The Leakey Family

Louis and Mary Leakey and their son Richard are noted paleoanthropologists whose research in the Olduvai Gorge in East Africa advanced the study of human evolution. All of English descent, they lived and conducted their research in Kenya and spent much of their lives hunting fossils throughout East Africa. Until the 1940s and 1950s when the Leakeys made their discoveries, scientists believed that modern humans descended from a single evolutionary chain that evolved in East …

…Her efforts are now also focused on constructing a research station at Koobi For a, east Turkana, which would help to further long-term data collection and the study of new specimens at the site, a location which has already offered rich contributions to fossil recovery. In addition, her work in the area has generated an increased awareness of and concern for the surrounding peoples, helping to raise money for local school and medical center (Johanson).