Morris was born in Purton, Wiltshire, to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. In 1933, the Morrises moved to Swindon where Desmond developed an interest in natural history and writing. He was educated at Dauntsey's School, a boarding school in Wiltshire.[1]
Morris stayed at Oxford, researching the reproductive behaviour of birds. In 1956 he moved to London as Head of the Granada TV and Film Unit for the Zoological Society of London, and studied the picture-making abilities of apes.[1] The work included creating programmes for film and television on animal behaviour and other zoology topics. He hosted Granada TV's weekly Zoo Time programme until 1959, scripting and hosting 500 programmes, and 100 episodes of the show Life in the Animal World for BBC2.[1] In 1957 he organised an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, showing paintings and drawings composed by common chimpanzees. In 1958 he co-organised an exhibition, The Lost Image, which compared pictures by infants, human adults, and apes, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. In 1959 he left Zoo Time to become the Zoological Society's Curator of Mammals.[1] In 1964, he delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Animal Behaviour. In 1967 he spent a year as executive director of the London Institute of Contemporary Arts.[1]
Morris's books include The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal,[3] published in 1967. The book sold well enough for Morris to move to Malta in 1968 to write a sequel and other books. In 1973 he returned to Oxford to work for the ethologist Niko Tinbergen.[4] From 1973 to 1981, Morris was a Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford.[5] In 1979 he undertook a television series for Thames TV, The Human Race, followed in 1982 by Man Watching in Japan, The Animals Road Show in 1986 and then several other series.[1] Morris wrote and presented the BBC documentary The Human Animal and its accompanying book in 1994. National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C1672/16) with Desmond Morris in 2015 for its Science and Religion collection held by the British Library.[6]
Morris's father suffered lung damage in World War I, and died when Morris was 14. His mother would not let him attend the funeral and he was sent off to friends in the countryside. He later said, "It was the beginning of a lifelong hatred of the establishment. The church, the government and the military were all on my hate list and have remained there ever since."[8] His grandfather William Morris, an enthusiastic Victorian naturalist and founder of the Swindon local newspaper,[1] greatly influenced him during his time living in Swindon.
In July 1952, Morris married Ramona Baulch; they had one son, Jason.[1] In 1978, Morris was elected vice-chairman of Oxford United F.C.[2]
Morris lived in the same house in North Oxford as the 19th-century lexicographer James Murray who worked on the Oxford English Dictionary.[9] He has exhibited at the Taurus Gallery in North Parade, Oxford, close to where he lived.[10] He is the patron of the Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery and gave a talk to launch the charity in 1993.[11] Since the death of his wife in 2018 he has lived with his son and family in Ireland.[12]
Bibliography
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (September 2018)
Books
The Biology of Art. 1963.
The Big Cats (1965) – part of The Bodley Head Natural Science Picture Books, looking at the habits of the five Big Cats.[13]
The Mammals: A Guide to the Living Species (1965) – a listing of mammal genera, non-rodent non-bat species, and additional information on select species.
Men and Pandas (1966) with Ramona Morris – third volume in the Ramona and Desmond Morris animal series.
The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1967. – a look at the humanity's animalistic qualities and its similarity with other apes. In 2011, Time magazine placed it on its list of the 100 best or most influential non-fiction books written in English since 1923.[14]
Men and Snakes (1968) with Ramona Morris – an exploration of the various complex relationships between humans and snakes
The Human Zoo (1969) – a continuation of The Naked Ape, analysing human behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity.
Patterns of Reproductive Behavior (1970)
Intimate Behaviour (1971) – A study of the human side of intimate behaviour, examining how natural selection shaped human physical contact.
Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behaviour (1978) – includes discussion of topic "Tie Signs"
Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution (1979)
Animal Days (1979)
The Soccer Tribe (1981)
Pocket Guide to Manwatching (1982)
Inrock (1983)
Bodywatching – A Field Guide to the Human Species (1985)
Some of Morris's theories have been criticized as untestable. For instance, geneticist Adam Rutherford writes that Morris commits "the scientific sin of the 'just-so' story – speculation that sounds appealing but cannot be tested or is devoid of evidence".[15] However, this is also a criticism of adaptationism in evolutionary biology, not just of Morris.
Morris is also criticized for stating that gender roles have a deep evolutionary rather than cultural background.[16]
References
^ abcdefghijWilliams, D. "Desmond Morris Biography". Desmond-morris.com. from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
^ abDunbar, Robin (24 September 2017). "The Naked Ape at 50". The Guardian. from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
^National Life Stories, 'Morris, Desmond (1 of 2) National Life Stories Collection: Science and Religion', The British Library Board, 2015 18 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 October 2017
^"Royal Patrons and Honorary Fellows". The Linnean Society.
^Douglas, Alice (1 November 2008). "My family values: Desmond Morris interview". The Guardian. from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
^Moss, Stephen (18 December 2007). "We'd be better off if women ran everything". The Guardian. from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
^"Taurus Gallery". from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
^Administrator. "Get Involved". www.swindonmuseumandartgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
^"Desmond Morris on the Irish". The Irish Times. from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^The Big Cats ... Illustrated by Barry Driscoll. explore.bl.uk. Bodley Head Natural Science Picture Books. The British Library Board. 1965. from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
^Schrobsdorff, Susanna. "All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
^Moss, Stephen (18 December 2007). "'We'd be better off if women ran everything'". The Guardian. from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
Rutherford, Adam (2019). Humanimal: How Homo sapiens Became Nature's Most Paradoxical Creature – A New Evolutionary History. The Experiment. ISBN978-1615195312. from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to Desmond Morris.
Official website including a complete biography
Works by or about Desmond Morris in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
desmond, morris, rugby, player, morris, athlete, athlete, desmond, john, morris, caus, born, january, 1928, english, zoologist, ethologist, surrealist, painter, well, popular, author, human, sociobiology, known, 1967, book, naked, television, programmes, such,. For the rugby player see Des Morris For the athlete see Desmond Morris athlete Desmond John Morris FLS hon caus born 24 January 1928 is an English zoologist ethologist and surrealist painter as well as a popular author in human sociobiology He is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time Desmond MorrisFLS hon caus Morris in 1969BornDesmond John Morris 1928 01 24 24 January 1928 age 95 Purton Wiltshire EnglandAlma materUniversity of BirminghamUniversity of OxfordOccupation s Zoologist and ethologistKnown forThe Naked Ape 1967 SpouseRamona Baulch m 1952 died 2018 wbr Children1Scientific careerThesisThe reproductive behaviour of the ten spined stickleback 1954 Doctoral advisorNiko Tinbergen Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Bibliography 4 1 Books 4 2 Book reviews 5 Filmography 6 Criticism 7 References 8 External linksEarly life EditMorris was born in Purton Wiltshire to Marjorie nee Hunt and children s fiction author Harry Morris In 1933 the Morrises moved to Swindon where Desmond developed an interest in natural history and writing He was educated at Dauntsey s School a boarding school in Wiltshire 1 In 1946 Morris joined the British Army for two years of national service becoming a lecturer in fine arts at the Chiseldon Army College in Wiltshire After being demobilised in 1948 he held his first one man show of his own paintings at the Swindon Arts Centre and studied zoology at the University of Birmingham In 1950 he held a surrealist art exhibition with Joan Miro at the London Gallery He held many other exhibitions in later years 1 Also in 1950 Desmond Morris wrote and directed two surrealist films Time Flower and The Butterfly and the Pin In 1951 he began a doctorate at the Department of Zoology University of Oxford in animal behaviour 1 In 1954 he earned a Doctor of Philosophy for his work on the reproductive behaviour of the ten spined stickleback 2 Career EditMorris stayed at Oxford researching the reproductive behaviour of birds In 1956 he moved to London as Head of the Granada TV and Film Unit for the Zoological Society of London and studied the picture making abilities of apes 1 The work included creating programmes for film and television on animal behaviour and other zoology topics He hosted Granada TV s weekly Zoo Time programme until 1959 scripting and hosting 500 programmes and 100 episodes of the show Life in the Animal World for BBC2 1 In 1957 he organised an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London showing paintings and drawings composed by common chimpanzees In 1958 he co organised an exhibition The Lost Image which compared pictures by infants human adults and apes at the Royal Festival Hall in London In 1959 he left Zoo Time to become the Zoological Society s Curator of Mammals 1 In 1964 he delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Animal Behaviour In 1967 he spent a year as executive director of the London Institute of Contemporary Arts 1 Morris s books include The Naked Ape A Zoologist s Study of the Human Animal 3 published in 1967 The book sold well enough for Morris to move to Malta in 1968 to write a sequel and other books In 1973 he returned to Oxford to work for the ethologist Niko Tinbergen 4 From 1973 to 1981 Morris was a Research Fellow at Wolfson College Oxford 5 In 1979 he undertook a television series for Thames TV The Human Race followed in 1982 by Man Watching in Japan The Animals Road Show in 1986 and then several other series 1 Morris wrote and presented the BBC documentary The Human Animal and its accompanying book in 1994 National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview C1672 16 with Desmond Morris in 2015 for its Science and Religion collection held by the British Library 6 Morris is a Fellow honoris causa of the Linnean Society of London 7 Personal life EditMorris s father suffered lung damage in World War I and died when Morris was 14 His mother would not let him attend the funeral and he was sent off to friends in the countryside He later said It was the beginning of a lifelong hatred of the establishment The church the government and the military were all on my hate list and have remained there ever since 8 His grandfather William Morris an enthusiastic Victorian naturalist and founder of the Swindon local newspaper 1 greatly influenced him during his time living in Swindon In July 1952 Morris married Ramona Baulch they had one son Jason 1 In 1978 Morris was elected vice chairman of Oxford United F C 2 Morris lived in the same house in North Oxford as the 19th century lexicographer James Murray who worked on the Oxford English Dictionary 9 He has exhibited at the Taurus Gallery in North Parade Oxford close to where he lived 10 He is the patron of the Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery and gave a talk to launch the charity in 1993 11 Since the death of his wife in 2018 he has lived with his son and family in Ireland 12 Bibliography EditThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items September 2018 Books Edit The Biology of Art 1963 The Big Cats 1965 part of The Bodley Head Natural Science Picture Books looking at the habits of the five Big Cats 13 The Mammals A Guide to the Living Species 1965 a listing of mammal genera non rodent non bat species and additional information on select species Men and Pandas 1966 with Ramona Morris third volume in the Ramona and Desmond Morris animal series The Naked Ape A Zoologist s Study of the Human Animal New York McGraw Hill 1967 a look at the humanity s animalistic qualities and its similarity with other apes In 2011 Time magazine placed it on its list of the 100 best or most influential non fiction books written in English since 1923 14 Men and Snakes 1968 with Ramona Morris an exploration of the various complex relationships between humans and snakes The Human Zoo 1969 a continuation of The Naked Ape analysing human behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity Patterns of Reproductive Behavior 1970 Intimate Behaviour 1971 A study of the human side of intimate behaviour examining how natural selection shaped human physical contact Manwatching A Field Guide to Human Behaviour 1978 includes discussion of topic Tie Signs Gestures Their Origin and Distribution 1979 Animal Days 1979 The Soccer Tribe 1981 Pocket Guide to Manwatching 1982 Inrock 1983 Bodywatching A Field Guide to the Human Species 1985 The Book of Ages Who Did What When 1985 The Art of Ancient Cyprus 1985 Catwatching and Cat Lore 1986 Dogwatching 1986 Horsewatching 1989 Animalwatching 1990 Babywatching 1991 Christmas Watching 1992 Bodytalk 1994 The Human Animal 1994 book and BBC documentary TV series The Human Sexes 1997 Discovery BBC documentary TV series Cat World A Feline Encyclopedia 1997 The Secret Surrealist The Paintings of Desmond Morris 1999 Body Guards Protective Amulets and Charms 1999 The Naked Eye 2001 Dogs The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1 000 Dog Breeds 2001 Peoplewatching The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language 2002 The Naked Woman A Study of the Female Body 2004 Linguaggio muto Dumb Language 2004 The Nature of Happiness 2004 Watching 2006 Fantastic Cats 2007 The Naked Man A Study of the Male Body 2008 Baby A Portrait of the First Two Years of Life 2008 Planet Ape 2009 co authored with Steve Parker Owl 2009 Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series The Artistic Ape 2013 Monkey 2013 Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series Leopard 2014 Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series Bison 2015 Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series Cats in Art 2017 Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series The Lives of the Surrealists 2018 Postures Body Language in Art 2019 The British Surrealists 2022 Book reviews Edit Year Review article Work s reviewed1994 CATS The New York Review of Books 41 18 16 17 3 November 1994 Thomas Elizabeth Marshall 1994 The Tribe of Tiger Cats and Their Culture Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0671799656 Filmography EditZootime Weekly 1956 67 Life 1965 67 The Human Race 1982 The Animals Roadshow 1987 89 The Animal Contract 1989 Animal Country 1991 96 The Human Animal 1994 The Human Sexes 1997 Criticism EditSome of Morris s theories have been criticized as untestable For instance geneticist Adam Rutherford writes that Morris commits the scientific sin of the just so story speculation that sounds appealing but cannot be tested or is devoid of evidence 15 However this is also a criticism of adaptationism in evolutionary biology not just of Morris Morris is also criticized for stating that gender roles have a deep evolutionary rather than cultural background 16 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j Williams D Desmond Morris Biography Desmond morris com Archived from the original on 22 February 2012 Retrieved 28 November 2012 a b Dunbar Robin 24 September 2017 The Naked Ape at 50 The Guardian Archived from the original on 2 November 2017 Retrieved 19 July 2019 Morris 1967 Harre R 2006 Chapter 5 The Biopsychologists Key Thinkers in Psychology pp 125 132 London Sage Desmond Morris Social Issues Research Centre Archived from the original on 8 December 2016 Retrieved 1 December 2016 National Life Stories Morris Desmond 1 of 2 National Life Stories Collection Science and Religion The British Library Board 2015 Archived 18 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 October 2017 Royal Patrons and Honorary Fellows The Linnean Society Douglas Alice 1 November 2008 My family values Desmond Morris interview The Guardian Archived from the original on 12 December 2013 Retrieved 28 November 2012 Moss Stephen 18 December 2007 We d be better off if women ran everything The Guardian Archived from the original on 2 December 2016 Retrieved 1 December 2016 Taurus Gallery Archived from the original on 2 December 2016 Retrieved 1 December 2016 Administrator Get Involved www swindonmuseumandartgallery org uk Retrieved 3 January 2022 Desmond Morris on the Irish The Irish Times Archived from the original on 4 April 2020 Retrieved 5 April 2020 The Big Cats Illustrated by Barry Driscoll explore bl uk Bodley Head Natural Science Picture Books The British Library Board 1965 Archived from the original on 18 August 2021 Retrieved 23 May 2015 Schrobsdorff Susanna All Time 100 Nonfiction Books Time ISSN 0040 781X Archived from the original on 2 April 2017 Retrieved 3 March 2017 Rutherford 2019 p 71 Moss Stephen 18 December 2007 We d be better off if women ran everything The Guardian Archived from the original on 2 December 2016 Retrieved 1 December 2016 Rutherford Adam 2019 Humanimal How Homo sapiens Became Nature s Most Paradoxical Creature A New Evolutionary History The Experiment ISBN 978 1615195312 Archived from the original on 18 August 2021 Retrieved 31 August 2020 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Desmond Morris Official website including a complete biography Works by or about Desmond Morris in libraries WorldCat catalog Desmond Morris at IMDb Dinjet il Qattus Catlore by Desmond Morris translated into Maltese by Toni Aquilina D es Litt Portraits of Desmond Morris at the National Portrait Gallery London Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Desmond Morris amp oldid 1135410867, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
