Dr. Wann Langston, Jr. (1921-2013)

Last night we lost one of the most influential paleontologists of the 20th century, Wann Langston, Jr.

Wann’s lifelong fascination with fossils spans nine decades; his influence on the field of vertebrate paleontology will undoubtedly last for generations to come. From the age of four, Dr. Langston was captivated by ancient life, and spent a childhood in the pursuit and reconstruction of vertebrate skeletons. Spending much of his formative years visiting museums, he met many of the influential paleontologists of the time, and gained entry early into the study of fossils. Volunteering in a paleontology laboratory preparing fossils during his teenage years, he participated in his first scientific collecting trip at the age of 17, joining a team from the University of Oklahoma in the Big Bend of Texas. After graduating with a BS in Geology from the University of Oklahoma, he served in the United States Navy, returning to the University of Oklahoma at the end of World War II for an MS under J. Willis Stovall. After teaching for a few years at Texas Technological College, in Lubbock, Texas, he entered the Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley to study the Permian amphibians of New Mexico with Charles Camp, completing his degree in 1952. Wann remained there as a lecturer and Chief Preparator until 1954, when he moved to Ottawa to assume the position of Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the National Museum of Canada. Nine years later, he trekked to The University of Texas at Austin, where he subsequently spent 50 years contributing to the world’s knowledge of fossil reptiles. His research spanned many groups of animals, and he is widely known for his work on North American dinosaurs, Permian amphibians, and North and South American crocodilians. Dr. Langston's fieldwork continued to expand the collections at UT, and he was responsible for many of the public displays of dinosaurs and other fossil reptiles exhibited

Wann with his panel mount of Dilophosaurus weatherilli at Berkeley.

throughout Texas. His paleontological legacy consists of field collections, skeletal reconstructions, an unparalleled personal library, and over 100 publications, as well as innumerable students and colleagues that have been touched by his knowledge and skills. Specimens that he collected or mounted can be viewed at the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Museum of Texas Tech University, Big Bend National Park, among many others institutions around the United States and around the world.

Wann was a multi-talented individual, comfortable in the field, preparation lab, classroom, research office, and welding shop.  I have had the privilege of working with Wann in the lab over the four years that I've been at UT, and I have learned an enormous amount from him. I'm going to miss Wann very much.