Kamoya Kimeu

Kamoya Kimeu (1938 – 20 July 2022) was a Kenyan paleontologist and curator, whose contributions to the field of paleoanthropology were recognised with the National Geographic Society's LaGorce Medal and with an honorary doctorate of science degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Early life and education Kamoya Kimeu was born in 1938 in Makueni County, a rural area of southern Kenya, to Philomena Mwelu and Kimeu Mbalu. His father was a goat herder, but at the time of Kamoya's birth, was away working on a railroad construction project.

Young Kamoya Kimeu attended a Christian missionary school for six years, but left once he was old enough to herd the family goats in the field. The native language of his family was Kikamba. He also learned to speak English and Swahili, which proved invaluable in later life, when he translated for visiting scientists with whom he worked. Kimeu was described as “a legend...responsible for some of the most significant fossil finds that shaped our understanding of our evolutionary past” by Carol Ward, a professor of anatomy at the University of Missouri.

Eponyms Kimeu has two fossil primates named after him: Kamoyapithecus hamiltoni and Cercopithecoides kimeui. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree from Case Western Reserve University in 2021.