About Roland T. Bird

© Robert E. Gentet 2010

Bird's original article Thunder in His Footsteps in the May 1939 issue of Natural History tells how he first discovered the Glen Rose dinosaur fossil footprints. Some interesting background information on Bird is given by Louis Jacobs:

"Bird as a young man traveled the American West and Mexico on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The fortuitous find of an ancient amphibian while he was setting up camp in Arizona in 1932 catalyzed his relationship with [his boss, Barnum] Brown and the American Museum [of Natural History in New York]. Brown liked dinosaurs and he liked their footprints. So in 1938, R. T., as Brown's field collector, ended up in Texas, tracking dinosaurs." (p. 5, Lone Star Dinosaurs.)