Mary Douglas Leakey went down in history as a famous British paleoanthropologist. She managed to make many amazing discoveries. One of them was the fossilised skull of a Proconsul (an extinct monkey species and the human ancestor). Learn more at london1.one.
Mary worked in tandem with her husband Louis Leakey. Most often, they conducted excavations near the Olduvai Gorge and found the remains of the ancient hominines and the earliest hominins.
Throughout her career, Mary discovered 15 new species of animals.
However, the beginning of the famous paleoanthropologist’s path wasn’t so easy. You can find out why in this article.
Beginning of the story
Mary was born in London on February 6, 1913. Her family often moved from one place to another. Therefore, the girl visited many cities and countries.
In her childhood, Mary was interested in Egyptology.
Where did it all start?
Mary was related to John Frere (a famous antiquarian) and Sheppard Frere (a historian and archaeologist) on her mother’s side.
As we mentioned above, her family often moved, but one of their favourite places was the south of France.
When the famous archaeologist Élie Peyrony was excavating one of the local caves in 1925, Mary asked the scientist if she could observe the process. From that moment, the girl became seriously interested in archaeology.
Return
In 1926, Mary and her mother returned to London. Unfortunately, the girl’s father died of cancer at that time.
Then the girl began to study in a local Catholic monastery. The local French teachers didn’t like the girl’s provincial accent. Later, Mary was excluded because she refused to read poems.
After that, the girl was admitted to another monastery school, but her studies there were short-lived as well.
Then the mother decided not to send her daughter to the third school. Instead, the woman hired private tutors.
Favourite subject
Despite everything, Mary didn’t stop being genuinely interested in archaeology. However, she couldn’t officially become a student of the related faculty at that time because of her academic failures.
Unregistered student
Then Mary’s mother consulted with one of the professors at the University of Oxford about the possibility of her daughter’s admission. The woman was advised that Mary could become an unregistered lecture listener.
Thus, she began to attend lectures on archaeology and related sciences at the University College. Mary also attended Mortimer Wheeler’s lectures at the London Museum as a free listener.
Later, she decided to apply for participation in the excavation and Wheeler was the first scientist to give her such an opportunity.
Thus, Mary’s debut excavations took place on the territory of the Roman settlement of Verulamium. After that, she took part in the excavations at Hembury, a Neolithic site. At the same time, Mary began working with Dorothy Liddell, who was her curator until 1934. Under her guidance, she began to create archaeological illustrations for many scientific books.
Fateful acquaintance
Mary met her future husband, Louis Leakey, when he was looking for an illustrator for his book Adam’s Ancestors. In the process, they developed romantic relationships. At that time, the man had a wife and a child, but the affair prompted him to leave the family.
Later, Mary and Louis officially married. The couple had three sons: Jonathan, Richard and Philip.
The children grew up in an atmosphere of constant adventures, trips and excavations.
Joint activity
Mary was connected with her husband not only through family ties but also through work relations. Together, they successfully conducted many excavations and made unique discoveries. After a heart attack took Louis’ life in 1972, Mary Leakey continued to engage in archaeological work independently.
Thanks to her hard work, she earned the status of a respected figure in palaeoanthropology.
Photo source: britannica.com, biography.com