Richard Leakey

Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Sunday evening January 2 2022. Leakey, the son of globally known anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, also held a number of public service leadership roles including director of the National Museums of Kenya and what became the Kenya Wildlife Service. His discoveries landed him on the cover of Time magazine in 1977. He starred in a 1981 BBC show, “The Making of Mankind,” which was also the title of one of his many books. Mr. Leakey parlayed his fossil hunter fame into a political career. Among his roles were Kenya’s head of public service, the director of the National Museums of Kenya and the chairman of the board for the Kenya Wildlife Service. In 1989, he drew international attention when he took a stand against the ivory trade by helping to burn the country’s stockpile of 12 tons of ivory. The process was repeated in 2016. Richard Erskine Frere Leakey was born in Nairobi on Dec. 19, 1944, the second of Louis and Mary’s three sons. He had never been to a university, he liked to say, except to lecture. Mr. Leakey’s marriage to Margaret Cropper ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Meave Leakey, herself a renowned paleoanthropologist; their daughters, Louise and Samira; a daughter, Anna, from his previous marriage; and three grandchildren.