Hunter S. Thompson
American journalist and author (1937-2005)
Louis Leakey
kenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakeywas a Kenyan-British palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist whose work was important in demonstrating that humans evolved in Africa, particularly through discoveries made at Olduvai Gorge with his wife, fellow palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey. Having established a programme of palaeoanthropological inquiry in eastern Africa, he also motivated many future generations to continue this scholarly work.
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About the Louis Leakey
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakeywas a Kenyan-British palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist whose work was important in demonstrating that humans evolved in Africa, particularly through discoveries made at Olduvai Gorge with his wife, fellow palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey. Having established a programme of palaeoanthropological inquiry in eastern Africa, he also motivated many future generations to continue this scholarly work. Several members of the Leakey 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 he saw as key to understanding human evolution. He personally focused on three female researchers, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute 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 PhD candidates, most notably from the University of Cambridge. As well, Leakey played a role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there.
23 Quotes by Louis Leakey
- 1.
The Foxhall jaw has now been missing for many years.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 2.
Most Kikuyu marriages were arranged on the basis of what is described by anthropologists as the bride price.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 3.
To save an animal’s life in order that it may suffer indefinitely is something I would never condone.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 4.
The Dalmatian breed of dog has many primitive characteristics.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 5.
South Africa had a long record of studies in prehistory, going back to the end of the last century.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 6.
I saw what looked like another fallen tree in front of me and put my foot on it to cross over. At that moment it reared up in front of me-the biggest python I had ever seen!
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 7.
Sometimes string figures were used to illustrate stories, as in the case of an Eskimo example that depicts a man catching a salmon. Sometimes they had magic or religious significance.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 8.
I kept an open mind on the question of whether a hominid had been present in Europe in the early Pleistocene.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 9.
Although we followed that hyena for the best part of half an hour, we never caught up with it.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 10.
The author knows just what he wants to illustrate and how he would like it to be done.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 11.
Colonial governors and senior civil servants are not easy people to argue with, and I was not popular because of my criticism of the colonial service in Kenya.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 12.
I have examined the stomach contents of seven aardvarks.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 13.
I felt that in time simple stone tools would be found in early Pleistocene in England.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 14.
Sometime during the many millions of years that have elapsed since mammalian faunas came into existence, some sort of island crossed from West Africa to South America.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 15.
At Olduvai, for 20 years, Mary and I had investigated and made a general survey of the overall geology.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 16.
I put a bullet into the back of the crocodile’s neck just behind the head, thus killing it. If a crocodile is hit in any other part of its anatomy it disappears into the water and is irrecoverable.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 17.
The trip I made to Angola to study the prehistoric contents of the gravel beds as a means of deciding the age of the deposits and their economic potential was the first time prehistory had ever been used for such a purpose.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 18.
We set up the promised clinic for the sick and wounded Masai.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 19.
The majority of people in Angola were not provided with any kind of schooling and were completely illiterate, very badly paid, and treated almost as slaves.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 20.
Far too often animals are put to sleep when they could be saved through proper care and nursing.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 21.
When my father arrived in Kenya, he had found the Kikuyu way of life similar to that of the British at the time the Romans invaded England 2,000 years ago.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 22.
Raising funds for my fourth expedition proved to be very difficult.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
- 23.
There is tragic evidence to show that the paintings at the French prehistoric art sites are deteriorating.
Louis Leakeykenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist