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Thomas Davidson
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Davidson, Thomas
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Davidson, Thomas
Davidson, Thomas Thomas Davidson, undated engraving.

Thomas Davidson

Scottish paleontologist
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Quick Facts
Born:
May 17, 1817, Edinburgh, Scot.
Died:
Oct. 14, 1885, Brighton, Sussex, Eng.
Subjects Of Study:
lamp shell
fossil
See all related content

Thomas Davidson (born May 17, 1817, Edinburgh, Scot.—died Oct. 14, 1885, Brighton, Sussex, Eng.) was a Scottish naturalist and paleontologist who became known as an authority on lamp shells, a phylum of bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates (Brachiopoda) whose fossils are among the oldest found.

Davidson studied at the University of Edinburgh (1835–36) and on the Continent, where he participated in several geologic tours. Soon afterward, he began a study of brachiopods that was to occupy his entire life. An accomplished painter, Davidson prepared 250 excellent plates for his classic Monograph of the British Fossil Brachiopoda, 6 vol. (1851–86). He is also known for his exhaustive memoir Recent Brachiopoda.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.