This tribute will be a continual "work-in-progress," not only because the great men and women of this field will eventually (as we all must) shuffle off this mortal coil, but because there are so many out there whose work has endured long after their names have been stuffed into the back catalogues of that vast cryptozoological file cabinet...

This we cannot abide.

We here at AMERICAN MONSTERS pledge to be ever vigilant in our efforts to give credit to all of those who have sacrificed so much in the name of science. It is a daunting job, but one which we believe is important - for the legacy left to us by these pioneers is easily as significant as the animals which they themselves were attempting to bring to light. Without the tremendous effort put forth by these individuals we would not be here today... and for that alone we owe a debt of eternal gratitude.

We realize that the names contained herein barely scrap the tip of the pioneers iceberg, but we hope you will bear with us during our constant updates. As ever, if there is anyone out there with additional information regarding one of the individuals already represented - or one whom we may have neglected - we implore you to send us any and all information you may have regarding this individual and their work.




COLUMBA, St. (521-597)

The legendary Christian missionary St. Columba was born on December 7, 521 AD. to Fedhlimidh and Eithne of the Ui Neill clan in Gartan (Donegal). As a young man Columba took a keen interest in the church, and soon after joined the monastery at Moville, where he was ordained a deacon by St. Finnian.

After studying with a bard known as Gemman, Columba was ordained a priest by Bishop Etchen of Clonfad. after which he entered the monastery of Mobhi Clarainech. When disease forced the evacuation of that monastery, Columba went north and founded the church of Derry.

Tradition has it that after founding several other monasteries, Columba copied St. Finnian's psalter without the permission of Finnian, and thus devalued the book. When Finnian took the matter to High King Dermott for judgment, Dermott judged in favor of Finnian, stating "to every cow its calf; to every book its copy."

Columba, ignoring the king's decree, refused to hand over his copy, and Dermott forced the issue militarily. Columba's family and clan defeated Dermott at the battle of Cooldrevny in 561. Tradition further holds that St. Molaisi of Devenish - Columba's spiritual father - ordered Columba to bring the same number of souls to Christ that he had caused to die as pennance. So inn 563, Columba landed on the Scottish isle of Iona with 12 disciples, and began to found new monasteries throughout Scotland. It was there that Columba faced his greatest nemesis of all... the Loch Ness Monster.

Legend has it that on August 22, 565 A.D. While making his pilgrimage through Scotland, St. Columba, came across a native Pict funeral on the shores of Loch Ness. When the missionary inquired how the individual had perished, he was told that the man had fallen victim to a vicious aquatic predator known as the "Niseag," which lived beneath the waves in the loch.

Upon hearing this story, St. Columba, consumed by wrath at the audacity of what he presumed to be an obviously satanic spawn, demanded that one of his fellow missionaries - a man named Lugne Mocumin - swim across the loch and retrieve the dead man's boat. Without hesitation Mocumin stripped down to his tunic and plunged into the murky, peat blackened depths of Loch Ness. The young missionary's faith however, was not enough to abate the monsters appetite, and it wasn't long before the beast stirred.

The Picts and missionaries both trembled in terror when they saw the disturbance in the middle of the Loch, but St. Columba - apparently endowed with divine powers - merely raised his hand, formed the sign of the cross, and, invoking the name of God, the saint demanded that the creature retreat. This event is often credited as being one of the foundation events in converting the Scottish Picts to Christianity. After founding several more monasteries - much to the consternation of the local Druids - St. Columba died on June 9, 597.




DAHINDEN, RENE (1930-2001)

"I have my doubts all the time about what I'm doing. I've always had them. It's a lonely place to be, on one side of the fence, with the rest of the world on the other side. But it's where I have to stay." -Rene Dahinden

Considered to be one of the most prestigious Sasquatch hunters in the field, René Dahinden was born in Switzerland in 1930. In 1953, Dahinden moved to Canada, where he found employment at a dairy farm. After just two months in this new world, Dahinden read an article about the renowned "Daily Mail News Expedition" - which was mounted in Nepal with the intentions of finding evidence which would either confirm, or disconfirm, the existence the Yeti - and was instantly hooked on the idea of researching Hairy-Homonids.

Not wanting to travel halfway across the world, Dahinden settled for the equally intriguing mystery in his new backyard, that of the Sasquatch (or Big-Foot as he is known in the United States.) Over the years, Dahinden gained a reputation for being a thorough and unbiased investigator, who did not indulge fools or hoaxers. His research spectrum swiftly spread throughout the 1960's, and it wasn't long until this intrepid investigator was studying eyewitness accounts from regions in the former Soviet Union.

Known in cryptozoological circles as the man who introduced the world to the "Patterson-Gimlin" film - of which he owned 51% of the rights until his death - Dahinden also co-authored (along with Don Hunter) two books about the Sasquatch phenomenon, and was even cast in a now famous Kokanee beer commercial, in which his ale was pilfered by (you guessed it,) a Sasquatch. It has even been said that the "Bigfoot Hunter" character (played by David Suchet) in the 1987, Steven Spielberg produced motion picture "Harry and the Hendersons," was based upon Dahinden.

Following suit with such notable monster hunters as Tim Dinsdale, Dahinden never strove to make much of a profit with his research, preferring to keep his focus of discovery, rather than capitol gains. Harboring an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the animals to which he had dedicated the better portion of his life, Dahinden died of natural causes in his British Colombia home, on Wednesday April 18, 2001, at the age of 70.


DINSDALE, TIM: (1924-1987)

Timothy Dinsdale was perhaps the most dedicated of all of the Loch Ness Monster hunters. During an unparalleled 27 year run (between 1960 and his death in 1987) this diligent explorer mounted no less than 56 expeditions, most of them solo, almost all of them on the water.

Dinsdale's passion for Loch Ness was ignited in 1959, and after a year of evaluating all of the available evidence, Dinsdale decided to take a look for himself. So, in 1960, after borrowing a 16mm camera from a friend (a believer-turned-septic by the name of Burton,) he drove from his British home northward to the shores of this fabled loch in order to better understand the secrets which allegedly dwelled therein.

On the final day of his first one man expedition, April 23, 1960, while driving along the Fort Williams road, Dinsdale noticed a disturbance on the surface of the peat-stained water. What he saw was nothing short of miraculous. A large, dark, partially submerged object, swimming horizontally across the loch.

Wasting no time, Dinsdale immediately pulled off to the side of the road and was able to shoot a few precious minutes of the "object" on 16mm, black and white film. This footage - which bore the scrutiny of some of the most prestigious gazes in the photographic world - has become the single most significant piece of evidence regarding the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.

In 1966, the so-called "Dinsdale Film" was sent to the British Royal Air Force's photographic experts at the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Center (JARIC,) who determined - after extensive testing - that the object on the film was "probably animate." This revelation served not only to inspire Dinsdale - who was at the time an aeronautical engineer - to rethink his life's agenda and opt to spend the better portion of his remaining years doing research on the Loch, but it also served as the foundation upon which the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau (LNIB) was built.

The profit which Dinsdale accrued from to his spectacular footage was immediately re-invested into his pursuit. Purchasing a boat, a camera, and an array of technologically advanced equipment - which he hoped would enhance his chances of delivering irrerefutable proof of Nessie's existence - Dinsdale almost immediately returned to the loch to continue his scientific inquiry.

It was this example of non-profit oriented research, which set that standard for all monster hunters yet to come, and won the already popular Dinsdale, yet another legion of admirers. Even Nessie skeptics - such as author and Virginia Polytechnic and State University chemistry professor, Henry Bauer - only had positive things to say regarding Dinsdale's long and impressive Loch Ness legacy:

"Tim Dinsdale's quest for the Loch Ness monster was and is widely regarded as misguided if not absurd. Yet Dinsdale acted with such straightforward honesty, with such non combative dignity, that he was held in high regard even by those who thought his work a wild goose chase. In his public appearances, Tim was always careful to proclaim himself an amateur and not a scientist. Yet his behavior met the highest standards of how we expect, or hope, that scientists might behave: disinterestedly, seeking only the truth."

In December of 1987, at the age 64, Tim Dinsdale passed away, leaving a hole so large that not even Nessie herself could fill it. Bauer's words - as well as the praises of o many others - stand as an enduring epitaph to a man's whose life and work have touched so many.




FORT, CHARLES (1874-1932)

Considered to be the "Father" of fortean science, Charles Fort was born on August 6, 1874, into a fairly prosperous family of Dutch immigrants in Albany, New York,. The eldest of three brothers, Fort did his best to protect his younger siblings from the tyrannical violence of their father, until - at the age of 18- he escaped home and became a newspaper reporter in the Big Apple. Not satisfied with his domestic existence, Fort decided to go abroad and managed to travel through both Europe and the Dark Continent, before contracting malaria in South Africa, after which he returned home.

At 22, Fort married one of his father's maids, a British girl by the name of Anna Filan. Destitute, Fort and his new bride, settled in the section of New York City commonly referred to as Hell's Kitchen, where he eked out a meager living writing stories for newspapers and magazines. During that period Fort lived as a virtual hermit (with the exception of the occasional cinematic excursion, which his wife insisted upon,) spending most of his time at the library immersed in scientific journals, where he took extensive notes on all manner of subjects.

In 1921, Fort and his wife migrated to London, where he took a job at the British Museum Library. It was there that Fort finally decided that space travel was inevitable and he began to write extensively on the subject, sending letters to the New York Times and even speaking about it at Hyde Park Corner. The next eight years are considered to be some of the most productive of his life. It is at this point he begins organizing his mass of notes (which he had already burned twice in fits of depression) into a useful order, some of which would be published in his seminal book on fortean phenomenon, "Lo!"

Among the many topics included in "Lo!" were chapters dealing with UFO's, spontaneous human combustion, stigmata, psychic abilities, poltergeists, SEA-SERPENTS and CURIOUS-CARCASSES. Fort also wrote three other books including; "New lands," "Book of the Damned" and "Wild Talents." Believing himself to be a skeptic until the end, Charles Fort managed to introduce an eager public to the extraordinary world of fortean sciences, before he died of what many assume was Leukemia in New York's Royal Hospital on May 3, 1932. In honor of his years of hard work and pioneering insight, the Charles Fort Institute (CFI) was founded in 2000.




GESSNER, CONRAD (1516-1565)

Known as both the "Father" of zoology and the bibliography, Conrad Gessner is considered by most modern scholars to be the most advanced naturalist of his era. Raised in Zurich, Switzerland, Gessner lived on the brink of destitution throughout his auspicious life, and it was only through the donations of generous patrons that he was able to dedicate his life to the work which we so cherish today.

Traveling through Europe in an effort to quench his insatiable thirst for knowledge, Gessner studied in places such as Basel, Paris and Montpellier, eventually becoming a doctor of medicine in 1541. Regarded as a renaissance man, philosopher, encyclopaedist, Gessner maintained a massive corresponded with scholars and naturalists throughout Europe, and published over 70 works detailing such diverse subjects as pharmacology, botany, classical philology, theology, linguistics and zoology. Gessner also published the first bibliography of its kind, the "Bibliotheca Universalis," which listed no less than 1,800 authors and their works.

Gessner is renowned as one of the most significant, post-Aristotle zoological figures of the 16th century (along with Ulisse Aldrovandi, Pierre Belon, Hippolyte Salviani and Guillaume Rondolet,) and was the author of the first, prodigiously illustrated work on the subject. His tome became the standard zoological reference work throughout Europe, and in the 16th and 17th centuries, Gessner utilized only the most exacting artists of his day in order to ensure that his woodcuts were as scientifically accurate as possible. These illustrations were heavily plagiarized for the next two centuries. Gessner - who was also a firm believer in the Sea-Serpent - succumbed to the plague in his Zurich home in 1565, at the age of 49.




HERODOTUS: (484-425 BC.)

Referred to as the "Father" of history, the Greek historian and naturalist, Herodotus, is renowned for his nine volume series, in which he endeavored to create a comprehensive picture of the known world. A voracious traveler, Herodotus chronicled wars, major events, and (of course) unique fauna throughout Greece, Persia, Babylon, Asian minor and Egypt, before he finally made a home for himself in southern Italy.

In much of his work Herodotus depicts animals which are commonly known today, but there are some notable examples of what we would recognize as cryptids in his texts. While many modern scholars accuse him of intermingling myth with reality, there are many who believe that Herodotus exclusively chronicled animals which he had either encounter or truly believed to exist.




HEUVELMANS, BERNARD: (1916-2001)

Known as the "Father" of cryptozoology, Bernard Heuvelmans was born in Le Havre, France on October 10, 1916, to a Dutch mother and a Belgian father, both of whom were living in exile. Raised in the fashion of his parents' native land, Heuvelmans expressed a passion for zoology and natural history at an early age - much to the chagrin of his Jesuit instructors who were mortified by his unholy belief in Darwinian evolution. He was also a renowned fan of popular fiction - particularly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World," and Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" - as well as a prolific jazz aficionado.

In 1939 Heuvelmans received a doctorate in zoology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium, winning early acclaim for a series of well respected papers regarding classic mammalian Orthodontia, most notably his thesis involving the hitherto unclassifiable teeth of the unique, African aardvark known as the Orycteropus after. This would be the genesis of a career which would span the better part of six decades.

During the first eight years of the 1940's, Heuvelmans scientific career was put on hold due to the unparalleled chaos of World War II, and he was even captured no less than three times by German soldiers after he was called up for military service in Belgium. After he escaped for an impressive fourth time, Heuvelmans managed to scrape by as a professional jazz performer and then, eventually, as the author of numerous scientific articles.

It wasn't until January 3, 1948, however - after reading an article by renowned cryptozoologist and author, Ivan T. Sanderson - that a new field of inquiry began to spark Heuvelmans' interest; the search for "hidden animals." Heuvelmans referred to these animals as "hidden" rather than unknown, because he felt it was important to indicate that these creatures very often have a high profile among the indigenous peoples who co-habitat the same environment.

In 1950, Heuvelmans coined the term "cryptozoology," and in 1955, he published what many researchers still regard as the seminal work on the subject, a thick and informative tome entitled: "On the Track of Unknown Animals." It would be his first of many important published works on this subject, including the now famous "In the Wake of the Sea Serpent.".

The impact on the scientific community of Heuvelmans book was enormous - primarily due to his background in zoology and his rigorous application of scientific protocol - and it wasn't long before the popularity "On the Track of Unknown Animals" sparked off a flurry of interest regarding cyrptids, not only amongst scientific communities, but in the private sector as well. This was particularly true of millionaire entrepreneur, Tom Slick, who - inspired by Heuvelmans work - personally financed numerous expeditions in search of hidden animals.

Throughout his career, Heuvelmans trekked the globe in search of these rare beast which had enthralled him so. From peat-slickened shores of Loch Ness... to the harsh climes of Indonesia. From steamy Malaysian rainforests.... to the treacherous jungles of central Africa, this intrepid scientific pioneer spent his life doing what others only dream about... living his passion.
The last decade of Heuvelmans life was spent ammassing information for what he hoped would be a twenty volume encyclopedia of cryptozoological phenomenon. This auspicious endeavor surely would have been the benchmark for all cryptozoological reference materials, but, alas, it was not to be.

Rarely granting interviews or making public appearances in his later years, Heuvelmans - who had become a contemplative Buddhist - continued to garner honors and awards from scientific associations worldwide, all of whom wishing to pay homage to this great man's life and work. In 1982, Heuvelmans became as one of the founding board members of the International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC), and served as this organizations president until he passed peacefully away in his home in Le Vesinet, France, on August 22, 2001.




HOLIDAY, TED: (1920-1979)

F. W. Ted Holiday was a prolific fisherman and wildlife specialist who first became interested in the Loch Ness Monster as a boy. After entering into a career in journalism, Holiday decided, in 1964, to pursue his childhood demons and head for the shores of Loch Ness. Soon after, on August 24, 1964, Holiday's life was forever changed as he - with his own eyes - bore witness to the animal in the loch.

Between 1964 and 1968, holiday spent almost four years on the shores of Loch Ness as a member of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau (as well as mounting expeditions to numerous south Irish loughs,) during which time this fortean investigator chronicled hundreds of eyewitness reports. Becoming one of the most famed of the mid-1960's Loch Ness investigators (sharing the limelight with the likes of Dr. Roy P. Mackal and Tim Dinsdale) Holiday was known primarily for his unique theory regarding the species classification in which he believed the Loch Ness Monster belonged.

His hypothesis ignited an instant debate when it was first revealed upon the publication of his book in 1968: "The Great Orm of Loch Ness." In that text, Holiday claimed that the famed Nessie was a gigantic version of the long extinct, carnivorous invertebrate known as Tullimonstrum gregarium. According to Holiday, this creature - which is a distant relative of both the octopus and the common garden slug - had grown to immense proportions, and was probably responsible not only for the sightings in Loch Ness, but also for the dragons which had been seen throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.

As if his Tullimonstrum theory wasn't eccentric enough to cause a rift amongst Loch Ness investigators, in the early 1970's, Holiday co-authored two books entitled "The Dragon and the Disc" and "The Goblin Universe," in which he speculated that the animals in the loch weren't really animals at all, but supernatural projections stemming from malevolent individuals who has decided to dabble in the dark arts. Holiday also began to associate the Lake-Monster phenomenon with ufology, after an encounter he had near Aberfan in 1966.

In 1973 the BBC was on hand to chronicle Holiday's controversial involvement with the Reverend Donald Omand's attempt to exorcise the monster of the loch. By this point Holiday shared Omand's belief that Nessie served as a kind of conduit for evil forces.

The most bizarre occurrence which purportedly influenced Holiday is associated with an alleged UFO experience had by GUST founder and Lake-Monster investigator, Jan Ove Sunberg . The events which followed (which are an obscure convolution of alien technology and old world mysticism,) apparently took its toll on Holiday's health and apparently led to his untimely demise at the age of 59.




KRANTZ, GROVER: (1931-2002)

Born on November 5, 1931, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Grover Krantz studied at universities in Utah, California and Minnesota, eventually earning a doctorate in anthropology in 1971. In 1968, Krantz joined the faculty of Washington State University as a physical anthropologist. During his almost 40 year tenure at that institution, Krantz published a works on a myriad array of subjects including; human evolution, race, and the geographical development of languages.

His prolific scientific career (as auspicious as it was) never made nearly as large as splash as did his belief in the North American Hairy-Hominid, or - as it is more commonly known - Big-foot. Krantz's work on the so-called Bigfoot mystery began in the early 1970's, when he first proposed the theory that these creatures were likely descended from the humongous relic ape known as the Gigantopithecus, which was presumed to have become extinct nearly 10,000 years ago.

As if his stance in the scientific community regarding his belief in the existence of Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Sasquatch weren't controversial enough, he also stirred a tremendous amount of debate within cryptozoological circles as a outspoken advocate for the necessity of killing of one of these beasts in order to confirm its existence to the skeptical world.

Frustrated throughout most of his life by the fact that his academic peers would not even consider the evidence regarding the continued existence of the proto-Gigantopithecus, Krantz employed rigorous forensic techniques to his research to insure the continued respectability of his results.

Often a guest on television documentaries (including a youthful appearance on the much lauded 1970's fortean television program "In Search Of...") Krantz was unafraid to assume an extremely unpopular - not to mention risky, as far as scientific credentials go - stance on the subject of Hairy-Hominids.

It is a shame that his courage as failed to infect the bulk of his peers, but (like most pioneers) if it weren't for Krantz's willingness to take those first daring steps into the unkown... there would be not trail for their successors to follow. Dr. Krantz died at his home in 2002, from pancreatic cancer. His wife, Diane Horton, was with him constantly to the end.




LUCRETIUS (99-55 BC.)

Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet, philosopher, naturalist and author of many works including the philosophical epic "De Rerum Natura," a title which translates to "On the Nature of the Universe," and which is considered the most comprehensive exposition of the Epicurean world-view. In fact, there are many modern scholars who believe that without the bold innovations of Lucretius, modern science as we recognize it would probably not exist.

Although Very little is known of this poet-historian's life, he is remembered for his epic, six volume work, which endeavored to depict a completely naturalistic picture of the physical origin, structure, and destiny of the universe. Included in this presentation were Lucretius' theories of the atomic structure of matter as well as the emergence and evolution of life forms. It is these later theories which have led to Lucretius' great contributions to modern zoology - not to mention cryptozoology.

Having chronicled many of the animals which have been lost to antiquity - such as the Centaurs, Hydra and the Scylla - Lucretius was pioneering not only in terms of his use of the scientific method, but also in the fact that he was one of the first scientists to propose the theory of evolution as well as natural selection. These theories were instrumental to Darwin's ideas regarding the same subject.




MAGNUS, OLAUS: (1490-1558)

Born at Skeninge, Sweden in 1490, to a well established family of nobles, Olaus Magnus was raised in an intensely Catholic environment. In 1510, 20 year-old Magnus traveled to Germany where he pursued his educational agenda for seven years, until he was taken into the higher ecclesiastical service, and made cathedral provost at Strengnas.

Fascinated by natural history, Magnus wrote volumes about the geography and fauna of his native Sweden. His works - which mark him as one of the most important geographers of the Renaissance period - were published in Italy, along with an astoundingly accurate map of the northlands with the title "Carta marina et description septentrionalium terrarum ac mirabilium rerum," which first appeared in Venice in 1539.

As impressive as Magnus' resume already was, it was his fascination for the SEA-SERPENTS of the north Atlantic, which has forever immortalized his name. Although his works on indigenous Scandinavian fauna quickly dismissed purportedly "mythical" animals such as the dragon as works of fiction, he treated the issue if Sea-Serpents with a matter-of-fact demeanor, describing these amazing animals in the same fashion one would imagine a farmer describing a cow.

So impressive was his research on this subject that it fueled interest in these creatures for centuries, and even served as the primary impetus for Erik Pontoppidan - the next great, north Atlantic Sea-Serpent scholar - to pick up the torch and run with it. Between 1545 and 1549 Magnus attended the Council of Trent in Rome (where he spent the remainder of his life.) On August 1, 1558, Magnus died and was buried next to his brother in Saint Peter's Cathedral.




MAGRANER, JORDI: (1967-2002)

Famous Spanish zoologist and cryptozoologist, Jordi Magraner, was found assassinated in his home in a village near the town of Bumburate in the Chitral valley, Pakistan on August 2, 2002. For the past 12 years, Magraner had been on the track of Barmanu, (which translates as "the big hairy one"), in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Magraner's findings are considered to be some of the most intriguing in the annals of Hairy-Hominid research. Utilizing strict scientific protocols in his research eyewitness interviews, 35 year-old Magraner was a much respected scientist and a student of the late, great Bernard Heuvelmans.

Between 1992 and 1994, during his trek to the Shishi Kuh valley in the Chitral region of Pakistan, Magraner's expedition (consisting of exclusively of Europeans such as Dr. Anne Mallasseand) discovered interesting footprints, and heard guttural sounds which were described as those made from a "primitive primate voice box."

Magraner was planning to return to French soil in September of 2002. Both the cryptozoological and hominological communities expressed shock over the news of the death of their esteemed colleague. Magraner's paper entitled "Oral Statements Concerning Living Hominids: Analysis, Criticism, and Implications for Language Origins," can be found HERE.




OUDEMANS, ANTOON: (1858-1943)

Dutch born zoologist, botanist and entomologist, Dr. Antoon Cornelis Oudemans, is considered by many to to be one the greatest scientists ever to tackle the issue of SEA-SERPENTS. After extensive investigation of eyewitness reports, Oudemans decided to deliver his theory to the world, and, in 1892, this esteemed scientist is credited with publishing the first paper ever to deal exclusively with a cryptozoological phenomenon. The subject being; the oft reported "snake-of-the-sea."

It has been said that toward the end of the 19th century, Oudemans receives a revelation. Based upon his exhaustive research into the subject of Sea-Serpents (particularly accounts referring to their horse-like manes and vertical undulations,) Oudemans concluded that they were neither gigantic sea-snakes, nor descendants of the ichthyosaurs or plesiosaurs, but more probably related to mammals such as pinnipeds, which he dubbed "Megophias megophias."

During the 1930's, Oudemans - along with, or so it seems, the rest of the civilized world - became fascinated with the Highland beast known as the Loch Ness Monster. Hoping to apply his protopinniped theory to the Lake-Monster phenomenon, Oudemans described this relic seal as having a long neck and a wide body, much like that of a plesiosaur. Although there is still much controversy surrounding Oudemans' hypothesis, he did manage to find some notable admirers, among them the renowned Bernard Heuvelmans.




PATTERSON, ROGER: (? - 1972)

In 1957, former rodeo rider, Roger Patterson became intensely intrigued by newspaper accounts he had read regarding the gigantic man-ape known as Big-Foot, and decided to look into the matter himself. Over the better part of the next decade, Patterson would mount numerous one-man expeditions into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest in order to accumulated evidence and eyewitness reports regarding these amazing animals.

In 1966, Patterson - greatly influenced by the work of Ivan T. sanderson- published his own book on the Hairy-Hominid phenomenon entitled: "Do Abominable Snowmen of America Really Exist?" In August of that same year, Patterson and fellow Bigfoot researcher Bob Gimlin, were exploring the region near Mount St. Helen's, when two friends from Willow Creek, California (Syl McCoy and Al Hodgson) called to inform them that some interesting footprints had been discovered in the Bluff Creek area of their home state.

Intrigued by this news Patterson and Gimlin quickly packed in their current expedition, rented a handheld, Kodak 16mm movie camera, procured two 100-foot rolls of color film, and made their way south to Bluff creek... and into the annals cryptozoological legend.

Volumes have already been written regarding Patterson and Gimlin's encounter at Bluff Creek, suffice it to say that the few precious minutes of footage captured by Patterson on October 20, 1967 - which seem to show a large, ape-like, bipedal female walking through the bramble - has changed lives, made believers out of skeptics and planted the seed for a controversy which lingers to this day.




PLINY THE ELDER: (23-79 AD.)

Casius Plinius Secundus - or Pliny the Elder, as he is more commonly known - was born in the year 23 or 24 in a small city in the region Gallia Transpadana known as Novum Comum. We do not know much about his family, except for the fact that he had a sister, and that his father was wealthy enough to be a member of the equestrian class. We can also assume that his hunger for knowledge and love of science came at an early age.

Living in the era of Caligula and Claudius, this Roman senator and commander of the imperial fleet, was most renowned for his 37 volume work on natural history (not to mention over 160 volumes of notes,) which included numerous accounts of animals commonly recognized in the 21st century, and more than a few which we would today claim to be cryptids. It was Pliny's obvious passion - not to mention fastidious chronicling - of the natural wonders which surrounded him, that has helped his work endure to this day.

On August 24, 79 AD., Pliny's wife noticed a strange cloud arising from the top of Mount Vesuvius across the bay, When she told her naturalist husband, he was determined to go have a look for himself. Against the wishes of his men - and all better judgment - Pliny boarded a small ship and made his way through the falling ash to the rubble strewn shores near Vesuvius, in order to better record this volcanic eruption first hand.

It was during this expedition that Pliny succumbed to the volcano's noxious fumes and perished in the arms of his slaves. This account of Pliny the Elder's last hours comes to us from a letter his nephew wrote to the historian Cornelius Tacitus. This nephew - Pliny the Younger - was also a writer, who later became the governor of Bithynia under the emperor Trajan. For more information regarding Pliny the Elder click HERE.




PONTOPPIDAN, ERIK: (1698-1764)

Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan was born on August 24, 1698, in Denmark's second largest city Århus, to a family of high ranking clergymen. The son of renowned linguist Ludvig Henriksen Pontoppidan, Erik Pontoppidan was raised amid an atmosphere of literary expertise and highbrow intellectualism. Following in his family's footsteps, Pontoppidan became a local clergyman, where he quickly moved up the ranks, and in 1747, he was declared the bishop in Bergen, Norway - in addition to Prokansler at the University of Copenhagen, where (since 1738) he had already held the position of Professor in Theology.

Considered one of the most intellectual theologians in Danish history, and serving as author of such auspicious works as the The Danish Atlas, one would believe that Pontoppidan's legacy would rest in his academic credentials, but that would not be the case. The one thing that this esteemed scholar is most renowned for, was his fascination regarding the north Atlantic Sea-Serpents. A fascination which was inspired by the in depth research of the Swedish born Olaus Magnus.

Pontoppidan pursued this obsession along the fjords of the Norwegian coastline, diligently collecting data and eyewitness reports (even having a sighting himself,) all of which he fastidiously chronicled. It is in no small part due to Pontoppidan's exhaustive research that we have as complete a portrait as we do today regarding these extraordinary marine animals. Pontoppidan passed away on December 20, 1764.




SANDERSON, T. IVAN: (1911-1973)

Author and zoologist, Ivan Terence Sanderson is considered to be one of the most preeminent cryptozoologist the world has ever known. Born on January 30, 1911, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sanderson would quickly make a name for himself as an intrepid explorer, who was unafraid of the perils of the so-called "Third-World." When Sanderson was still in his teens he mounted expeditions into some of the most isolated and treacherous jungle environments on the face of the Earth, all the while chronicling his experiences with numerous unknown animals, most notably the gigantic, bat-like creature known as the Olitiau.

In 1932, 21 year-old Sanderson - during an expedition which he was leading through the Assumbo Mountains of Cameroon - had an encounter with this winged beast while crossing a river. Sanderson would later recall that the black, sharp toothed, reptilian featured animal - which was nearly the size of an eagle - dove at him and a compatriot, causing much consternation in their native guides.

Sanderson himself believed that the creature was an exceptionally large specimen of the repulsively featured, hammerhead bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus.) This encounter - along with numerous others - were chronicled in one of Sanderson's many articles and books, which include "Great Jungles," "Animal treasure," "Living Mammals of the World," and his legendary 1961 publication: "Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life," which is considered by many researchers to be the definitive Yeti tome.

In the 1950s, Sanderson gained international fame as a television talk show guest, as well as being the author of numerous magazine articles regarding Big-Foot, Lake-Monsters, relic dinosaurs and other fascinating cryptids.

His dedication to this academic pursuit of these unknown beasts endeared him to many of his peers, and no less than the "Father" of cryptozoology himself, Bernard Heuvelmans, credited Sanderson for inspiring him to explore this unique field. In 1965, Sanderson founded the" Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained," and eight years later, on February 19, 1973, Sanderson passed away, leaving the world his vast legacy.




SLICK, TOM: (1916-1962)

With a name like Tom Slick one would expect you to be the ring leader in a supersonic world of adventure and intrigue.. and that's exactly what this Texas bred millionaire, philanthropist and entrepreneur was. Born in 1916, slick's first brush with danger would come when his stepfather was kidnapped by the notorious "Machine Gun Kelly," from that moment on, Slick lived the kind of life that could feed the presses of two dozen pulp publishers.

After making his fortune in the oil fields of Texas, Slick befriended movie Hollywood stars such as Jimmy Stewart, assisted the CIA in covert operations, and - perhaps most significantly - searched the furthest reaches of the Earth in pursuit of unknown animals. Most renowned for his 1950's Nepalese expeditions in search of the famed Yeti, slick would also dedicated a large portion of his time and resources pursuing other cryptids such as Big-Foot, Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, the Illiamna Lake Monsters and the Giant Salamanders of California.

Slick also used his fortune to found educational institutions, which to this day are dedicated to the cause of world peace. Some of these foundations include; the Southwest Research Institute, the Southwest Foundation for Research and Education, the Institute of Inventive Research and the Mind Science Foundation, which was created in 1958 in San Antonio, Texas, for the purpose of studying the human mind and its vast potential.

There is also a Tom Slick Professorship of World Peace at the University of Texas, which publishes a Tom Slick World Peace Series of books. Slick's extraordinary life was extinguished, when perished in a plane crash at the age of 46.


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