Science Art: Reconstruction on paper of Tyrannosaurus rex, from Bulletin of the AMNH, 1905 (Linda Hall Library).

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From the Linda Hall Library “Scientist of the Day” entry on Henry Fairfield Osborn:

Osborn named and described some of the most famous dinosaurs in the world, including Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, Ornitholestes, Struthiominus, and Oviraptor. Oddly, Osborn did not discover any of these dinosaurs. In the “old days” (the 1820s), dinosaurs such as Iguanodon and Megalosaurus were named and described by their finders, but by the late 19th century, paleontology had become a stratified discipline. Scientists such as Osborn stayed home (in his case, home was the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, of which he became President in 1906) and sent others into the field, outdoorsmen like Barnum Brown, Charles Sternberg, and Roy Chapman Andrews. The dinosaur hunters made a good living – some were even independent, selling their finds to the highest bidder – but in exchange for money and support, they gave up the right to publish their discoveries themselves. Occasionally, Osborn would allow his hired hands to publish on their own; so Barnum Brown (who discovered T. rex and Struthiomimus for Osborn) got to publish and name two of his finds, Ankylosaurus and Corythosaurus.

But you have to hand it to Osborn, he was good at the naming business. It is hard to beat Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor as evocative descriptors.

I strongly recommend you read the rest of the story at the Linda Hall Library. And stay out of the way of any T. rexes you encounter, oddly short forelimbs or no.