His most famous discovery dates from 1984, during an exploration in Lake Tukana, Kenya, where he had discovered an almost complete skeleton of Homo erectus, baptized “the boy of Tukana”.
Article written by
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
He had made himself known by bringing to light clues that had helped to prove the evolution of humanity in Africa. World-renowned Kenyan paleontologist and politician Richard Leakey died Sunday, January 2, at the age of 77, the Kenyan presidency announced.
“This afternoon I learned with deep sadness the news of the passing of Dr Richard Erskine Frere Leakey, the former head of the Kenya Public Service,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement Sunday evening.
Richard Leakey, second of three sons of Louis and Mary Leakey, both paleontologists and archaeologists, had no formal training in archeology but had led expeditions in the 1970s which led to groundbreaking discoveries of the first fossils of ‘hominids.
His most famous discovery dates from 1984, during an exploration in Lake Tukana, Kenya, where he had discovered an almost complete skeleton of Homo erectus, baptized “the boy of Tukana”.
In 1989, he was asked by the then president, Daniel arap Moi, to head the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). There he led a vigorous campaign against the poaching of elephant ivory.
In 1993, his small plane Cessna crashed in Kenya’s Rift Valley. He had lost both legs in the accident. Richard Leakey also dabbled in politics, headed several civil society institutions and briefly headed the country’s Civil Service.