While Dippy (Diplodocus carnegii) was making his grand debut in Pittsburgh, he caught the attention of a king across the ocean. King Edward VII asked Andrew Carnegie for a dinosaur for England. Dr. William Holland, the director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, suggested that the museum could give the king a cast—a copy made from plaster.
Under the supervision of Carnegie scientists, the Diplodocus carnegii model was erected in the Natural History Museum in London.
But Dippy’s popularity overseas did not stop there. Governments of many nations asked Carnegie if they could have their own copies. One cast famously premiered in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris to cries of “Vive la Dippy!”
Today, replicas of Dippy stand in the national museums of Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Russia, Spain, Argentina, and Mexico. Even Carnegie Museum of Natural History made a life-size statue of Dippy that stands on Forbes Avenue outside of the museum in 1999. You might know him from the fun scarves he wears!
Of course, the original Dippy still calls Carnegie Museum of Natural History home and remains the most famous piece of our massive collection.
