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The Aristocrat, the Spy, and the Dinosaur Hunter: 3 Lessons from the Extraordinary Life of Baron Nopcsa
The Transylvanian globetrotter that changed Paleontology forever
A paleontologist, by definition, comes in khaki pants and a floppy hat, scouring the desert for fossils. You probably don’t imagine a flamboyant aristocrat in Transylvania digging up dinosaur bones between bouts of espionage and political upheaval.
But that’s exactly what Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás did. He seems like the invention of a mad novelist, a character so outlandish, so ridiculous, that he must be a trick of fiction.
He was very real — a dandy genius whose exploits hunting dinosaurs were brief respites from the insanity of the rest of his life. Dracula, in all seriousness, has nothing on the Dinosaur Baron.
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás was not only a nobleman and a dinosaur hunter; he was a spy, a traveler, and a tragic figure.
The Many Faces of the Baron
Born into a noble family in Transylvania in 1877, Nopcsa grew up with a passion for languages, exploration, and natural history. As a young man, he developed a romantic relationship with a count from Transylvania and was introduced to the mysterious…
