How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue! Who would not be that youth? What pity is it.That we can die but once to serve our country!

Ethologist, writer, zoologist and artist                          

Selected Works:

The Biology of Art -1963 - a look at the paintings of primates and their relation to human art
The Mammals: A Guide to the Living Species -1965 — a comprehensive and compelling listing of all mammal genera, all non-rodent non-bat species, and additional information on select species.
The Naked Ape -1967 — an unabashed look at the human species. The book is notable for its focus on humanity's animalistic qualities and our similarity with other apes. Reprinted many times and in many languages, it continues to be a best-seller.
The Human Zoo -1969 — a continuation of the previous book, analysing human behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity.
Intimate Behaviour -1971 — this book examines and analyses any physical contact acted out by human animals. From clapping, to having a hair cut, to hand jive, to patting on the back, to hugging, to babe suckling, to copulation...
-1978. First published 1977, Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behaviour, St Albans, Hertsfordshire, UK: Triad/Panther Books - Reprinted 2002 by Vintage as Peoplewatching. 
Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution -1979
Animal Days -1979 — Autobiographical
The Soccer Tribe -1981
Pocket Guide to Manwatching -1982
Inrock -1983
Bodywatching – A Field Guide to the Human Species -1985 — Hundreds of photos analyzing the human body from hair down to the feet.
Catwatching: & Cat Lore -1986 — a study of one of the most popular of household pets across the centuries.
Dogwatching -1986 — an in-depth study of "man's best friend".
Horsewatching -1989 — subtitled "Why does a horse whinny and everything else you ever wanted to know"
Animalwatching -1990
Babywatching -1991
The Human Animal -1994 — book and BBC documentary TV series
The Human Sexes -1997 — Discovery/BBC documentary TV series
Cat World: A Feline Encyclopedia -1997
The Naked Eye -2001
Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1000 Dog Breeds -2001
Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language -2002
The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body -2004
Linguaggio muto -Dumb language -2004
The Nature of Happiness -2004
Watching -2006
The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body -2008
Baby: A Portrait of the First Two Years of Life -2008
Planet Ape -2009                          

Executive Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London from 1967-68.

Oversaw the creation of the gestural and body language for the Paleolithic human characters in the 1981 film Quest for Fire.                          

Various of Morris's paintings can be seen on the cover art of early editions of Richard Dawkins's books The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker.