Richard Dawkins
Dawkins in 2009, photo by Christopher Halloran/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Clinton Richard Dawkins
Place of Birth: Nairobi, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (now Kenya)
Date of Birth: 26 March, 1941
Ethnicity: English, 5/16th Cornish, smaller amount of Afrikaner [German, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Frisian, Belgian Flemish, remote Bengal Indian], distant Northern Irish
Richard Dawkins, FRS FRSL, 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 five eighths Cornish descent.
Richard has a daughter with his former wife Eve Barham.
Richard’s maternal grandparents lived in Mullion, Cornwall, and Richard often visited them on holidays as a child.
Richard’s paternal grandfather was Clinton George/John Evelyn Dawkins (the son of Francis Henry Dawkins and Alice Clara Tufnell). Francis was the son of Clinton George Augustus Dawkins and Marianne Jane Robarts, who was born in Macao. Alice was the daughter of George Cressner Tufnell and Gratiana Fanny Hughes.
Richard’s paternal grandmother was Frances Enid Smythies (the daughter of Arthur Smythies and Gertrude Frances Morse Aston). Richard’s grandmother Frances was born in Mussoorie, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Arthur was born in Newbold-on-Avon, England, the son of Edward Smythies and Elizabeth March Phillipps. Gertrude was born in Cape Province, South Africa, the daughter of Henry Southcote/Aston, who was English, from Dorchester, Dorset, and of Catharina Johanna Maria Faure, who was of three quarters Afrikaner [German, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Frisian, Belgian/Flemish, Bengal Indian], and one quarter Northern Irish, descent. Her maternal grandfather, William Caldwell, was born in Scotland, to Northern Irish parents.
Richard’s maternal grandfather was Alan Wilfred/Wilfrid “Bill” Ladner (the son of James William Ladner and Harriet Merritt). James was born in Teddington, England, to a Cornish father, John Ladner, and to an English mother, Mary Ann Munton. Harriet was English, born in Brixton, England, the daughter of William Merritt and Sarah.
Richard’s maternal grandmother was Constance “Connie” Wearne (the daughter of Walter Wearne and Mary Mannell Michell). Constance was Cornish, born in Helston, Cornwall, England. Walter was the son of James Wearne and Phillippa/Philippa Vivian. Mary was the daughter of William Michell and Grace Mannell.
In his book An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist, 2013, 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: Genealogy of Richard Dawkins – http://www.geni.com
Richard’s maternal grandparents’ residence – http://www.independent.co.uk
Interesting!
FWIW, I found Lalla Ward, even though they are no longer together:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ward-10582
Tag Kenyan and English-Kenyan
Richard’s mother was of Cornish descent. —> Richard’s mother was of five eighths Cornish and three eighths English descent.
Richard’s maternal grandparents were Alan Wilfred/Wilfrid “Bill” Ladner (the son of James William Ladner and Harriet Merritt) and Constance “Connie” Wearne (the daughter of Walter Wearne and Mary Mannell Michell). James was born in Teddington, England, to a Cornish father, John Ladner, and an English mother, Mary Ann Munton. Harriet was English, born in Brixton, England. Richard’s grandmother Constance was Cornish, born in Helston, Cornwall, England.
His ethnicity is: English, 5/16th Cornish, 1/16th Afrikaner (Dutch, Scottish, German, French, Danish, Swedish, Belgian [Flemish])
Genealogy of Richard Dawkins – http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=icairns&id=I56733&style=TABLE
Please add this photo: http://www.bigstockphoto.com/sv/image-19852616/stock-photo-tempe%2C-az-6-april%3A-dr-richard-dawkins%2C-f%C3%B6rfattare-till-the-selfish-gene-och-the-god-delusion%2C-adresser
The Scots (and the English) are not part of Afrikaner ethnic group.
In fact the Afrikaners and the British of SA historically are two separated ethnic groups who even fought between them.
His great-great-grandmother Catharina Johanna Maria Faure was of three quarters Afrikaner (in size order: German, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Frisian, Belgian/Flemish) and one quarter Northern Irish descent. Her maternal grandfather, William Caldwell, was born in Scotland, to Northern Irish parents.
CORRECTION: I originally wrote that his father was of 1/8 Afrikaner descent. Richard himself would be 1/16 Afrikaner.
According to a genetic study in February 2019, almost all Afrikaners have admixture from non-Europeans. The total amount of non-European ancestry – on average – is 4.8%, of which 2.1% are of African ancestry and 2.7% Asian/Native American ancestry. So we can assume Richard might have some of these too…
When you say “almost all” what percentage is that? I’d love to see this study!
Richard Dawkins descend at least twice to this slave woman who is fairly documented: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_van_Bengale
Twice because she had children (one was https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_de_Coning) to three different men, two of whom are Dawkins ancestors (Basson and de Coninck). Women were rare at Cape Colony thus fought over by multiple European men. The knowledge of these early interracial relationships, backed by records and DNA tests, concurred to the end of Apartheid among Afrikaner society.
This: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_de_Coningh
See also: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Faure-57