 Edward Drinker Cope ( July 28 , 1840 – April 12 , 1897 ) was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist , as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist . He was a founder of the Neo @-@ Lamarckism school of thought . Born to a wealthy Quaker family , Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science ; he published his first scientific paper at the age of 19 . Though his father tried to raise Cope as a gentleman farmer , he eventually acquiesced to his son 's scientific aspirations . Cope married his cousin and had one child ; the family moved from Philadelphia to Haddonfield , New Jersey , although Cope would maintain a residence and museum in Philadelphia in his later years . 
