Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Human Biology and anti – apartheid academic.

Phillip Tobias, professor emeritus of anatomy and human biology at the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, is born in Durban. Tobias is a world-renowned paleoanthoropologist and anatomist. Besides his academic achievements, Professor Tobias is also known for his anti-apartheid stance and campaigns when he was president of the non-racial National Union of South African Students. These campaigns were initiated across South African universities to protest against Apartheid in education. His ambitions were to keep South African Universities open to all races. Following the death of Steve Biko, Tobias and other scholars wrote a formal complaint to the South African Medical Council about the handling of Steve Biko by the police. They also took the council to the Supreme Court about this.

Tobias started working in Sterkfontein when he was an undergraduate student and has continued his work there until his retirement. His work there and elsewhere (for example: China Peking Man) earned him numerous wards and 16 honorary degrees. In 1990, Tobias retired from his duties as the Head of the Anatomy and Human Biology Department but retained his position as Director of the Sterkfontein Research Unit and his other duties of supervising PhD student.

Source

Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.

http://www.roundtable.wits.ac.za/tobias.htm