Delia Akeley

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Delia Julia Akeley (1875-1970), commonly known by her nickname, Mickie, was an American explorer. She was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, a daughter of Patrick and Margaret (Hanberry) Denning, Irish immigrants.

In 1902, Delia married the taxidermist Carl Akeley, who created the famous dioramas at the Field Museum of Natural History, in 1924. Akeley died two years later. Together, they shot and mounted many of the animals on display in the Museum. One of the two African elephants there was shot by Delia.

Carl Akeley died in 1926. Delia continued to travel widely in Africa. She was one of the first westerners to explore the desert between Kenya and Ethiopia, and she explored the Tana River in a dugout canoe, entering it from the Indian Ocean. She also lived for several months with the pygmies of the Ituri Forest, Zaire.

Delia Akeley died in 1970 at the age of 95. Her autobiographical works include Jungle Portraits and All True!.