Mary Leakey was born in London.
Mary Leakey was born on February 6, 1913, in London, England, into a family that valued education and intellectual pursuits. Her father's work as a landscape painter provided the family opportunities to travel throughout Europe, exposing Mary to a myriad of cultural and historical experiences. These formative years ignited her fascination with archaeology, setting her on a path that would lead to some of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries of the 20th century.