George F. Sternberg
George Fryer Sternberg was born August 26, 1883, in Lawrence, Kansas, to Charles Hazelius and Anna Margaret (Reynolds) Sternberg. Brothers Charles H. and George M. Sternberg were recognized paleontologists during the late 19th century. George F. Sternberg would soon follow in his family’s footsteps. At the age of nine, Sternberg accompanied his mother and younger brother to a site along Beaver Creek in Logan County where his father was working. There Sternberg made his first discovery—a nearly complete plesiosaur from the Cretaceous Era. He credits his father with his knowledge of paleontology, making even more impact than his schooling. He married Mabel Clare Smith on December 31, 1907, at Phillipsburg. They had three children.
Sternberg discovered a giant buffalo (six-foot horn cores) near Hoxie, Kansas, and Triceratops from Wyoming in 1908. He spent a number of years excavating in the Red Deer River Valley in Canada. In 1924 and 1925 Sternberg went to Patagonia in South America to do research for the Field Museum. He gained recognition for his discoveries and classification of a new sub-family of mastodons.
In 1927 Sternberg was hired as field vertebrate paleontologist and curator of the museum at Fort Hays State University in Hays. He served in this position until 1955. He developed public and educational programs for the museum and helped to build the paleontology and geology collections. Initially for academic use, the museum expanded to serve schools and the public. Sternberg married Anna Gertrude Ziegler on October 11, 1930.
Sternberg’s most famous discovery is the "fish within a fish," the most complete specimen of its kind, which he found in 1952. Inside the prehistoric skeleton of this 14-foot Xiphactinus molossus, is a six-foot fish. This rare specimen can be seen at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays. In addition to the Butterfield Trail Museum, Russell Springs; and Fick Fossil Museum, Oakley; Sternberg’s discoveries have been featured at numerous museums including the British Museum, London; Victorian Memorial Museum, Ottawa, Canada; and Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
Sternberg died October 23, 1969, in New Hanover, North Carolina. Fort Hays State University’s student geology club and the museum are both named in honor of the Sternberg family.
View primary sources related to George F. Sternberg in Kansas Memory.
Entry: Sternberg, George F.
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: August 2011
Date Modified: September 2011
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