Jack Horner (paleontologist)

{{Short description|American paleontologist}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Jack Horner | image = 2015 Jack Horner (cropped).jpg | image_size = | caption = Horner in 2015 | birth_name = John Robert Horner | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|6|15}} | birth_place = Shelby, Montana, U.S. | fields = Paleontology | workplaces = * Princeton University (1975-1982) * Museum of the Rockies (1982-2016) * Montana State University (1982-2016) * Chapman University (2016-2026) * Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (2016-present) | alma_mater = University of Montana | known_for = * Discovery of dinosaur nesting behavior and parental care<br/>(''Maiasaura'') * Dinosaur ontogeny and taxonomy research * Consultant for ''Jurassic Park'' films | awards = * MacArthur Fellowship (1986) * New York Academy of Sciences Children's Science Book Award (1989) * Golden Plate Award (1993) * Romer-Simpson Medal (2013) | spouses = * Virginia Lee Seacotte (1972-1982) * Joann Katherine Raffelson (1986-1994) * Celeste Claire Roach (1995-2005) * Vanessa Weaver (2012-2016) | children = 1 (Jason James Horner, from Lee Seacotte) }}

'''John Robert Horner''' (born June 15, 1946) is an American paleontologist who alongside fellow paleontologist Bob Makela described ''Maiasaura'', providing the first clear evidence that some non-avian dinosaurs cared for their young.

In addition to his paleontological discoveries, Horner has become a popular scientist among the public: he served as the technical advisor for the first five ''Jurassic Park'' films,<ref name="scienceandfilm">{{Cite web|url=http://scienceandfilm.org/articles/2718/science-on-screen-interview-with-jack-horner-jurassic-world|title=Sloan Science & Film|website=scienceandfilm.org|access-date=2016-06-14|archive-date=2018-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717105236/http://scienceandfilm.org/articles/2718/science-on-screen-interview-with-jack-horner-jurassic-world|url-status=live}}</ref> had a cameo appearance in ''Jurassic World'',<ref name="screenrant">{{cite web|date= June 13, 2015|url= http://screenrant.com/jurassic-world-easter-eggs-trivia-references/|access-date= April 25, 2016|title= 'Jurassic World' Easter Eggs, Trivia & 'Jurassic Park' References|website= Screenrant|first= Andrew|last= Dyce|archive-date= August 14, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150814104238/http://screenrant.com/jurassic-world-easter-eggs-trivia-references/|url-status= live}}</ref> and served as a partial inspiration for one of the lead characters of the franchise, Dr. Alan Grant.<ref name="factmonster"/><ref name="Scientist-Behind-Jurassic-World">{{cite web|date= December 2, 2014|url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientist-behind-jurassic-world-breaks-down-trailer-180953505/?no-ist|access-date= April 25, 2016|title= The Scientist Behind "Jurassic World", Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie's Thrilling Trailer|website= Smithsonian|first= Max|last= Kutner|archive-date= June 14, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180614071953/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientist-behind-jurassic-world-breaks-down-trailer-180953505/?no-ist|url-status= live}}</ref>

==Early life and formation== Horner was born and raised in Shelby, Montana on June 15, 1946 from John Horner, the owner of a sand-and-gravel business, and Miriam Horner<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics">{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Laurie Lanzen |author2=Abbey, Cherie D. |year=1996 |chapter=Jack Horner (1946-) American Paleontologist, Expert on Dinosaurs |title=Biography Today: Scientists & Inventors Series - Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers |volume= 1 |publisher=Omnigraphics |location=Detroit |pages=56-65 |isbn=0-7808-0068-0 |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED423192.pdf}}</ref><ref>[https://www.famousscientists.org/jack-horner/ ''famousscientists.org'', Jack Horner biographical summary]</ref><ref>[https://ed.ted.com/lessons/building-a-dinosaur-from-a-chicken-jack-horner/digdeeper ''Ted Conferences'', "Building a dinosaur from a chicken - Jack Horner", by Jack Horner]</ref> (née Whitted<ref name="mtprof-intellectual-autobiography">{{cite journal |last1=Horner |first1=John R. |year=2004 |title=Jack Horner: An Intellectual Autobiography |journal=The Montana Professor |volume=14 |issue=2 |url=https://mtprof.msun.edu/Spr2004/horner.html |access-date=8 May 2026 |archive-date=13 February 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260213003049/https://mtprof.msun.edu/Spr2004/horner.html |url-status=live }}</ref>). He has a brother, Jim Horner, and a younger sister, Rosemary Horner. From an early age, Horner was called "Jack" by everyone.<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/> He was 8 years old when he found his first dinosaur bone.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Veronique |title=A talk with paleontologist Jack Horner |url=http://vivamost.com/2012/04/a-talk-with-paleontologist-jack-horner/ |publisher=Vivamost.com |access-date=9 November 2012 |date=2012-04-09 |archive-date=2012-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203060129/http://vivamost.com/2012/04/a-talk-with-paleontologist-jack-horner/ }}</ref><ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/>

Due to severe dyslexia (though he didn't learn about his condition until 1976, when he was already working at Princeton University<ref name="mtprof-intellectual-autobiography"/>) he struggled all along his high school cycle at Shelby High School<ref name="gallagher-la-times">Susan Gallagher, ''Los Angeles Times'', "[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-21-mn-59211-story.html Maverick Dinosaur Expert Gets in His Digs in Montana : Fossils: Jack Horner was the inspiration for ‘Jurassic Park.’ The top paleontologist is also a dyslexic college dropout]" (November 21, 1993)</ref> but managed to graduate in 1964. The same year, he enroled at the University of Montana where he majored in geology and zoology, but once again he encountered the same problems when trying to read and learn. He flunked his first year at the university so he decided to withdraw his college studies and, instead, enlist with the Marines. Horner served in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1968<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/> and immediately after his release from the military he applied again at the University of Montana, yet struggling again with the same difficulties. Not knowing that he had dyslexia, he stuck to his obstinacy in becoming a paleontologist and, all in all, between 1964 and 1973, he submitted up to seven different applications at the university.<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/> In 1973 he definitely abandoned his tertiary-education studies, finally accepting to join back his father and his brother at the sand-and-gravel business in Shelby. Nevertheless, Horner didn't drop his passion for paleontology and regularly sent letters to scientific institutions, even twice, until he was admitted as preparator at Princeton University (New Jersey) in 1975.<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/><ref name="mtprof-intellectual-autobiography"/>

==Scientific career== [[File:Maiasaura embryo.jpg|thumb|left|Reconstructed cast by Horner of a ''Maiasaura'' emerging from its egg]] At the time of his first professional scientific employment at Princeton, Horner already had years of experience prospecting for fossiliferous sites with his research partner and friend Bob Makela since the mid 1960s.<ref>John R. Horner and James Gorman, ''Digging Dinosaurs: The Search That Unraveled the Mystery of Baby Dinosaurs'' (p. 30), Perennial Library edition, 1990, reprint of the original edition by Workman Publishing, 1988</ref> While Horner was working at Princeton, he and Makela kept prospecting together in north-western Montana during the Summers. In 1978, near Choteau, Montana, they discovered a colonial nesting site of a new dinosaur genus which they named ''Maiasaura'', or "Good Mother Lizard". The dinosaur bones, originating from a juvenile, were first discovered<ref>{{cite news|title=Baby dino bones finally back in state|url=http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/baby-dino-bones-finally-back-in-state/article_b61e74ba-1cb0-50b1-aa78-9ef78dc8be2b.html|work=The Billings Gazette|language=en|access-date=2017-06-28|archive-date=2020-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227204022/https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/baby-dino-bones-finally-back-in-state/article_b61e74ba-1cb0-50b1-aa78-9ef78dc8be2b.html|url-status=live}}</ref> by Marion Brandvold. Horner then studied the bones, and at first, there was a refusal to return the bones to Brandvold.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Missoulian|first1=DARYL GADBOW of the|title=Dino hunter|url=http://missoulian.com/uncategorized/dino-hunter/article_7059011a-1db0-5810-9b7c-6fc73e504bdc.html|work=missoulian.com|language=en|access-date=2017-06-28|archive-date=2021-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204201304/https://missoulian.com/uncategorized/dino-hunter/article_7059011a-1db0-5810-9b7c-6fc73e504bdc.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Writer|first1=SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff|title=Missing bones|url=http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/missing-bones/article_ed0522b7-7f4c-5bae-b414-f77b65d7a2db.html|work=Bozeman Daily Chronicle|language=en|access-date=2017-06-28|archive-date=2020-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522081937/https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/missing-bones/article_ed0522b7-7f4c-5bae-b414-f77b65d7a2db.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It turned out that the discovered site also contained the first non-avian dinosaur eggs ever discovered in the Western Hemisphere, the first dinosaur embryos, and settled questions of whether some dinosaurs were social, built nests and cared for their young. Because of the important quantity of dinosaur eggs and eggshell pieces it contained, the site ended up by earning the name of "Egg Mountain".<ref>Willie Freimuth, Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, "Paleontology - Egg Mountain" ([https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/mt_geoheritage/sites/augusta_choteau/paleontology.html published April 10, 2018 at the Science, Education and Resource Center at Carleton College website])</ref><ref>Montana Department of Transportation, "[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=186551 Elkhorn Mountain Volcanoes and the Boulder Batholith]" (Jefferson City, Jefferson County, Montana, record of ''Historical Marker Database'').</ref> The discovery established Horner's career.

In the following years and throughout his career, Horner has been employed by a number of scientific institutions, mainly museums and universities, and he has extensively collaborated with them. Even if at the time of the ''Maiasaura'' discovery Horner hadn't completed his bachelor's degree, he nevertheless completed a senior thesis on the fauna of the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schram|first1=Frederick R.|last2=Horner|first2=John|date=1978|title=Crustacea of the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Central Montana|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=52|issue=2|pages=394–406|jstor=1303712|issn=0022-3360}}</ref> one of the most famous Lagerstätten in the world, located in Montana (''Lagerstätten'' are exceptionally preserved fossil sites).

In the late 1970s Princeton was closing its paleontology department so Horner joined the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for a few years.<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/> In 1982, he left Princeton and Philadelphia for the Montana State University (MSU) and the Museum of the Rockies (MOR), where he was hired both as a curator and a teacher. Not having obtained a PhD, teaching wouldn't have been allowed to Horner at the Montana State University if a new National Science Foundation program, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), hadn't just been implemented at Montana State.<ref name="mtprof-intellectual-autobiography"/> With the support of Mick Hager, the director of the Museum of the Rockies at that time, and the EPSCoR program functional and available, Horner received clearance for teaching at higher-education level thus successfully triggering his career at MSU and MOR.

Horner left the Montana State University and the Museum of the Rockies on 30 June 2016 after more than 33 years within the institution,<ref>''Havre Weekly Chronicle'', "[https://www.havredailynews.com/story/2015/11/17/local/renowned-paleontologist-horner-to-retire-from-msu/506447.html Renowned paleontologist Horner to retire from MSU]" (November 17, 2015)</ref> although he claims to have been pushed out after having married an undergraduate student 46 years his junior.<ref name="People">{{cite news|title=Jack Horner Says He Was Let Go for Marrying 19-Year-Old Student|url=http://people.com/celebrity/jack-horner-says-he-was-let-go-for-marrying-19-year-old-student/|work=PEOPLE.com|date=29 August 2016|access-date=30 May 2017|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614094820/https://people.com/celebrity/jack-horner-says-he-was-let-go-for-marrying-19-year-old-student/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bozeman-2016">{{cite news|last1=Carter|first1=Troy|title=Famed paleontologist Horner says he was pushed out of museum, Krauss questions leadership|url=http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/education/famed-paleontologist-horner-says-he-was-pushed-out-of-museum/article_f096c719-bb02-568c-91b5-97a19703464b.html|work=Bozeman Daily Chronicle|language=en|access-date=2017-07-08|archive-date=2019-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216000836/https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/education/famed-paleontologist-horner-says-he-was-pushed-out-of-museum/article_f096c719-bb02-568c-91b5-97a19703464b.html}}</ref> He then taught as a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University in Orange, California.<ref name="news.chapman.edu">{{Cite web |last=Arp |first=Dennis |date=2023-01-31 |title=In Chapman's Dino Lab, Students Dig Beyond Childhood Dreams of Jurassic Adventures |url=https://news.chapman.edu/2023/01/31/in-chapmans-dino-lab-students-dig-beyond-childhood-dreams-of-jurassic-adventures/ |access-date=2025-08-05 |archive-date=2026-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260123231647/https://news.chapman.edu/2023/01/31/in-chapmans-dino-lab-students-dig-beyond-childhood-dreams-of-jurassic-adventures/ |website=Chapman Newsroom |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack Horner |url=https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/jack-horner.aspx |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=www.chapman.edu |language=en}}</ref> The same year, 2016, following a proposal by the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington,<ref>Matt Voltz, ''eeworldonline.com'', "[https://www.eeworldonline.com/jurassic-park-paleontologist-retiring-from-museum-he-built/ ‘Jurassic Park’ Paleontologist Retiring From Museum He Built]" (June 1, 2016)</ref> Horner was hired as a research associate at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture which is the natural history museum of the University. In 2026, his connections with Jeffrey Epstein attracted controversy<ref name=":0">{{cite web|first=Keila|last=Szpaller|title=Famed Montana paleontologist Jack Horner named in Epstein files|url=https://dailymontanan.com/2026/02/02/famed-montana-paleontologist-jack-horner-named-in-epstein-files/|website=Daily Montanan|date=2 February 2026}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=McCollum |first=Alex |date=2026-02-03 |title=Latest emails reveal connection between Jeffrey Epstein and former Montana State professor |url=https://www.montanarightnow.com/bozeman/latest-emails-reveal-connection-between-jeffrey-epstein-and-former-montana-state-professor/article_992d9c73-380e-43f3-8670-4009c0d08200.html |access-date=2026-02-05 |website=NonStop Local Montana |language=en}}</ref> and in February 2026 his employment with Chapman University ended.<ref name="thepanthernewspaper.org">{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Britney |title=Chapman parts ways with Jack Horner following Epstein files mention |url=https://www.thepanthernewspaper.org/news/chapman-cuts-ties-with-jack-horner |access-date=28 February 2026 |work=The Panther (Chapman University newspaper) |date=February 27, 2026}}</ref>

Today Horner remains active in the scientific milieu as a research associate within the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington.

==Scientific heritage== Within the paleontological community, Horner is best known for his work on dinosaur growth research. He has published numerous articles in collaboration with Berkeley paleontologist Kevin Padian, and French dinosaur histologist Armand de Ricqlès, on the growth of dinosaurs using growth series. This usually involves leg bones in graduated sizes from different individuals ranging in age from embryos to adults. Horner also revitalized the contested theory that ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' was an obligate scavenger, rather than a predatory killer. While this theory has been widely discussed by the popular press, it has never been a major research focus for Horner. He claimed that he never published the scavenger hypothesis in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, stating that it was mainly a tool for him to teach a popular audience, particularly children, of the dangers of making assumptions in science (such as assuming ''T.&nbsp;rex'' was a hunter) without using evidence.<ref name="skepticsguideinterview">{{cite podcast |url=https://media.libsyn.com/media/skepticsguide/skepticast2009-10-14.mp3 |title=Interview with Jack Horner |website=The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe |first=S. |last=Novella |date=2009-10-14 |access-date=2023-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831230716/https://teletraan.libsyn.com/147216133b39671c0a8ca75c524d5b3a__29a0193428eb780d66eaea2b1452fb9199fa637a359a1cf715461f9b198d0f46__wo/p/d/f/9/df9ce51c426f0372/skepticast2009-10-14.mp3?rpid=c0b7bcb638037bad9e9396b982c57143__0cd134168afc345326f1f6fe4e2688695ced5e9b51ebfda6b2d547818bdd0d9e__p3g&c_id=1927788&cs_id=1927788&Expires=1693609636&Signature=Zl9tbCVEilG5nVOCECF63seAAaYWRJCYG8M8x-qNBgs1ueMatYE2psfReUymSMy5PBcUdz1ET42u6cFmpr5sk289MwECjg-vXWD~BTW-HQdQg4k2W2tJsnGsyby-kcEW31zPxiV8mjAhhLfNED0EE3sJ~ffklC8hu5cY44Bzx2Z~oMfhI~WLN26SAVU~OBSkXU9v9CDmDIHKKnRp3cbKmNWPf5RS8ZorYN5GpXERKZDZc~DT3-pimib1GFN1iEViHY8-K5YuRTTHjToywDc-ZZrTmE9SsPV1DJE4XIEcZ8j43yPIksMC1RVRcov3lHD8-SPYALmWLReDWXTyyhz-SQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K1YS7LZGUP96OI |archive-date=2023-08-31 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2000, teams led by Horner discovered five specimens of ''T. rex'' and three more the following summer, including one larger than the specimen nicknamed "Sue". The new fossil was 10% larger than other specimens and estimated to weigh 10–13 tons in life.<ref name="factmonster">{{cite web |last=Sogard |first=Melissa |title=John R. "Jack" Horner, Paleontologist |url=http://www.factmonster.com/spot/horner1.html |work=Fact Monster Database |publisher=Pearson Education, Inc |access-date=February 8, 2011 |year=2007 |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605164712/http://www.factmonster.com/spot/horner1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Museum of the Rockies, as the result of continuing fieldwork, now exhibits the largest ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' collection in the world.

After ''Maiasaura'' in 1979, Horner has named several other species of dinosaur (including ''Orodromeus makelai,'' in memory of his late friend Bob Makela, who had died in a car accident in 1987<ref>Chester, Montana, ''Liberty County Times'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20230626075023/https://www.brokenmountains.org/data/obituaries/1987.pdf#31 archived obituaries, 1987, Robert Raymond Makela]</ref>) and has had three named after himself: ''Achelousaurus horneri'', ''Anasazisaurus horneri'', and ''Daspletosaurus horneri''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carr |first1=Thomas D.|first2=David J.|last2=Varricchio|first3=Jayc C.|last3=Sedlmayr|first4=Eric M.|last4=Roberts|first5=Jason R.|last5=Moore|year=2017|title=A new tyrannosaur with evidence for anagenesis and crocodile-like facial sensory system |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=7 |article-number= 44942|doi=10.1038/srep44942|pmid=28358353|pmc=5372470|bibcode=2017NatSR...744942C}}</ref>

Horner has published over 100 professional papers, twelve books including ''Dinosaurs Under the Big Sky'';<ref>{{cite book |last=Horner |first=John R. |title=Dinosaurs under the Big Sky |year=2001 |publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co. |location=Missoula, Mont. |isbn=978-0-87842-445-0 |oclc=47238733}}</ref> the children's book ''Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up'';<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horner |first1=John R. |first2=James |last2=Gorman |first3=Doug |last3=Henderson |first4=Terrance L. |last4=Blumer |title=Maia: a dinosaur grows up |year=1998 |publisher=Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University |location=Bozeman, Mont. |isbn=978-0-933819-02-3 |oclc=41846988}}</ref> a non-fiction book on dinosaurs from Montana, ''Dinosaur Lives'';<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horner |first1=John R. |first2=Edwin |last2=Dobb |title=Dinosaur lives: unearthing an evolutionary saga |year=1997 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-017486-6 |oclc=36543406 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dinosaurlivesune00horn_0 }}</ref> and numerous articles. He was also a part of a 2005 discovery of soft tissue in a ''T. rex'' fossil. Horner was the Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies, the Regent's Professor of Paleontology, adjunct curator at the National Museum of Natural History, and taught at the Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Over the years he has advised people who have gone on to be leading experts in paleontology, such as Mary Higby Schweitzer, Greg Erickson, Kristi Curry-Rogers, and David J. Varricchio. Horner was awarded an honorary doctorate by Pennsylvania State University in 2006 in recognition of his work.

In 2003, Horner discovered a fossilized tyrannosaur leg bone from which paleontologist Mary Higby Schweitzer was able to retrieve proteins in 2007.<ref name="wilford">{{cite news |last=Wilfor |first=John Noble |title=Scientists Retrieve Proteins From Dinosaur Bone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/science/12cnd-dino.html |access-date=February 8, 2011 |newspaper=New York Times |date=April 12, 2007 |archive-date=December 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206090419/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/science/12cnd-dino.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006 and onwards, Horner has also studied the developmental biology of the so-called "parrot-like dinosaurs" (of the ''Psittacosauridae'' family), based on 67 individuals discovered all together at the same site in Mongolia.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boswell|first=Evelyn|date=13 September 2006|title=MSU, Mongolian paleontologists find 67 dinosaurs in one week|url=http://www.montana.edu/news/4016/msu-mongolian-paleontologists-find-67-dinosaurs-in-one-week|publisher=Montana State University News Service|access-date=5 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hayes |first=Jacqui |title=Large flock of parrot-like dinosaurs uncovered |url=http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/668 |access-date=February 8, 2011 |newspaper=Cosmos Online |date=September 20, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407155650/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/668 |archive-date=April 7, 2011 }}</ref>

In 2009, the National Geographic Society released a documentary entitled "Dinosaurs Decoded", which reviews Horner's research into juvenile dinosaurs. He suggests that juvenile dinosaurs looked sufficiently different from adults, and that they have sometimes been mistaken for separate species. The program examines specific changes that occurred as dinosaurs aged and speculates on why the changes were necessary. Horner's research on the topic has gone as far as eliminating several "sub-species" of ''Triceratops'', ''Pachycephalosaurus'', and ''Tyrannosaurus''. Horner also believes that if his research were to continue as much as a third of known dinosaurs would be classified under an existing species.<ref>Levitt, Dan. ''Dinosaurs Decoded''. National Geographic. 11 Oct. 2009. Television.</ref>

On his retirement from Montana State University on July 1, 2016, the MacMillan Foundation honored Horner for his work with a $3 million endowment for the John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology Chair for the Museum of the Rockies/ Montana State University - funding the work of his Paleontology successors in perpetuity.<ref>{{cite web |title= Retiring Jack Horner celebrated at Museum of the Rockies |publisher= Bozeman Daily Chronicle |url= https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/montana_state_university/retiring-jack-horner-celebrated-at-museum-of-the-rockies/article_f63afa3d-f8fc-54e7-a8e9-ce960629b29c.html |access-date= 2020-10-09 |archive-date= 2020-09-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200919162706/https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/montana_state_university/retiring-jack-horner-celebrated-at-museum-of-the-rockies/article_f63afa3d-f8fc-54e7-a8e9-ce960629b29c.html }}</ref>

==Appearances in media, popularity and controversies== In 1985, the CBS television documentary ''Dinosaur!'' showed Horner talking to the camera about the "Egg Mountain" site and its related discoveries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dinosaur! |url=https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0439543/ |website=IMDB |access-date=30 April 2026}}</ref> Horner reappeared on television, this time with extended screen time about the ''Maiasaura'' discoveries, in another programme, "The Great Dinosaur Hunt", part of ''The Infinite Voyage'' series of documentaries. ''The Great Dinosaur Hunt'' first aired on January 4, 1989.<ref>{{cite web |title="The Infinite Voyage" The Great Dinosaur Hunt |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205982/ |website=IMDB |access-date=30 April 2026}}</ref> In 1991 two short documentaries produced by Earthtalk Studios: ''A Giant Leap for Dinosaurs'' and ''Dinosaur Hunters'', both directed by Daniel J. Smith, showed Jack Horner at Camp Makela (the scientists' camp that is on site at "Egg Mountain") talking with children and adolescents about the cutting edge of dinosaur research.<ref>''thisisyellowstone.com'', "[https://thisisyellowstone.com/yellowstone-geology/ Yellowstone Geology]", list of geology documentaries by Earthtalk Studios.</ref>

Horner was the subject of the 1994 biographical book ''Jack Horner: Living With Dinosaurs (Science Superstars)'', authored by Don Lessem and Janet Hamlin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lessem |first1=Don |first2=Janet |last2=Hamlin |title=Jack Horner: Living With Dinosaurs (Science Superstars) |year=1994 |publisher=W. H. Freeman & Co. |location=London |isbn=978-0716765462 }}</ref>

In 2021 Horner was also the subject of the children's book ''Jack Horner, Dinosaur Hunter!'', written by Sophia Gholz, illustrated by Dave Shephard, and published by Sleeping Bear Press.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sleeping Bear Press Jack Horner, Dinosaur Hunter!|publisher=Sleeping Bear Press, Cherry Lake Publishing Group|url=https://sleepingbearpress.com/shop/show/52670|access-date=2022-10-10|archive-date=2022-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010144544/https://sleepingbearpress.com/shop/show/52670|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=April 18, 2021|title=Cover Reveal: Jack Horner, Dinosaur Hunter!|publisher=The Tiny Activist|url=https://thetinyactivist.com/cover-reveal-jack-horner-dinosaur-hunter/|access-date=October 10, 2022|archive-date=October 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010144541/https://thetinyactivist.com/cover-reveal-jack-horner-dinosaur-hunter/|url-status=live}}</ref> The book, which has been translated into French,<ref>{{cite web|title=TuttiStori Editions|publisher=TuttiStori-Editions|url=https://www.tuttistori-editions.com/|access-date=2022-10-10|archive-date=2022-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010144544/https://www.tuttistori-editions.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> chronicles the life of Horner, from a child in Montana to an adult on the set of ''Jurassic Park'', and discusses Horner's scientific contributions as well as navigating life with a reading disability.

In popular culture, Horner is probably better remembered as one of the scientific advisors who were hired for the ''Jurassic Park'' franchise, for which he was called for the first five films.<ref name="scienceandfilm"/> He also had a cameo appearance in ''Jurassic World'',<ref name="screenrant"/> and served as a partial inspiration for one of the lead characters of the franchise, Dr. Alan Grant.<ref name="factmonster"/><ref name="Scientist-Behind-Jurassic-World"/> Regarding that latter, after being asked by Max Kutner of the ''Smithsonian Magazine'' ("So Crichton based Dr. Alan Grant on you?") Horner himself responded:

{{Blockquote |text=I think he had sort of mashed together Bob Bakker and myself. He had read and acknowledged reading Bob Bakker’s book, Dinosaur Renaissance, and my book, Digging Dinosaurs, and so he had mashed the characters together. And then Steven came and sort of took my character aside and made the Alan Grant character. |author=Max Kutner |title="The Scientist Behind “Jurassic World”, Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie’s Thrilling Trailer" |source=''Smithsonian Magazine'' (December 2, 2014)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kutner |first1=Max |year=2014 |title=The Scientist Behind “Jurassic World”, Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie’s Thrilling Trailer |journal=Smithsonian Magazine |volume= |issue= |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientist-behind-jurassic-world-breaks-down-trailer-180953505/ |access-date=23 May 2026 |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618141623/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientist-behind-jurassic-world-breaks-down-trailer-180953505/ |url-status= }} </ref> }}

In 2012 Horner's marriage with Vanessa Weaver, 46 years his junior, caused some controversy<ref name="People"/> and led Horner to depart from the Montana State University and the Museum of the Rockies in 2016. In February 2026 it was revealed that Horner appears in the Epstein files. According to these records, Horner visited a property owned by Jeffrey Epstein in New Mexico in 2012 and exchanged several emails with him thereafter. These messages contain expressions of thanks for hospitality received and suggest a possible financial or logistical support for some of Horner's scientific projects.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1"/> This revelation put an end to his employment at Chapman University.<ref name="thepanthernewspaper.org"/>

==Build a Dinosaur Project== [[File:Jack Horner with bird.jpg|thumb|Horner with a bird skeleton at an event in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano.]] Horner's 2009 book, ''How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horner |first1=John R. |first2=James |last2=Gorman |title=How to build a dinosaur: extinction doesn't have to be forever |year=2009 |publisher=Dutton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-525-95104-9 |oclc=233549535}}</ref> describes his plan to recreate a dinosaur by genetically "nudging" the DNA of a chicken.<ref>{{cite news |last=Press |first=Michelle |title=Scientific American reviews: How to Build a Bird |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=reviews-jun09 |access-date=February 8, 2011 |newspaper=Scientific American |date=June 12, 2009 |archive-date=March 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319031354/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=reviews-jun09 |url-status=live }}</ref> Horner's idea for the project came from an early script for the film ''Jurassic World''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Collins |title=The Jurassic Park scientist who plans to turn a chicken into T Rex |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/dinosaurs/8847499/The-Jurassic-Park-scientist-who-plans-to-turn-a-chicken-into-T-Rex.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 25, 2011 |access-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119214640/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/dinosaurs/8847499/The-Jurassic-Park-scientist-who-plans-to-turn-a-chicken-into-T-Rex.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He had been planning the book as early as June 2005;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horner |first1=John R. |first2=James |last2=Gorman |title=How to Build a Dinosaur: The New Science of Reverse Evolution |edition=2010 Plume |year=2010 |publisher=Plume |location=New York |isbn=978-0-525-95104-9 |oclc=233549535 |pages=193–194 |quote=Let's use the ivory-billed woodpecker as an example. [...] it is generally thought to have gone extinct [...] although there have been many claims of sightings, including one that was published in ''Science'' on June 3, 2005. Earlier that spring [...] I was planning this book with my coauthor, Jim Gorman [...].}}</ref> it was originally planned to be released simultaneously with ''Jurassic World'' as a scientific companion volume.<ref>{{cite news |first=Brian |last=Switek |title=Why Do We Keep Going Back to Jurassic Park? |url=http://beta.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-do-we-keep-going-back-to-jurassic-park-117247927/?no-ist |work=Smithsonian magazine |date=October 25, 2011 |access-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140924043612/http://beta.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-do-we-keep-going-back-to-jurassic-park-117247927/?no-ist |archive-date=September 24, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2011, Horner pursued the project to develop the animal, which he describes as a "chickenosaurus", with a team of geneticists.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zetter |first=Kim |title=Ted 2011:Hatching Dinosaurs, One Egg at a Time |url=https://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/03/hatching-a-dinosaur/ |newspaper=Wired.com |access-date=March 4, 2011 |date=March 4, 2011 |archive-date=March 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304191740/http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/03/hatching-a-dinosaur/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/12/horner.dinosaur.chicken/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 |date=June 12, 2011 |publisher=CNN |first=Jack |last=Horner |title=Why we're creating a 'chickenosaurus' |access-date=April 24, 2022 |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101222512/http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/12/horner.dinosaur.chicken/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_building_a_dinosaur_from_a_chicken |title=March 2011, Jack Horner, Building a Dinosaur from a Chicken |date=7 June 2011 |access-date=2015-06-01 |archive-date=2020-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019215653/http://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_building_a_dinosaur_from_a_chicken |url-status=live }}</ref> By November 2014, Horner and his team had conducted some of the earliest research into the embryonic development of tails. Such research may ultimately lead to new treatments for people with spinal disorders. Research into the mesenchyme tissue of chicken embryos, which direct the growth of teeth, may also aid in the treatment of human sarcomas. George Lucas had funded most of the project's costs up to that point, while an additional $5 million was needed. Horner expected to have a living dinosaur within 10 years.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jackson |last=Landers |title=Paleontologist Jack Horner is hard at work trying to turn a chicken into a dinosaur |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/paleontologist-jack-horner-is-hard-at-work-trying-to-turn-a-chicken-into-a-dinosaur/2014/11/10/cb35e46e-4e59-11e4-babe-e91da079cb8a_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=November 10, 2014 |access-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-date=January 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119204622/http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/paleontologist-jack-horner-is-hard-at-work-trying-to-turn-a-chicken-into-a-dinosaur/2014/11/10/cb35e46e-4e59-11e4-babe-e91da079cb8a_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2026, released emails from the Epstein files revealed that Horner had discussed the project with Jeffrey Epstein in 2012, and that Epstein had expressed interest in funding the project.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1"/>

In 2015, an independent group of scientists reported that they had found a way to turn the beaks of chicken embryos back into dinosaur-like snouts, by reverse genetic engineering,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bhullar|first1=Bhart-Anjan S.|last2=Morris|first2=Zachary S.|last3=Sefton|first3=Elizabeth M.|last4=Tok|first4=Atalay|last5=Tokita|first5=Masayoshi|last6=Namkoong|first6=Bumjin|last7=Camacho|first7=Jasmin|last8=Burnham|first8=David A.|last9=Abzhanov|first9=Arhat|date=2015|title=A molecular mechanism for the origin of a key evolutionary innovation, the bird beak and palate, revealed by an integrative approach to major transitions in vertebrate history|journal=Evolution|language=en|volume=69|issue=7|pages=1665–1677|doi=10.1111/evo.12684|pmid=25964090|s2cid=205124061|issn=1558-5646}}</ref> and University of Chile geneticists have produced embryos with dinosaur-like leg and foot anatomy including the fibula full-length and reaching the ankle.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Botelho|first1=João Francisco|last2=Smith-Paredes|first2=Daniel|last3=Soto-Acuña|first3=Sergio|last4=Mpodozis|first4=Jorge|last5=Palma|first5=Verónica|last6=Vargas|first6=Alexander O.|title=Skeletal plasticity in response to embryonic muscular activity underlies the development and evolution of the perching digit of birds|journal=Scientific Reports|date=14 May 2015|volume=5|page=9840|doi=10.1038/srep09840|pmid=25974685|pmc=4431314|bibcode=2015NatSR...5E9840F}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Botelho|first1=João Francisco|last2=Smith-Paredes|first2=Daniel|last3=Soto-Acuña|first3=Sergio|last4=O'Connor|first4=Jingmai|last5=Palma|first5=Verónica|last6=Vargas|first6=Alexander O.|title=Molecular development of fibular reduction in birds and its evolution from dinosaurs|journal=Evolution|date=4 March 2016|volume=70|issue=3|pages=543–554|doi=10.1111/evo.12882|pmid=26888088|pmc=5069580}}</ref>

==Personal life== Jack Horner has been married four times throughout his life. On March 30, 1972 he married his first wife, Virginia Lee Seacotte, with whom he has a son, Jason James Horner. After divorcing from Seacotte in 1982, he married Joann Katherine Raffelson on October 3, 1986, from whom he divorced in 1994. Less than a year after his divorce from Raffelson, Horner married Celeste Claire Roach on January 21, 1995. Their marriage lasted ten years until they divorced in 2005.<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/> In Las Vegas on January 15, 2012, 65-year-old Horner married Vanessa Weaver, a 19-year-old Montana State University undergraduate paleontology student and volunteer in his lab. The couple had divorced by August 2016, but remained good friends.<ref name="People"/><ref name="Bozeman-2016"/>

==Accolades== In 1986 the University of Montana awarded Jack Horner a Doctorate in Science ''honoris causa''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome back paleontologist Jack Horner |url=https://geosciences.princeton.edu/news/welcome-back-paleontologist-jack-horner |work= |author=Princeton University Staff |access-date=November 20, 2015 |archive-date=July 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708123203/https://geosciences.princeton.edu/news/welcome-back-paleontologist-jack-horner }}</ref> Also in 1986, he was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.<ref>{{cite web |title=125 Montana Newsmakers: Jack Horner |url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/125newsmakers5/horner.html |work=Great Falls Tribune |author=Tribune Staff |access-date=August 27, 2011 |archive-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124222040/http://www.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/125newsmakers5/horner.html }}</ref> In 1989 Horner was granted with the New York Academy of Sciences Children's Science Book Award for his 1988 book ''Digging Dinosaurs: The Search That Unraveled the Mystery of Baby Dinosaurs''.<ref name="Biography-Today-Omnigraphics"/> In 1993, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|access-date=2020-10-09|archive-date=2016-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|url-status=live}}</ref> On November 2, 2013, Horner was awarded the Romer-Simpson Medal, the highest honor a paleontologist can receive from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.montana.edu/news/12241/horner-wins-lifetime-achievement-award-from-society-of-vertebrate-paleontology | title=Horner wins lifetime achievement award from Society of Vertebrate Paleontology | access-date=2017-06-28 | archive-date=2020-10-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181648/https://www.montana.edu/news/12241/horner-wins-lifetime-achievement-award-from-society-of-vertebrate-paleontology | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Popular science books by Jack Horner== * ''Digging Dinosaurs: The Search That Unraveled the Mystery of Baby Dinosaurs'' (1988, with James Gorman, Workman Publishing) * ''The Complete T. Rex: How Stunning New Discoveries Are Changing Our Understanding of the World's Most Famous Dinosaur'' (1993, with Don Lessem, Simon & Schuster) * ''Dinosaur Eggs and Babies'' (1994, with Kenneth Carpenter and Karl F. Hirsch, Cambridge University Press) * ''Digging Up Tyrannosaurus Rex: The Remarkable Story of the Discovery of the First Complete Tyrannosaurus rex Ever Found'' (1995, with Don Lessem, Knopf Books for Young Readers) * ''Dinosaur Lives: Unearthing an Evolutionary Saga'' (1998, with Edwin Dobb, Harcourt) * ''Dinosaurs: Under the Big Sky'' (2001, Mountain Press) * ''How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever'' (2009, with James Gorman, Dutton Adult) * ''Dinosaurs of Montana'' (2025, with Raymond R. Rogers, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, illustrations by Doug Henderson)

==Children's books by Jack Horner== * ''Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up'' (1985, with James Gorman and Jeri D. Walton, published by the Museum of the Rockies, illustrations by Doug Henderson) * ''Digging Up Dinosaurs'' (2007, Farcountry Press, illustrations by Robert Rath and Phil Wilson) * ''Lily and Maia: A Dinosaur Adventure'' (2023, Horner Science Group, illustrations by Grace Hattrup)

==Novels by Jack Horner== * ''Dinosaur Valley'' (2025, with Julian Michael Carver, Pteranodon Press)<ref>{{cite book |last=Horner |first=Jack |author2=Carver, Julian Michael |year=2025 |chapter= |title=Dinosaur Valley |publisher=Pteranodon Press |isbn=979-8-9877526-7-8 |url=https://prehistoricpulp.com/2025/04/15/dinosaur-valley-by-jack-horner-and-julian-michael-carver-2025/}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0395107}} * http://www.hornersciencegroup.com * http://www.jackhornersworldofdinosaurs.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128152924/http://www.jackhornersworldofdinosaurs.com/ |date=2020-01-28 }} * [http://www.museumoftherockies.org/ Museum of the Rockies] * {{TED speaker}} ** [https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_where_are_the_baby_dinosaurs "Where are the baby dinosaurs?" (TEDxVancouver 2011)] (also {{YouTube|xYbMXzBwpIo}}) ** [https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_building_a_dinosaur_from_a_chicken "Building a dinosaur from a chicken" (TED2011)] (also {{YouTube|0QVXdEOiCw8}})

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