Birth Name: Clinton Richard Dawkins
Place of Birth: Nairobi, British Kenya
Date of Birth: March 26, 1941
Ethnicity: Cornish, English, 1/8 Afrikaner (including Dutch, Scottish, German, French, Danish, Swedish, Belgian [Flemish])
Richard Dawkins is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and writer. He is the son of Jean Mary Vyvyan (Ladner) and Clinton John Dawkins. Richard’s father was born in Mandalay, Burma, and was the descendant of many English colonial officers and servants of the British Empire, including slave owners. Richard’s mother was of Cornish descent.
Richard’s paternal grandparents were Clinton George Evelyn Dawkins (the son of Francis Henry Dawkins and Alice Clara Tufnell) and Frances Enid Smythies (the daughter of Arthur Smythies and Gertrude Frances Morse Aston). Richard’s grandmother Frances was born in Mussoorie, Uttaranchal, India. Arthur was born in Newbold-on-Avon, England. Gertrude was born in Cape Province, South Africa, to an English father and an Afrikaner mother (of Scottish, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Belgian [Flemish] descent).
Richard’s maternal grandparents were Alan Wilfred “Bill” Ladner and Connie Wearne (the daughter of Walter Wearne). Alan and Connie both lived in Mullion, Cornwall, and Richard often visited them on holidays as a child.
In his book An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist, Richard wrote:
My mother’s family came from Cornwall. Her mother, Connie Wearne, was the daughter and grand-daughter of Helston doctors (as a child I imagined them both as Dr Livesey in Treasure Island). She was herself fiercely Cornish, referring to the English as ‘foreigners’.
Sources: Genealogies of Richard Dawkins (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.geni.com
https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Richard Dawkins (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://familysearch.org
Richard’s maternal grandparents’ residence – http://www.independent.co.uk
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