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Jane Goodall is regarded as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees and has revolutionized our knowledge of chimp behavior.
By the early 1960s, Goodall was ensconced at Gombe, where she began her pioneering research into primate behavior. In 1964, she married wildlife photographer Baron Hugo van Lawick—becoming Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall. Through his still photographs and films, Van Lawick helped popularize the study of chimpanzees during his wife's research.
The couple's son, also called Hugo but known as "Grub," was raised at Gombe. Goodall honed her maternal skills by observing chimpanzee mothers and the way they cared for their young.
As her work progressed, Goodall realized that chimps share many attributes previously only thought of as human, things like personality, rational thought, and emotions such as joy and sorrow. She also observed behaviors such as hugs, kisses, pats on the back, and even scratching and tickling. And, of course, chimpanzees had already proven themselves adept at solving problems in true toolmaker fashion.
She observed the chimp grab a twig, strip it of its leaves, bend it, and use it to spoon termites out of a nest into its mouth.
Not everyone in the academic community agreed with Goodall's methodology. For instance, she would name individual chimps rather than numbering them. In the 1960s, scientists were very sensitive about giving human attributes to animals. Today, many wildlife conservationists and documentary filmmakers name their subjects as a matter of course.
By sharing her life with chimpanzees, Goodall also became aware of her subjects' darker, more aggressive side. She discovered that chimpanzees will systematically hunt and eat smaller primates, upending the belief that the animals were exclusively vegetarian.
In 1987, she was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, presented to her during a ceremony in Los Angeles.
In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute. It supports the research at Gombe while serving as a global community conservation organization.
In the United States, Goodall enthusiastically promoted the Los Angeles premiere of the Apple TV+ series 'Jane.' The series follows budding environmentalist Jane, a nine-year-old on a quest to save endangered animals.
As a committed environmentalist, Jane Goodall actively participates in programs and initiatives that help promote a more sustainable future. In 2022, she joined Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in the historic planting of Greater Sudbury's 10 millionth tree in Bell Park, Ontario.
Jane Goodall is still as active in her work and as passionate about what she does as she ever was. August 2024 saw her further promoting her four pillars of hope message in Medellín, Colombia.
Jane Goodall had just witnessed a primate not only making a tool but using one, a simple act but something that proved to be one of the most important scientific observations of modern times.
In the 1980s, Goodall began directing her energies toward educating the public about the wild chimpanzees' endangered habitat. These efforts included serving as honorary chair of the World Wildlife Fund in 1985 and announcing the start of an international campaign to raise US$1 million to save the Earth's wild primates.
By now regarded as the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees, Goodall was present at a press conference in 1989 called by the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C., to announce a US decision to agree to list all chimpanzees in Africa as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
As an outspoken environmental advocate, Jane Goodall has traveled the world highlighting the effects of climate change on endangered species such as chimpanzees.
In 1991, Goodall founded Roots & Shoots, which serves as the core program of the Jane Goodall Institute. Roots & Shoots brings together youth from preschool to university age to work on global environmental, conservation, and humanitarian issues.
Two years later, the primatologist and anthropologist was the recipient of the Legion of Honor, the highest French order of merit, for her pioneering research and tireless promotion of habitat conservation.
Appropriately, the renowned primatologist celebrated her 90th birthday in her beloved Africa, receiving a cake from well-wishers during a visit to the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, South Africa.
In April of that year, Jane Goodall received a standing ovation at the World Forum in The Hague.
The following year, Goodall accepted a Lifetime Achievement award via video link during the Green Awards ceremony at the Greentech Festival in Berlin. The Greentech Festival is the first festival to celebrate green technology and to accelerate the shift to more sustainability.
The release in 2017 of the National Geographic documentary film 'Jane' included never-before-seen footage of Goodall at work in the field. Described as an intimate portrait of a trailblazer who defied the odds to become one of the world's most admired conservationists, 'Jane' received widespread acclaim and won a slew of awards. Jane Goodall helped promote the film in various cities with her son "Grub" (pictured).
Another documentary focusing on Goodall's career, 'Reasons for Hope,' was released in 2023. She promoted the film by delivering a series of lectures based on her four pillars of hope: the amazing human intellect; the resilience of nature; the power and dedication of young people; and the indomitable human spirit.
During a 2019 visit to the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary near Freetown in Sierra Leone, which Goodall took a primary role in founding, she spoke of hunting for bushmeat as one of the greatest threats against the critically-endangered western chimpanzee.
As a UN Messenger of Peace, Jane Goodall rubs shoulders with numerous other distinguished individuals, including celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, seen here with Goodall during the Peace Bell Ceremony on the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace on September 16, 2016, at the United Nations in New York.
Meanwhile, Jane Goodall's efforts to highlight the plight of chimpanzees, and primates in general, continues to inspire a new generation of scientists, conservationists, and ordinary members of the public in doing more to protect an increasingly fragile planet.
Sources: (Biography) (The Guardian) (Jane Goodall Institute) (Newsweek)
See also: Unexpected environmental facts that will surprise you
Some 60 years ago, the English primatologist was walking through a rainforest reserve at Gombe, in Tanzania, when she chanced upon a large male chimpanzee foraging for food.
Jane Goodall made her first visit to Africa in 1957. There she met and befriended the famed anthropologist Louis Leakey, the scientist whose fossil discoveries had finally proven humanity's roots were African, not Asian. Leakey invited the young primatologist to study chimpanzees in the wild.
Goodall and Van Lawick divorced in 1974. She later married Derek Bryceson (pictured), then director of Tanzania's national parks. His death from cancer in 1980 left Goodall devastated.
Her efforts were recognized in 2004 when she was made a Dame by the then-Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) at Buckingham Palace in London.
Jane Goodall continues to voice concerns about the unethical treatment of chimpanzees that are used for scientific research. And she still travels widely, visiting chimpanzee rescue centers across Africa and encouraging African nations to develop nature-friendly tourism programs.
When she first visited Africa in the late 1950s, Jane Goodall was smitten. She had discovered a land that she loved and a world of wildlife she adored. But it was one particular species that caught her eye: the chimpanzee. She decided then and there to devote her life to the study of primates, and especially chimps. Today, she's the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees, and over the past 60 years or so has helped us understand more about this extraordinary creature, an animal that shares 98.8% of its DNA with us. But what exactly was the moment that sparked her interest in primates, and what happened next?
Click through and learn more about the world's most famous primatologist.
The amazing life of Jane Goodall, the world's most famous primatologist
Learn more about the woman best known for her work with chimpanzees
LIFESTYLE Wildlife
When she first visited Africa in the late 1950s, Jane Goodall was smitten. She had discovered a land that she loved and a world of wildlife she adored. But it was one particular species that caught her eye: the chimpanzee. She decided then and there to devote her life to the study of primates, and especially chimps. Today, she's the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees, and over the past 60 years or so has helped us understand more about this extraordinary creature, an animal that shares 98.8% of its DNA with us. But what exactly was the moment that sparked her interest in primates, and what happened next?
Click through and learn more about the world's most famous primatologist.