Johann Carl Fuhlrott (1803–1877)
Born 1803 CE, died 1877 CE.
Johann Carl Fuhlrott (31 December 1803, Leinefelde, Germany – 17 October 1877, Elberfeld, now part of Wuppertal) was an early German paleoanthropologist. He is famous for recognising the significance of the bones of Neanderthal 1, a Neanderthal specimen discovered by German laborers who were digging for limestone in Feldhofer grotto, later known as Neander valley (Neanderthal in German) in August 1856. Originally disregarded, Fuhlrott, to his eternal credit, had the insight to recognise them for what they were: the remains of a previously unknown type of human.
Text from the Wikipedia article Johann_Carl_Fuhlrott, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.