Morris Desmond

Desmond John Morris is a British zoologist and ethologist, a doctor of science, a popularizer of Darwinism, and a television presenter. He gained wide recognition as the author of the book The Naked Ape (1967), which was criticized by other ethologists. He is also an artist who made a significant contribution to the British surrealist movement.

D. Morris was educated at Downside School, an independent school in West Lavington, Wiltshire. After serving in the army, he entered the University of Birmingham, graduating in 1951 with first-class honors in zoology. In 1954, he received a doctorate from the University of Oxford, defending his doctoral dissertation, “The Reproductive Behaviour of the Three-spined Stickleback.” He then worked for the Zoological Society of London as curator of mammals at London Zoo.

Morris first appeared in public in 1950 as the host of the program Zoo Time; his later research, books, and television shows dealt with human behavior explained from a zoological point of view.