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From the Archive: Louis S.B. Leakey

From the Archive | Origin Stories

In the final installment of our โ€œFrom the Archiveโ€ series, Kenyan paleoanthropologist Louis S.B. Leakey shares the story of his life and work in a never-before-released interview recorded in 1969.

Louis Leakey (b. 1903, d. 1972) had a tremendous impact on the worldโ€™s understanding of human origins. He and Mary Leakey made many important fossil and stone tool discoveries, and he wrote 20 books and more than 150 scientific articles in his lifetime. He was also a great popularizer of human origins research whose storytelling inspired people to learn more about human evolution.

Louis Leakey was largely responsible for convincing other scientists that Africa was the key location in which to search for evidence of human origins. His early, controversial, yet unwavering position that Africa was the cradle of humanity has held up against modern scientific scrutiny and is now universally accepted.

Listen to his story:

https://radiopublic.com/origin-stories-6VPVbG/ep/s1!0b41e#t=1839

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I [name], of [city, state ZIP], bequeath the sum of $[ ] or [ ] percent of my estate to L.S.B. Leakey Foundation for Research Related to Manโ€™s Origins, Behavior & Survival, (dba The Leakey Foundation), a nonprofit organization with a business address of 1003B Oโ€™Reilly Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94129 and a tax identification number 95-2536475 for its unrestricted use and purpose.

If you have questions, please contact Sharal Camisa Smith sharal at leakeyfoundation.org. 

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