Louis Leakey
| Louis Leakey | |
|---|---|
Louis Leakey examining skulls from Olduvai Gorge
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| Born | Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey 7 August 1903 Kabete, British East Africa (modern-day Kenya) |
| Died | 1 October 1972 (aged 69) London, United Kingdom |
| Citizenship | Kenyan, British |
| Fields | Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, Paleontology |
| Known for | Pioneering the study of human evolution in Africa |
| Notable awards |
Hubbard Medal (1962) Prestwich Medal (1969) |
| Spouses |
Frida Avern (divorced 1936) Mary Leakey (married 1936) |
Frida Avern (divorced 1936)
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (7 August 1903 – 1 October 1972), also known as L. S. B. Leakey, was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist and archaeologist whose work was important in demonstrating that humans evolved in Africa, particularly through discoveries made at Olduvai Gorge with his wife, fellow paleontologist Mary Leakey. Having established a program of palaeoanthropological inquiry in eastern Africa, he also motivated many future generations to continue this scholarly work. Several members of Leakey's family became prominent scholars themselves.
Another of Leakey's legacies stems from his role in fostering field research of primates in their natural habitats, which saw as key to understanding human evolution. He personally chose three female researchers, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birutė Galdikas, calling them The Trimates. Each went on to become an important scholar in the field of primatology. Leakey also encouraged and supported many other Ph.D. candidates, most notably from the University of Cambridge. Leakey also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there.
Louis's parents, Harry (1868-1940) and Mary (May) Bazett Leakey (died 1948), were Church of England missionaries in British East Africa (now Kenya). Harry was the son of James Shirley Leakey (1824-1871), one of the eleven children of the portrait painter James Leakey. Harry Leakey was assigned to an established post of the Church Mission Society among the Kikuyu at Kabete, in the highlands north of Nairobi. The station was at that time a hut and two tents. Louis's earliest home had an earthen floor, a leaky thatched roof, rodents and insects, and no heating system except for charcoal braziers. The facilities slowly improved over time. The mission, a center of activity, set up a clinic in one of the tents, and later a girls' school. Harry was working on a translation of the Bible into the Gikuyu language. He had a distinguished career in the CMS, becoming canon of the station.
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