United States National Museum. Division of Comparative Anatomy

The Department of Comparative Anatomy was created in the United States National Museum (USNM) in 1885. The Department (after 1897 a division in the Department of Biology) was responsible for the preparation and care of the osteological specimens of the Museum. From the early days of the museum collections, separate bone catalogs were kept, distinct from the other specimen catalogs. In addition, a series of vertebrate skulls and skeletons was exhibited in the main hall of the Smithsonian Building, and much material was in storage.

When the collections were moved from the Smithsonian Building to the USNM in 1883, a proposal was made that a Department of Comparative Anatomy be set up. Although Frederick William True and Frederic A. Lucas were listed as Curator and Assistant in such a Department as early as 1883, formal organization of the Department first came in 1885.

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