George Adamson (1906- 20 August 1989), the "Lion Man" of Africa was one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation and an author. He and his wife Joy Adamson are best known through the book and film "Born Free", which depicts the true story of Elsa, an orphaned lioness cub they raised and later released into the wild. 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... Various species of deer are commonly seen wildlife across the Americas and Eurasia. ... Joy Adamson (January 20, 1910 – January 3, 1980) was a naturalist, best known as the author and main character of the book, Born Free, which described her experiences in saving the life of a lioness, Elsa. ... Born Free is a book written by Joy Adamson in the 1960s about an orphaned Kenya. ... Virginia McKenna & Elsa (stand-in) Elsa the Lioness (c. ...

Adamson was born in Dholpur, India in 1906 then British India. He first visited Kenya in 1924. After a series of adventures, which included time as a gold prospector, he joined Kenya's game department in 1938 and, six years later, married Joy. It was in 1956 that he shot the lioness whose cub was to become world-famous as Elsa. Dholpur (also Dhaulpur) is a city in eastern Rajasthan state of India. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

George Adamson retired as a game warden in 1963 and devoted himself to his many lions. In 1970, he moved to the Kora National Reserve in northern Kenya, working with Tony Fitzjohn as his right hand man, to continue the rehabilitation of captive or orphaned big cats for eventual reintroduction into the wild. George and Joy separated in 1970, but continued to spend Christmases together. 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ...

In 1989 at the age of 83, Adamson was shot to death at Kora by Somali poachers. Joy herself had been murdered in 1980. [1] [2] 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Films

In 1966, James Hill directed the film Born Free, based on a book of the same title written by Joy Adamson. It starred Virginia McKenna as Joy Adamson and Bill Travers as George Adamson. Adamson served as Chief Technical Advisor on the film. [3] 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... James J. Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916), was a noted American railroad tycoon. ... Born Free is a book written by Joy Adamson in the 1960s about an orphaned Kenya. ... Joy Adamson (January 20, 1910 – January 3, 1980) was a naturalist, best known as the author and main character of the book, Born Free, which described her experiences in saving the life of a lioness, Elsa. ... Virginia McKenna & Elsa (stand-in) Virginia McKenna O.B.E. (born June 7, 1931 in London, UK) is a British stage and screen actress. ... William Lindon-Travers (January 3, 1922 – March 29, 1994) was a British actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist. ...

Thirty-three years later, in 1999, Carl Schultz directed the film To Walk With Lions, starring actor Richard Harris as George, Honor Blackman as Joy, John Michie as Tony Fitzjohn, and Ian Bannen as George's brother Terence. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... To Walk With Lions was a 1999 film based on the book of the same title of George Adamson starring Richard Harris as Adamson and John Michie as Tony Fitzjohn. ... Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator. ... Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (born in London, England on December 12, 1927, although many sources have listed her date of birth as August 22, 1926) is a British actress. ... John Michie (born October 25, 1956 in Burma) is a British television and film actor, best known for his role as DI Robbie Ross on the Scottish detective television series Taggart. ... Ian Bannen (June 29, 1928 - November 3, 1999) was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man. ...

Books

• Bwana Game (1968)
• A Lifetime With Lions (Bwana Game - in the U.K.) (1970)
• My Pride and Joy: An autobiography (1987) ISBN 0671624970

Reference

• The Great Safari by Adrian House

Other references and external links

• Profile of Joy & George Adamson
• The Tony Fitzjohn/George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust
• http://www.fatheroflions.org