- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRichard Erskine Frere Leakey
- Richard Leakey (19 December 1944 - 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan palaeoanthropologist, conservationist and politician. He held a number of official positions in Kenya, mostly in institutions of archaeology and wildlife conservation. He had been Director of the National Museum of Kenya, founded the NGO WildlifeDirect, and was the chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpousesMeave Leakey(1970 - present) (his death, 1 child)Margaret Cropper(1965 - 1969) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- Parents
- In his youth, Richard Leakey, a politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist, skipped class frequently in favour of a business he started, selling small animals to be photographed by Des Bartlett. In December 1960, Leakey reached his 16th birthday and promptly quit the Duke of York. His parents gave him a choice: return to school or support himself. Richard chose to support himself, borrowed 500 pounds from his parents for a Land Rover, and went into the trapping and skeleton supply business with Kamoya Kimeu. Already a skilled horseman, outdoorsman, Land Rover mechanic, archaeologist and expedition leader, he learned to identify bones, skills which all pointed to a path he did not yet wish to take, simply because his father was on it. The bone business turned into a safari business in 1961.
- Son of palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey and palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist Louis Leakey. His brother, Philip Leakey, was a Member of the Kenyan Parliament.
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