Joseph Leidy

Joseph Leidy
Leidy c.1870
Born	(1823-09-09)September 9, 1823 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	April 30, 1891(1891-04-30) (aged 67) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality (legal)	American
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Awards	Lyell Medal (1884)
Scientific career
Fields	paleontology, anatomy, parasitology
Institutions	Academy of Natural Sciences University of Pennsylvania Wagner Free Institute of Science
Signature

Joseph Mellick Leidy (September 9, 1823 – April 30, 1891) was an American paleontologist, parasitologist and anatomist.

Leidy was professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, later becoming a professor of natural history at Swarthmore College and the director of scientific and educational programs at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. His book Extinct Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska (1869) contained many species not previously described and many previously unknown on the North American continent. At the time, scientific investigation was largely the province of wealthy amateurs.

The Leidy Glacier in northwest Greenland was named by Robert Peary after him.^[1]