Soldiers from the group became pinned down by fire on the side of the hill and surrounded by insurgents. He then ran back up the hill to reposition a machine gun and began firing at the insurgents, despite bullets "ricocheting" off the machine gun's frame. Despite the danger, he returned to the injured captain - drawing enemy fire again - to retrieve a second machine gun, before running back to the crest of the hill once more, where he managed to help regain the initiative.
During the battle, 11 insurgents were killed and four were wounded. If it had been any of my mates they would be in this position now. In a statement, his parents said they were "hugely proud" of their son. Leakey had a significant effect on not only the field of paleoanthropology but also primatology. Always a dynamic and energetic man, Leakey kept up a rigorous schedule of lecturing and fundraising.
In , while on route to a speaking engagement in London, Louis Leakey suffered a heart attack and died. Louis Leakey radically changed the way we now view early humans. Though he always had his detractors, Louis Leakey is considered to be a significant contributor to the understanding of our origins.
He pushed back the known dates for the existence of various species, changed phylogenies to include the existence of parallel lines of evolution in the human family, stimulated research in new fields like primatology, and generated interest and publicity for the study of human origins.
Mary Leakey. Photo from The Leakey Foundation archive. Mary Leakey b. She is credited with many discoveries that have changed the way scientists think about human evolution. She is considered to be a preeminent contributor to the field of human origins. Born Mary Douglas Nicol on February 6, , she spent her early childhood traveling throughout Europe. During her travels, she was exposed to prehistoric sites such as the caves at Pech Merl in Dordogne, which influenced her to plan a career in geology and archeology.
This was not a typical path for a woman at the time. She also showed artistic ability and worked as an illustrator at the Hembury Dig in Devon, England, at the age of seventeen. She worked for two years at the dig, illustrating the archaeological progress. She had a special interest in the Stone Age, and she did expert illustrations of Stone Age tools and other artifacts. In , she married Louis Leakey, whom she met through his request to illustrate one of his texts. Nearly two decades after finding Homo habilis , in , she discovered a trail of early human footprints at Laetoli, a site in Tanzania.
The find was the first in the history of science to provide direct evidence of physical activity by humankind's apelike ancestors, changing previously held assumptions about primates. Throughout her decades-long career as a paleoanthropologist, Mary's projects were funded in part by the National Geographic Society, through dozens of grants.
Mary died on December 9, , in Nairobi, Kenya. She was survived by three sons from husband Louis : Richard, Jonathan and Philip.
Today, Mary's work continues through both the Leakey Foundation and the younger generations of the Leakey family: Richard Leakey, his wife, Meave, and their daughter, Louise, play active roles in carrying on the family legacy. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Jane Goodall is known for her years of living among chimpanzees in Tanzania to create one of the most trailblazing studies of primates in modern times. British chemist Rosalind Franklin is best known for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA, and for her pioneering use of X-ray diffraction. Charles Darwin was a British naturalist who developed a theory of evolution based on natural selection.
Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician famous for his laws of physics. He was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, in Physics, and with her later win, in Chemistry, she became the first person to claim Nobel honors twice.
Her efforts with her husband Pierre led to the discovery of polonium and radium, and she championed the development of X-rays.
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