Leakey Ancestors - Biographies

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Brief Biographies

Charles Boise
(1884-1964)
A mining engineer born in North Dakota. He made his fortune in diamonds and became a Britsh subject. He was a pricipal supporter of Louis and Mary Leakeys' work and they thanked him by naming the first major discoveryAustralopithecus boisei after him.

Robert Broom
(dates...)
Discoverer of Australopithecus robustus .

Raymond Dart
(1893-1988)
Discovered the Australopithecus africanus type specimen known as the Taung Child.

Eugene Dubois (1858 -1940)
Discoverer of Pithecanthropus erectus (later remaned Homo erectus).

Donald Johanson
Discoverer of the famous Australopithecus afarensis specimen known as "Lucy" along with many other important finds. Donald is the Director of the Institute of Human Origins.

Kamoya Kimeu
Kamoya has worked with the Leakey family from 1960 until the present. He was Richard's field coordinator, and was later in cherge of Prehistoric Sites and Monuments for the National Museum of Kenya. Kamoya discovered the Peninj mandible and the Nariokotome boy among many other finds.

Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey
(1903 - 1972)
Louis Leakey was born outside Nairobi, Kenya, in 1903. He attended Cambridge University, and took a degree in anthropology in 1926. With his wife, Mary, he worked throughout Tanzania and Kenya seeking the origins of man.

Mary Leakey
(1913 - 1996)
Mary Leakey was one of the greatest hominid hunters of all time. She discovered Proconsul africanus, Australopithecus boisei, and was involved with the discoveries of many other important specimens. She continued working throughout her life.

Meave Leakey
Currently the Head of the Division of Palaeontology for the National Museums of Kenya. Meave took here doctorate in zoology from the University of North Wales.

Richard Leakey
The second son of Louis and Mary, Richard grew up hunting fossils. His expeditions have uncovered a wealth of information on the genus Homo from the Turkana region.

Bernard Ngeneo
Bernard Ngeneo was one of the most successful of Richard Leakey's field workers in the 1970s. He discovered many specimens in addition to KNM-ER 3733 (H. erectus).