5. Louis B. Leakey
PHOTOGRAPH BY GORDON GAHAN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
The contributions by British paleoanthropologist, archaeologist, and zoologist Louis B. Leakey to the knowledge of human evolutionary development in Africa are unparallelled, beginning with his discoveries in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania in 1931. Born in Kenya to British parents, Leakey created organizations that promote further research of archaeology in Africa as well as the protection of wildlife. The National Geographic Society has supported the work of Leakey, his wife, Mary, and their descendants in East Africa since 1959, when they discovered the 1.75-million-year-old skull of a humanlike creature they called “Zinjanthropus.” Leakey spent five decades digging up fossils of hominids and other animals in Africa’s Rift Valley, exponentially expanding our understanding of early humans. He believed that by studying today’s great apes, much could be learned about the behavior of early humans. His work had a direct influence on that of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas.
