Word: komodo
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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DIED. W. Douglas Burden, 80, naturalist and explorer; in Charlotte, Vt. Trained in paleontology, Burden led an expedition to the Dutch East Indies island of Komodo in 1926 in search of the vicious Komodo dragon. He became the first white man to capture the reptile, the world's oldest and, at 10 ft. and 250 Ibs., largest lizard; of the 14 specimens he collected, two may be seen in the American Museum of Natural History. Burden's exploits inspired a friend, Film Director Merian Cooper, to make King Kong. Interested in filming undersea life, Burden in 1938 joined...