Jonathan Leakey
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Harry Erskine Leakey (born 4 November 1940 in Kenya
) is a businessman and former palaeoanthropologist. He is the first son of famed anthropologists Louis
and Mary Leakey
.
Leakey was educated at the Duke of York School
in Lang'ata with his two younger brothers. After leaving school Leakey often accompanied his parents to dig sites, frequently wandering about on his own in search of fossils. On 4 November 1960, Leakey discovered the OH 7
fossils at Olduvai Gorge
, Tanzania
. The bones, nicknamed "Johnny's Child", were (along with other hominid fossil fragments found earlier by his parents) formerly described as a new species in the genus Homo
in April 1964. OH 7 is now considered the type specimen of Homo habilis
.
Leakey did not follow his parents' profession and has never been particularly active within the field of palaeoanthropology; however, his younger brother, Richard
, is a noted paleoanthropologist and conservationist. Leakey now operates the Nakuru
-based company Jonathan Leakey Ltd., which supplies East African snake venom
s and medicinal plants for antivenom manufacturers, medical research facilities, and pharmaceutical companies.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
) is a businessman and former palaeoanthropologist. He is the first son of famed anthropologists Louis
Louis Leakey
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey was a British archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. He also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there...
and Mary Leakey
Mary Leakey
Mary Leakey was a British archaeologist and anthropologist, who discovered the first skull of a fossil ape on Rusinga Island and also a noted robust Australopithecine called Zinjanthropus at Olduvai. For much of her career she worked together with her husband, Louis Leakey, in Olduvai Gorge,...
.
Leakey was educated at the Duke of York School
Lenana School
Lenana School is a high school in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed in 1949 by colonial governor Philip Euen Mitchell in 1949, known then as the Duke of York School...
in Lang'ata with his two younger brothers. After leaving school Leakey often accompanied his parents to dig sites, frequently wandering about on his own in search of fossils. On 4 November 1960, Leakey discovered the OH 7
OH 7
OH 7 , also nicknamed "Johnny's Child", is the type specimen of Homo habilis. The fossils were discovered on November 4, 1960 in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Jonathan and Mary Leakey...
fossils at Olduvai Gorge
Olduvai Gorge
The Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches through eastern Africa. It is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about long. It is located 45 km from the Laetoli archaeological site...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. The bones, nicknamed "Johnny's Child", were (along with other hominid fossil fragments found earlier by his parents) formerly described as a new species in the genus Homo
Homo
Homo may refer to:*the Greek prefix ὅμο-, meaning "the same"*the Latin for man, human being*Homo, the taxonomical genus including modern humans...
in April 1964. OH 7 is now considered the type specimen of Homo habilis
Homo habilis
Homo habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately at the beginning of the Pleistocene period. The discovery and description of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis Homo...
.
Leakey did not follow his parents' profession and has never been particularly active within the field of palaeoanthropology; however, his younger brother, Richard
Richard Leakey
Richard Erskine Frere Leakey is a politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist. He is second of the three sons of the archaeologists Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey, and is the younger brother of Colin Leakey...
, is a noted paleoanthropologist and conservationist. Leakey now operates the Nakuru
Nakuru
Nakuru, the provincial capital of Kenya's Rift Valley province, with roughly 300,000 inhabitants, and currently the fourth largest urban centre in the country, lies about 1850 m above sea level...
-based company Jonathan Leakey Ltd., which supplies East African snake venom
Snake venom
Snake venom is highly modified saliva that is produced by special glands of certain species of snakes. The glands which secrete the zootoxin are a modification of the parotid salivary gland of other vertebrates, and are usually situated on each side of the head below and behind the eye,...
s and medicinal plants for antivenom manufacturers, medical research facilities, and pharmaceutical companies.