Richard Leakey

Paleoanthropologist, political advisor and environmentalist Richard Leakey has been making international headlines for more than 40 years. Son of the famous Louis B. and Mary Leakey, he has been credited with some of the most significant fossil discoveries in history and was named one of TIMEs 100 Greatest Minds of the 20th Century.

He is the author of over 100 articles and books including Origins and Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africas Natural Treasures.

In his 1995 book, The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and The Future of Humankind, Leakey examined the five great catastrophic extinctions in the history of the planet. Written well before our increased environmental awareness, Leakey stressed how human beings are dangerously reducing biodiversity, damaging eco-systems and possibly precipitating the next major mass extinction, which could number humans amongst its victims.




Now a Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) in 2007, Leakey convenes the Stony Brook World Environmental Forum and the Human Evolution Symposiums and Workshops. Leakey has served as Director of the National Museums of Kenya and the Kenya Wildlife Service and as Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet in Kenya. He is Chair of The Turkana Basin Institute at Stony Brook and Transparency International-Kenya and recently founded WildlifeDirect, an online service that supports conservationists and allows anyone to play a role in the survival of the worlds most endangered species.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• paleoanthropologist
• conservationist
• activist
• royce carlton

[Zareste]

hey it's the 1800's again

[SuperHathos]

This guy is an absolute genious, he has accomplished 3 times what most great people, (well great people that have suceeded at something once). Paleontology, single-handlily saving Kenya's elephant population, then his work in politics. Just got done reading "wildlife wars", great book about his life. he should have died in his mid 20's due to kidney disease, before he accomplished any of this..

[theemceemurdah]

Very interesting!