Desmond Morris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Desmond Morris FLS hon. caus.
Morris in 1969
Born	Desmond John Morris (1928-01-24)24 January 1928 Purton, Wiltshire, England
Died	19 April 2026(2026-04-19) (aged 98) Naas, County Kildare, Ireland
Alma mater	University of Birmingham University of Oxford
Occupation	Zoologist and ethologist
Known for	The Naked Ape (1967)
Spouse(s)	Ramona Baulch ​ ​ (m. 1952; died 2018)​
Children	1
Scientific career
Fields	Zoology
Thesis	The reproductive behaviour of the ten-spined stickleback (1954)
Doctoral advisor	Nikolaas Tinbergen

Desmond John Morris (born January 24, 1928 – died April 19, 2026) was a famous English scientist. He studied animals (a zoologist) and how they behave (an ethologist). He was also a talented surrealist painter. Many people knew him for his popular books about human behavior, like The Naked Ape from 1967. He also hosted fun TV shows, such as Zoo Time, where he shared his knowledge about animals.

Desmond Morris's Early Life and Learning

Desmond John Morris was born in Purton, England, on January 24, 1928. His father, Harry Morris, wrote children's stories. When Desmond was young, his family moved to Swindon. There, he became very interested in natural history, which is the study of nature, and also in writing.

He went to Dauntsey's School, a boarding school. After school, in 1946, he joined the British Army for two years. During this time, he taught fine arts at an army college.

After leaving the army in 1948, Desmond showed his own paintings at an art center. He then went to the University of Birmingham to study zoology, which is the scientific study of animals. In 1950, he even had an art show with the famous artist Joan Miró. He also made two short films called Time Flower and The Butterfly and the Pin.

In 1951, he started working on his advanced degree at the University of Oxford. He studied animal behaviour, focusing on how animals act. In 1954, he earned his PhD for his research on the reproduction of the ten-spined stickleback fish.

A Career Exploring Animal and Human Behavior

After finishing his PhD, Desmond Morris continued his research at Oxford. He studied how birds behave when they are reproducing. In 1956, he moved to London to work for the Zoological Society of London. There, he led a team that made films and TV shows about animals. He even studied how apes could make pictures!

Desmond Morris became a popular TV host. He presented a weekly show called Zoo Time on Granada TV. He hosted hundreds of episodes, teaching viewers about animal behavior. He also hosted Life in the Animal World for BBC2.

He organized art exhibitions that showed paintings made by chimpanzees. He also helped create an exhibition that compared art made by babies, adults, and apes. This showed how different beings express themselves through art.

In 1959, he became the Curator of Mammals at the Zoological Society of London. This meant he was in charge of the mammal collection. He also gave important talks, like the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, about animal behavior.

Famous Books and TV Shows

In 1967, Desmond Morris published his most famous book, The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal. This book looked at humans as if they were just another animal species. It explored why we behave the way we do. The book was very popular and allowed him to move to Malta to write more books.

He continued to make many TV series. These included The Human Race (1979), Man Watching in Japan (1982), and The Animals Road Show (1986). In 1994, he wrote and presented the BBC documentary The Human Animal, which also had a book.

Desmond Morris was recognized for his scientific work. He was an honorary Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a respected scientific group.

His Passion for Art

Throughout his scientific and TV career, Desmond Morris never stopped painting. He created many Surrealist artworks. Surrealism is an art style that uses dream-like images. For a long time, his paintings were not widely known. However, they eventually appeared in exhibitions and were bought by famous galleries, like the Tate in London. In 2017, a BBC Four documentary called The Secret Surrealist explored his art. He continued to paint actively even when he was in his nineties.

Desmond Morris's Family and Interests

Desmond Morris's father passed away when Desmond was 14 years old. His father had been injured during World War I. This early loss made Desmond think deeply about authority and how decisions are made by powerful groups. His great-grandfather, William Morris, who was a naturalist and started a local newspaper, also inspired him.

In July 1952, Desmond Morris married Ramona Baulch. They had one son named Jason.

Desmond also had a passion for football! In 1978, he became a leader at the Oxford United football club. He even designed the club's special ox-head badge, based on an ancient Minoan bull's head, which is still used today.

He lived in North Oxford in the same house where James Murray, who worked on the Oxford English Dictionary, once lived. Desmond Morris was also a supporter of the Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery.

After his wife, Ramona, passed away in 2018, Desmond lived with his son and his family in Ireland.

Passing Away

Desmond Morris passed away in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, on April 19, 2026, at the age of 98.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Desmond Morris para niños