Thomas Huxley was one of the most eminent English scientists of his day, a biologist, zoologist, paleontologist, and promoter of scientific education. He was known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for supporting and advancing Darwin's theory of evolution. He also coined the term "agnosticism" (the belief that nothing is certain or uncertain unless it can be proved).
Huxley was familiar with the work of Edward Hitchcock and took an interest in the fossil footprints. During his American tour of 1876, he visited Gill, Massachusetts, to examine the tracks in the quarries of Roswell Field and Timothy Stoughton (neighbors who did not get along well together). Newspaper reports say that Huxley drew an image of what he thought the maker of the tracks might have looked like, but unfortunately, the drawing did not survive the passage of time.