Komodo dragons were first documented by Europeans in 1910

One of the interesting facts about Komodo dragons is Komodo dragons were first documented by Europeans in 1910, when Lieutenant van Steyn van Hensbroek of the Dutch colonial authority heard reports of a "land crocodile." After receiving a photograph and a skin from the lieutenant as well as two more specimens from a collector, Peter Ouwens, the director of the Zoological Museum of Bogor, Java, wrote a study on the subject in 1912, which led to widespread recognition.

When the London Zoo originally opened its doors in 1927, the Reptile House featured the first two live Komodo dragons to arrive in Europe. Some of the first observations of these species in captivity were made by Joan Beauchamp Procter, who also showed their behavior at a scientific meeting of the Zoological Society of London in 1928.

W. Douglas Burden's 1926 voyage to Komodo Island was motivated by the Komodo dragon. This expedition served as the basis for the 1933 film King Kong when it returned with 12 preserved specimens and two living ones. Burden is also credited with creating the slang term "Komodo dragon." The American Museum of Natural History still has three of his specimens on exhibit after being stuffed.