George AdamsonBorn 3 Feb 1906; died 20 Aug 1989 at age 83.British conservationist who, with his wife Joy, pioneered the movement to preserve African wildlife. He was a British game warden who had worked in Kenya as a gold prospector, goat trader, and safari hunter from 1924 when he married Joy in 1944. She wrote internationally successful books on African wildlife, especially a trilogy describing how the couple raised a lion cub, Elsa, and returned it to its natural habitat. She founded the Elsa Wild Animal Appeal (1961), an international group that financed conservation and education projects. They separated in 1971. Joy was murdered by a disgruntled employee (1980). At her funeral, Adamson promised to carry on her work. George and two of his assistants were killed by animal poachers (1989). |
