told not to waste his
time with “dead animals” when there were so many living
ones around.
153. Waterhouse staggered away. 154. His dinosaurs
were broken, and so was his spirit.
152. _____
153. _____
154. _____
155. But in spite of the Boss, Waterhouse would give
America her dinosaurs.
155. _____
156. He left New York to create towering hadrosaur
skeletons for Princeton University in New Jersey and the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 157. He stayed
156. _____
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on at Princeton, yet again creating something that no one had
ever seen before: the first series of paintings showing the
development of life on Earth, including his beloved dinosaurs. 157. _____
158. Waterhouse was now seventy-one years old.
159. It was time to go home.
158. _____
159. _____
160. Waterhouse returned to London and exciting
news: Thirty iguanodon skeletons had been discovered in a
coal mine in Belgium. 161. It now appeared that
160. _____
Waterhouse’s beloved iguanodon might have walked upright,
on its hind feet. 162. And the spike on the nose—like a
161. _____
rhino’s horn—might actually be a thumb. Imagine that!
162. _____
163. Waterhouse settled back into his cottage, Fossil
Villa, near the Crystal Palace. 164. And on pleasant
163. _____
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afternoons, as he walked to the park and his marvelous
creations, he wondered: What other surprises would scientists
dig up as they searched the world for dinosaurs?
164. _____
165. Just as he had hoped, his models were the start of
something wonderful: the world’s first encounter with these
ancient animals.
165. _____
166. People still come to the Crystal Palace Park in
England to see the dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins.
166. _____
167. And while his American dinosaurs no longer stand,
somewhere, buried in Central Park, pieces of his dinosaurs
remain.
167. _____
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