On the 81st anniversary of the emergence of "photographic evidence" of the existence of the Loch Ness monster, The Mirror spoke about a scientist who paid with his career for sincere belief in the existence of a prehistoric reptile at the bottom of a Scottish lake.
Previously classified documents from the British Museum of Natural History show that respected zoologist Denis Tucker was fired from his post as director of the zoological department just because he said that he saw the Loch Ness monster with his own eyes.
Tucker's story is declassified under the Freedom of Information Act; documents show that the scientist lost his job in 1960 and then spent seven years trying to restore his reputation in professional circles and a position in the Museum of Natural History. He even turned to the head of the Church of England for help, since the Archbishop of Canterbury was one of the main patrons of the museum.
A World War II pilot, Denis Tucker joined the Museum of Natural History as a research assistant in the zoological department in 1949 and made a brilliant scientific career. In 1959, after a trip to Scotland, he submitted a report to the professional journal New Scientist describing a mysterious animal that he observed on the surface of Loch Ness.
According to Tucker, it was an Elasmosaurus, a 15-meter-high reptile that lived in water bodies of Canada, Japan and Russia about 80 million years ago. The scientist himself called his find "one of the most important discoveries in British zoology", but his evidence was called an invention by the director of the Terence Morrison-Scott Museum, who initiated the dismissal of Tucker for anti-scientific activities.
Denis Tucker was never able to prove his case and protect labor rights. He died in obscurity in 2009 at the age of 87.