Sunday, August 7, 2005

Spotlight
Louis Leakey, British archaeologist and anthropologist, was born on this date in 1903. Having grown up in Kenya, Leakey became interested in the study of African culture, and he unearthed fossils that showed that humans had been around for much longer than had been thought. His wife, Mary Leakey, found a hominid fossil (Zinjanthropus) believed to be 1,750,000 years old, in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, in 1959. Two years later, Leakey discovered another fossil (Homo habilis) at Olduvai, which he believed to be a more direct ancestor of Homo sapiens.

Quote
"Anthropology holds up a great mirror to man and lets him look at himself in his infinite variety." – Clyde Kluckhohn

Word of the day
paleoanthropology: the scientific study of human fossils; Leakey led his family to the study of paleoanthropology. His wife, son and daughter-in-law were all accomplished paleoanthropologists. (© )

Today's News

• submarine rescue: Russian sub crew is saved after British unmanned submersible cuts the cables it was tangled in (story)
• The Da Vinci Code: author Dan Brown did not commit copyright infringement, court rules (story)
• Marilyn Monroe: reveals her secrets in tapes she made just before her death (story)

Today's History

• Purple Heart: medal was created by George Washington (1782)
• Ulysses: James Joyce novel judged "not obscene" by US Court of Appeals (1934)
• Kon-Tiki: raft containing Norwegian explorers crossed Pacific from Peru to Polynesia using only ancient technologies (1947)

Today's Birthdays

• Mata Hari: dancer/spy (1876-1917)
• actors: David Duchovny (45), Charlize Theron (30)
• Jimmy Wales: founder of Wikipedia (39)