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Edward Drinker Cope ( July 28, 1840– April 12, 1897) was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist.

Cope was born in Philadelphia to Quaker parents. At an early age he became interested in natural history, and in 1859 communicated a paper on the Salamandridae to the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. He was educated partly in the University of Pennsylvania, and after further study and travel in Europe was in appointed curator to the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1865, a post which he held until 1873Events The United Kingdom declares war against Ghana's King Kofi KariKari, who was involved in the trading of slaves. The war ended by July and the British established the Gold Coast Colony. January 17 Indian Wars: First Battle of the Stronghold during th. From 1864Events January March January 21 Maori Wars: The Tauranga Campaign starts. February 27 American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia. March 1- Alejandro Mon Menendez takes office as Prime Minist– 1867Events January 8 African-American men granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia January 11 Benito Juarez becomes Mexican president again January 30 Emperor Komei of Japan dies. Crown Prince Mutsuhito is expected to become the next Emperor of J he was professor of natural science at Haverford CollegeHaverford College is a coeducational, undergraduate liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Haverford is known for its academic excellence, which places it in the top ranks of private liberal arts colleges. Although the college is anything but la, and in 1889Events January-April January 8 Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine January 22 Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC. February 11 Meiji Constitution of Japan adopted; 1st Diet convenes in 1890 January 30 ? Crown he was appointed professor of geologyGeology (from Greek γ&eta ge "the earth") and λογος logos "word", "reason")) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. Geolog and paleontology by the University of Pennsylvania.

His speciality was the study of the American fossilFor other uses of the term, see Fossil (disambiguation Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other artifacts such as footprints. The totality of fossils and their placement in rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fo vertebrata. From 1871– 1877 he carried on explorations of the Cretaceous strata of Kansas, and the Tertiary in Wyoming and Colorado. He made known at least 1,000 new species in his lifetime, as well as many genera of extinct vertebrata. Among these were some of the oldest known mammals, obtained in New Mexico, and 56 species of dinosaur, including the Camarasaurus, and the Coelophysis. He was an incredibly prolific publisher, producing more than 1,200 scientific papers in his lifetime. He served on the U.S. Geological Survey in New Mexico (1874), Montana (1875), and in Oregon and Texas (1877). He was also one of the editors of the American Naturalist. He died in Philadelphia.

Cope's competition with Othniel Charles Marsh for the discovery of new fossils became known as the Bone Wars.

In 1994, maverick paleontologist Robert Bakker published an paper in the Journal of the Wyoming Geological Society, attempting define Cope's body as the holotype of Homo sapiens.