The Man Behind the Statue: Samuel H. Knight
Dr. Samuel H. Knight was a well-known professor of Geology, with a career that spanned over forty years. During this time, he gained a reputation for several accomplishments, including a science camp for young learners. He is also known for illustrating the geographical evolution of the Rocky Mountains. He believed that Geology is a subject that can be explored by many, including women. His enthusiasm and dedication to science is forever memorialized by the statue that he spent thousands of hours creating: Rexy.
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It can be reasonably assumed that Dr. Knight did not start the pinecone tradition. This statue was built out of loving enthusiasm for Geology and research. However, Rexy has continued to carry Dr. Knight's legacy of creating a safe place for students to work towards their academic ambitions. And as rhetorician Aleida Assmann once wrote, "The 'monument' in monumental history is singled out from the uniform chains of events as an encouraging example, as an inspiring model to be imitated and emulated". In other words, perhaps the exact context of Rexy's origins don't matter. What matters is who she has become: an odd tradition that students made for themselves.
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Photo by Warner, Samuel H. Knight in front of T-Rex Statue, The Branding Iron, 1964
A different Perspective
Diving deeper into Dr. Knight's impact: A Brief story on research by Lizzy Cozzens
There may be many contexts today in which Rexy's origin might not matter. She's fun, she provides alleviation during times of stress for students, and she has a unique tradition sets her apart from other features of the university. However, when researching Rexy in the hopes of learning more about pinecones and luck, it wasn't the current tradition that I kept coming back to, but Dr. Knight himself.
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Dr. Knight had a career as a professor that spanned over forty years. He made multiple donations to the University of Wyoming and did extensive research on Wyoming geology. Moreover, and perhaps the most frequent connection I found to Dr. Knight, was the Science Camp that he founded. It was a huge hit. A 1963 news bulletin of Wyoming Science Camp Geology Alumni wrote, "The third reunion at Science Camp July 15-20, 1963 was wonderful! Everything conspired to make it so, including Doc himself", and later, "Sally presented Doc with a scrapbook containing letters, cards and telegrams sent for the occasion by many who could not be present, and his thank-you speech filled with reminisces was a delight".
The bulletin concluded with this: "And last, but not least, the Homecoming parade of October 19th was in honor of S.H. Knight and of course, abounded in dinosaurs and cave men [...] He continues to teach an introductory course [...] and spends every spare moment working on his copper-clad, life-size model of Tyrannosaurus in a special shed behind the museum-- another 'must' when you come to Laramie".
​I couldn't help but be struck by the affection between Dr. Knight and the University of Wyoming (and his Science Camp by proxy). Rexy was purely a passion project for Dr. Knight, something that many might have considered wholly unnecessary, but as is evidenced by this bulletin, there were a great number of people, even from the beginning, who were invested in Rexy.
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In 1965, a news bulletin from the same group wrote, "News of Doc himself is included in the large bulletin; needless to say, he is as busy as ever. His life-size copper Tyrannosaurs rex was unveiled in an impressive ceremony last April and is now an exciting landmark not only for the University but for the whole city of Laramie". All of these years later, I have to agree: Rexy is an impressive credit to the University and to Laramie.
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Knowing how loved Dr. Knight was (and as a consequence Rexy), it feels wrong to reduce our dented, strange dinosaur statue to pinecones and luck. Rexy is a remnant of a community that has long faded. She was made by the hands of one man who formed this community, and formed it around education and science.
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But I also believe that were Dr. Knight here today, he might approve of how Rexy's reputation has evolved. While students today might not know the love and work that went into the statue's creation, Dr. Knight's legacy of enthusiastic learning is continued through Rexy's persistent symbolism of educational pursuits...even if those pursuits are to pass an exam.
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