Angela Milner

Angela Cheryl Milner (3 October 1947 – 13 August 2021) was a British paleontologist who, in 1986 alongside Alan Charig, described the dinosaur Baryonyx.

Early life Milner was born Angela Girven in Gosforth, daughter of Cyril and Lucia Girven. Her father was the county engineer for Northumberland. She attended Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School. She initially planned to focus on microbiology for her university degree, but inspiring lectures from Alec Panchen made her change to palaeontology. She gained a BSc in zoology at Newcastle University and stayed there in 1969 to take a PhD in palaeontology supervised by Panchen focusing on the nectrideans, a group of Paleozoic tetrapods. This was found in a clay-pit in Surrey and was the most complete dinosaur skeleton identified in the UK to that date. It provided the key to interpretation of further dinosaur fragments discovered around the world to start a new research area in palaeontology.

Personal life She married Andrew Milner in 1972 whilst they were postgraduate students. Milner died on the morning of 13 August 2021, at the age of 73, following a short illness.

Publications Milner is the author or co-author of over 60 scientific publications. She continued to publish after her retirement and up to her death. Her publications include: Walsh, Stig A, Iwaniuk, Andrew N, Knoll, Monja A, Bourdon, Estelle, Barrett, Paul M, Milner, Angela C, Nudds, Robert L, Abel, Richard L and Patricia Dello Sterpaio (2013) Avian cerebellar floccular fossa size is not a proxy for flying ability in birds. PLOS ONE 8 e67176 Archibald, J David, Clemens, WA, Padian, Kevin and 20 other authors including Angela C. Milner. (2010) Cretaceous extinctions: multiple causes. Science 328 973–973 Alonso, PD, Milner, AC, Ketcham, RA, Cookson, MJ and Rowe, TB (2004) The avian nature of the brain and inner ear of Archaeopteryx. Nature 430 666–66 Macleod, N, Rawson, PF, Forey, PL, and 19 other authors including Milner, AC (1997) The Cretaceous-Tertiary biotic transition. Journal of the Geological Society 154 265–292 AJ Charig and AC Milner (1986) Baryonyx, a remarkable new theropod dinosaur. Nature 324 359–361

She was co-author of The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs.