We are sorry to announce the death of the zoologist and author Desmond Morris, who has died at the age of 98.
Desmond came to Magdalen in 1951 to read for a DPhil in zoology. He was supervised by the Nobel laureate Niko Tinbergen, and during this time, he conducted his foundational research on the 10-spined stickleback.
He became a household name in 1967 with the publication of The Naked Ape; a study of human behaviour, viewing humans as a primate species rather than as a superior being. His book was a cultural phenomenon; selling millions of copies and challenging readers to view human behaviour through a purely biological lens.
Desmond was also a surrealist painter; famously exhibiting his work alongside Joan Miró. He even explored the origins of art by providing paintbrushes to a chimpanzee named Congo. This experiment proved that the drive for aesthetic expression is not unique to humans.
Later in life, he became a beloved broadcaster, presenting major BBC series like The Human Animal, as well as serving as the curator of mammals at London Zoo. He later held a Research Fellowship at Wolfson College.
Desmond was widely recognised as a world leader in the study of animal and human ethology, and his pioneering work on sociobiology and human behaviour earned him international acclaim as one of the most influential popular science authors of the twentieth century.