Background

Esmond Bradley Martin was born on April 17, 1941, in New York City, New York, United States; the son of Esmond Bradley and Edwina (Atwell) Martin. He hailed from the monied class of the United States East Coast establishment. He was the great-grandson of Henry Phipps, the Pittsburgh steel magnate, and partner of Andrew Carnegie.

Education

Martin attended Brooks School, in North Andover, Massachusetts and graduated in 1959. In 1964, Martin graduated from the University of Arizona with his Bachelor of Science degree. In 1966 Martin graduated from the University of Liverpool with his Master of Arts degree and later earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1970 from the same University.

Career

While still a student, Martin regularly undertook research trips to Kenya, where he came to the attention of Richard Leakey, the renowned conservationist, academic and political fixer whose parents, Louis and Mary Leakey, pioneered the archaeological exploration of the Great Rift Valley. At the time of Martin’s arrival, Leakey was in charge of the National Museum in Nairobi and recruited him to research historic Swahili sites along the Kenyan coast.

Esmond Martin worked as a Research Associate at the University of Nairobi from 1967 to 1983, at the University of Dar es Salaam from 1974 to 1975, at the Department of Education, Zanzibar from 1975 to 1976. He worked as a Consultant at World Wildlife Fund and International Union for Conservation of Nature, since 1978. Martin also held the position of a Researcher at Ministry of Information and Culture, Sultanate of Oman in 1978.

Militant for a reduction in the demand for ivory to dry up the market, he participated notably in the stop of rhinoceros horn trade to China in 1993 and ivory in 2017.

The body of Esmond Bradley Martin was found by his wife Chryssee at their home in Langata on the outskirts of Nairobi with at least one stab wound in his neck. He is the second prominent conservationist to die in East Africa in recent years. South African Wayne Lotter, whose work targeted ivory smuggling from Africa to Asia, was shot dead in Tanzania.

Achievements

• Bradley Martin was the former United Nations special envoy for rhino conservation was known for his undercover work investigating the black market. His life's work was combating the illegal trade of wildlife and he produced a huge body of highly respected research and investigative reports. In his last major report from Laos, he and his colleague Lucy Vigne established that the country had the world's fastest-growing ivory trade. They also risked their own safety staying at a Chinese casino inhabited by gangsters and traffickers in order to visit the illegal markets and find out the latest prices by posing as dealers.
  
  He was also the author of multiple books. Some of his books were “Run Rhino Run,” “Cargoes of the East,” "Zanzibar: Tradition and Revolution,” and “The International Trade in Rhinoceros Products.”

Works

More photos

• book

  • Run, Rhino, Run

    (Drs. Esmond and Chryssee Martin's book is as informative ...)

    1983
  • The History of Malindi: A Geographical Analysis of an East African Coastal Town 1973
  • Cargoes of the East: The Ports, Trade, and Culture of the Arabian Seas and Western Indian Ocean 1978
  • Zanzibar: Tradition and revolution 1978
  • History of Malindi: A Geographical Analysis of an East African Coastal Town from the Portuguese Period to the Present 1973
  • From the Jungle to Kathmandu: Horn and Tusk Trade 2010
  • The international trade in rhinoceros products 1979
  • Rhino exploitation: The trade in rhino products in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Japan and South Korea 1983
  • On a Knife's Edge: Rhinoceros Horn Trade in Yemen 1997
  • The Geography of present day smuggling in the Western Indian Ocean 1979
  • Malindi, past and present 1970

Views

Friends say that Martin's interest in the wildlife trade began as he learned about the various items being ferried on dhows from Mombasa to the Middle East, one of these items being rhino horn from Kenya bound for Yemen, where the then plentiful horn was used for dagger handles.

Working undercover as a wildlife spy, sometimes for months at a time, Martin often posed as an illegal dealer himself, immersing himself in the criminal underworlds of West and Central Africa or trawling through the souks of Yemen and the back streets of Hanoi, Rangoon, and Beijing.

His often dangerous research and his unparalleled contacts gave him an insight into the trafficking of wildlife products - second only to narcotics smuggling in monetary value - that none could match. His views and expertise were sought in the House of Commons, by the biggest wildlife charities and by the United Nations, which made him its special envoy on rhino conservation.

Quotations: "With the end of the legal ivory trade in China, the survival chances for elephants have distinctly improved. We must give credit to China for doing the right thing by closing the ivory trade."

“The only people who have the information I want are traders. I make a special effort to meet them and to socialize with them. I have been attacked for spending time with people when they are crooks, but where else do I get the information?”

"If you asked about elephant ivory, most would say it was going to China, and being used for carvings. But do you know where most of it was going? Forty percent ended up in Japan, where it was used for making name seals, called hankos. About 20 percent went to Europe, and 10-15 percent to the United States. The point is, if you want to save these animals, you’ve got to know where the market is and combat it.”

Membership

Martin was a member of Lamu Society (member council since 1973) and Kenya Museum Society.

Personality

Martin was always sharply dressed with a colorful handkerchief falling from his top pocket. He was a well-known and highly respected character in the conservation community - passionate and unwavering in his efforts to crack down on illegal wildlife crime. Being a dedicated tireless worker, Martin never took a day off. He lived for his work.

He preferred a fountain pen to a computer keyboard and adored opera and antiques. A seam of old-world style ran through him right down to the china cups he took tea out of at 5 p.m. when his work investigating the illegal ivory and rhino-horn trade was finished – for the day because Martin deemed it never done.

Physical Characteristics: Esmond Bradley Martin was a man out of his time. Tall and dapper, moneyed and mannered: those who knew the 76-year-old say he lived as if in a bygone era. “Esmond was a striking figure, tall, slender and with a shock of white hair - the most unlikely of undercover investigators, drivers as much by nervous energy as his commitment,” said Greg Neale, a close friend, and environmentalist.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Esmond has been at the forefront of rhino horn and ivory trade research issues, gleaning much valuable information on both legal and illegal trade," said United Nations Environment's Maxwell Gomera.
  
  Conservationist Paula Kahumbu described Bradley-Martin as “a global authority on ivory and rhino horn trafficking”, adding that he was “at the forefront of exposing the scale of ivory markets in USA, Congo, Nigeria, Angola, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos and recently Myanmar.”
  
  Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the founder of Save The Elephants, paid tribute to his longtime friend and colleague: “Esmond was one of conservation’s great unsung heroes. His meticulous work into ivory and rhino horn markets was conducted often in some of the world’s most remote and dangerous places and against intensely busy schedules that would have exhausted a man half his age... He played a key role in revealing the price of ivory in China had fallen prior to the Chinese Government committing to close its legal domestic market, and was working on important research on Myanmar when he died. He was my friend for 45 years and his loss is a terrible blow both personally and professionally.”
  
  “He was probably the single most knowledgeable person about both the ivory and rhino horn trade. He developed the methodology that many people use now,” said Kenya-based American Dan Stiles, a wildlife trade expert, and friend who had worked with Bradley Martin on reports quantifying the illegal wildlife trade. “He cared about facts. He didn’t care about opinions.”
  
  The United States ambassador to Kenya, Robert F. Godec, said about Bradley Martin: “Esmond was a true giant of conservation and a champion for African elephants and rhinos. His extraordinary research had a profound impact and advanced efforts to combat illegal wildlife trafficking across the planet.”
  
  “Esmond’s heart was like an unlocked gate,” said longtime friend and lion conservator Tony Fitzjohn.
  
  Dr. Paula Kahumbu, an elephant expert and CEO of WildlifeDirect said: “It is with deep shock and horror that we learn this morning of the death of longtime conservationist, Esmond Bradley Martin, whom police say died in suspicious circumstances at his home in Karen, Nairobi. Esmond led investigations into ivory and rhino horn trafficking.” She continued, “Esmond was at the forefront of exposing the scale of ivory markets in USA, Congo, Nigeria, Angola, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos and recently Myanmar. He always collaborated with Save the Elephants and worked with many of us generously sharing his findings and views. ”
  
  “Esmond was a wonderful fighter for Africa’s wildlife,” posted International Primate Protection League founder Shirley McGreal. “He was a delightful person.”

Connections

Esmond Bradley Martin was married to Chryssee Martin. Friends say he and Chryssee decided early on never to have children. Instead, they devoted their lives to work and travel. In the mid-1970s, Martin and his wife settled in Nairobi, Kenya, and began studying and publishing books, researching a wide variety of historical and anthropological subjects.

Father:

Esmond Bradley Martin

Mother:

Edwina (Atwell) Martin

Wife:

Chryssee Martin

Great-grandfather:

Henry Phipps

Henry Phipps Jr. (September 27, 1839 – September 22, 1930) was an American entrepreneur known for his business relationship with Andrew Carnegie and involvement with the Carnegie Steel Company. He was also a successful real estate investor. After selling his stock in Carnegie Steel, he devoted a great deal of his time and money to philanthropic works.

Friend:

Greg Neale

colleague:

Lucy Vigne

Martin and his colleague Lucy Vigne established that the country had the world's fastest-growing ivory trade.

Friend:

Iain Douglas-Hamilton

He is a prominent zoologist known for his study of elephants. He is a founder of the Save the Elephants (STE), which is the United Kingdom registered charity based in Kenya founded in September 1993.

Friend:

Dan Stiles

Friend:

Anthony Raymond Fitzjohn

He is a conservationist who worked extensively with George Adamson at Kora in Africa. In recognition of his service to wildlife conservation, Fitzjohn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2006.