Professor James Leonard Brierley Smith (born 26 October 1897 - died 7 January 1968) was a South African scientist who in 1938 was the first to identify a captured fish as a coelecanth, at the time thought long extinct. October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Species Latimeria chalumnae Latimeria menadoensis Coelacanths (pronounced SEE-le-canth, meaning hollow spine in Greek) are lobe_finned fish with the pectoral and anal fins on fleshy stalks supported by bones, and the tail fin divided into three lobes, the middle one of which also has a stalk. ...

(More to come, including references to Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer) Marjorie Eileen Doris Courtenay-Latimer (February 24, 1907-May 17, 2004) was the South African museum official who in 1938 brought to the attention of the world the existence of the coelacanth, a fish thought to have been extinct for seventy million years. ...