“The elephants seem far away.”
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Richard Leakey
Richard Erskine Frere Leakey was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician. Leakey held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeology and wildlife conservation. He was director of the National Museum of Kenya, founded the NGO WildlifeDirect, and was the chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Leakey served in the powerful office of cabinet secret…
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politics · Kenyan conservationist (1944–2022) · paleoanthropologist · politician · conservationist · environmentalist · university teacher · autobiographer · paleontologist · anthropologist · also Richard Leakey, Richard Erskine Leakey, Richard Erskine Frere Leakey, R. Leakey, R. E. F. Leakey, Leakey
Born 19 December 1944 · Died 2 January 2022 · Q318960
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2026· 2 entries
National Geographic España: Los entresijos del descubrimiento por parte de Richard Leakey de un cráneo humano
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2022· 10 entries
Mongabay: Elephant protector and fossil hunter Richard Leakey leaves outsized legacy in Kenya
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The Washington Post: Richard Leakey, paleoanthropologist and protector of wildlife, dies at 77
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WESA: Richard Leakey, whose discoveries helped prove mankind began in Africa, is dead at 77
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Phys.org: Richard Leakey, fossil hunter and defender of elephants, dies aged 77
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Bloomberg L.P.: Richard Leakey, Who Found ‘Turkana Boy’ Fossil, Dies at 77
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FOX13 Memphis: Famed paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey dead at 77
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CNN: World-renowned Kenyan conservationist Richard Leakey dies at 77
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clickondetroit.com: Kenyan paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey dies at 77
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Died 2022-01-02.
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“I think both Louis and I were looking for more or less the same thing, and that is, when did our species, Homo, begin?”
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2019· 1 entry
Awarded Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (2019).
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2017· 1 entry
Won Lucy Mair Medal (2017).
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2016· 1 entry
Leakey was named Conservationist of the Year by The Perfect World Foundation and won "The Fragile Rhino" prize at the Elephant Ball in Gothenburg, Sweden
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2015· 1 entry
President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Leakey chairman of the board of the Kenya Wildlife Service
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2007· 1 entry
Awarded Fellow of the Royal Society (2007).
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2004· 1 entry
Leakey founded and chaired WildlifeDirect, a Kenya-based charitable organisation
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2002· 1 entry
And became a professor of anthropology at Stony Brook University, New York
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1999· 1 entry
To placate the donors, Moi appointed Richard Leakey as Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service in 1999.
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1997· 1 entry
International donor institutions froze their aid to Kenya because of widespread corruption
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1995· 1 entry
In May 1995, Richard Leakey joined some Kenyan intellectuals in launching a new political party—the Safina Party, which in Swahili means "Noah's Ark".
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1994· 1 entry
Won Hubbard Medal (1994).
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1993· 1 entry
A small propeller-driven plane piloted by Richard Leakey crashed, crushing his lower legs, both of which were later amputated
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1990· 2 entries
Won Patron’s Medal (1990).
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And Leakey became its first chairman
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1989· 2 entries
Richard Leakey was appointed the head of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department (WMCD) by President Daniel Arap Moi in response to the international outcry over the poaching of elephants and the impact it wa
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But his wife Meave Leakey and daughter Louise Leakey continue to conduct palaeontological research in Northern Kenya
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1984· 1 entry
Was the nearly complete skeleton of a Homo ergaster (though some, including Leakey, call it erectus) who died 1
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1978· 2 entries
That man walked upright much earlier than had been thought
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An intact cranium of Homo erectus (KNM ER 3883) was discovered
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1974· 1 entry
Career landmark: director (1974–1989).
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1972· 1 entry
And 1975, respectively, were among the most significant finds of Leakey's earlier expeditions
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1970· 1 entry
And they had two daughters, Louise (born 1972) and Samira (1974)
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1969· 3 entries
The same year that Leakey and Margaret divorced
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The discovery of a cranium of Paranthropus boisei caused great excitement
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Their daughter Anna was born in 1969, the same year that Leakey and Margaret divorced.
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1968· 1 entry
Louis and Richard attended a meeting of the Research and Exploration Committee of the National Geographic Society to ask for money for Omo
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1967· 1 entry
Leakey's contingent was attacked by crocodiles, which destroyed their wooden boat
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1965· 1 entry
And Margaret decided to marry and return to Kenya
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1964· 1 entry
On his second Lake Natron expedition, Leakey met an archaeologist named Margaret Cropper
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1962· 1 entry
Obtained a private pilot licence and took tours to the Olduvai Gorge
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1956· 1 entry
Aged eleven, Leakey fell from his horse, fracturing his skull and nearly dying as a result
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1944· 1 entry
Born 1944-12-19.
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