jane goodall short biography

Jane Goodall

Ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall redefined what it means to be human and set the standard for how behavioral studies are conducted through her work with wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.

Biology, English Language Arts, Geography, Physical Geography

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Dr. Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, best known simply as Jane Goodall, was born in Bournemouth, England, on April 3, 1934, to Margaret (Vanne) Myfanwe Joseph and Mortimer (Mort) Herbert Morris-Goodall. As a child, she had a natural love for the outdoors and animals. She had a much-loved dog, Rusty, a pony, and a tortoise , to name a few of their family pets. When Jane was about eight she read the Tarzan and Dr. Dolittle series and, in love with Africa, dreamed of traveling to work with the animals featured in her favorite books.

Jane was unable to afford college after graduation and instead elected to attend secretarial school in South Kensington, where she perfected her typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping skills. She retained her dream of going to Africa to live among and learn from wild animals, and so she took on a few jobs including waitressing and working for a documentary film company, saving every penny she earned for her goal. At age 23, she left for Africa to visit a friend, whose family lived on a farm outside Nairobi, Kenya.

In March 1957 Jane boarded a ship called the Kenya Castle to visit her friend and her family. There, Jane met famed paleoanthropologist Dr. Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey, who offered her a job at the local natural history museum. She worked there for a time before Leakey decided to send her to the Gombe Stream Game Reserve (what is today Gombe Stream National Park ) in Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees . He felt her passion for and knowledge of animals and nature, high energy, and fortitude made her a great candidate to study the chimpanzees . Leakey felt that Jane’s lack of formal academic training was advantageous because she would not be biased by traditional thought and could study chimpanzees with an open mind. His hope was that by studying our closest living relatives ( chimpanzees who share a common ancestor with humans) he could discover more about what early humans were like−things he could not learn from fossils alone. They just needed to secure funding for the project.

In December 1958, Jane returned home to England and Leakey began to make arrangements for the expedition , securing the appropriate permissions from the government and raising funds. To prepare for her upcoming expedition Jane moved to London to work in the film library of Granada Television’s film library at the London Zoo where she spent her spare time studying the behavior of primates. In May 1960, Jane learned that Leakey had obtained funding from the Wilkie Brothers Foundation. Permits in hand, she boarded a plane to Nairobi.

Gombe Stream National Park

On July 14, 1960, Jane arrived by boat at the Gombe Stream Game Reserve on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika with her mother−local officials would not allow Jane to stay at Gombe without an escort−and a cook, Dominic.

The early weeks at Gombe were challenging. Jane developed a fever−likely malaria −that delayed the start of her work. Once recovered, the rugged terrain and thick vegetation made traversing the reserve a challenge and often she hiked miles without seeing a chimpanzee .

Finally, an older chimpanzee −whom Jane named David Greybeard, although the practice of naming one’s study subjects was taboo in ethology −began to allow Jane to watch him. As a high ranking male of the chimpanzee community, his acceptance meant other group members also allowed Jane to observe. It was David Greybeard whom Jane first witnessed using tools . She spotted the chimpanzee sticking blades of stiff grass into termite holes to extract termites . Excited, she telegraphed Dr. Leakey about her groundbreaking observation . He wrote back, “Now we must redefine ‘ tool ,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”

During the years she studied at Gombe Stream National Park , she made three observations that challenged conventional scientific ideas: (1) chimps are omnivores , not herbivores and even hunt for meat; (2) chimps use tools ; and (3) chimps make their tools (a trait previously used to define humans). Beyond the significance of her discoveries, it was Jane’s high standard for methods and ethics in behavioral studies may have had the greatest impact in the scientific community.

Jane continued to work in the field and, with Leakey’s help, began her doctoral program without an undergraduate degree in 1962. At Cambridge University , she found herself at odds with senior scientists over the methods she used−how she had named the chimpanzees rather than using the more common numbering system, and for suggesting that the chimps have emotions and personalities. She further upset those in power at the university when she wrote her first book, ‘My Friends, the Wild Chimpanzees ,’ published by National Geographic, aimed at the general public rather than an academic audience. The book was wildly popular, and her academic peers were outraged. Dr. Jane Goodall earned her Ph.D. on February 9, 1966, and continued to work at Gombe for the next twenty years.

Conservation

Jane shifted from scientist to conservationist and activist after attending a primatology conference in 1986, where she noticed all the presenters mentioned deforestation at their study sites worldwide. Jane herself had noticed some signs of deforestation along Lake Tanganyika at Gombe Stream National Park , but nothing significant . Then, in the early 1990s, she flew in a small plane over the park and was shocked to see large-scale deforestation on the other side of the park where local villages were rapidly expanding. Miles of bare hills stretched where once untouched forests had stood. Jane knew that she had to take action to protect the forest and preserve the critical habitat of the chimpanzees .

Her first mission was to improve the conditions for chimpanzees held at medical research facilities. Jane helped set up several refuges for chimps freed from these facilities or those orphaned by the bushmeat trade. She established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in 1977, a global community-centered conservation organization, and JGI’s program Roots & Shoots in 1991, which encourages young people around the world to be agents of change by participating in projects that protect the environment, wildlife, or their communities. She met with anyone she felt could be key to protecting places like Gombe Stream National Park and species such as her beloved chimpanzees and has been an advocate for protecting animals, spreading peace, and living in harmony with the environment.

Jane is still hard at work today raising awareness and money to protect the chimpanzees, their habitats, and the planet we all share. She travels about 300 days a year giving speeches, talking to government officials and business people around the world encouraging them to support wildlife conservation and protect critical habitats.

“The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.” - Jane Goodall

“Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” - Jane Goodall

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February 28, 2024

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Biography Online

Jane Goodall Biography

“ Chimpanzees have given me so much. The long hours spent with them in the forest have enriched my life beyond measure. What I have learned from them has shaped my understanding of human behaviour, of our place in nature .”

– Jane Goodall

Short Biography Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall was born on, 3rd April 1934 in London, England. Her childhood ambition was to spend time with animals in the wild. In particular, she was drawn to the African continent and the dream of seeing wild animals in their native habitat. It was an unusual ambition for a girl at the time, but it was an ambition supported by her parents, especially her mother. After the war, Jane left school and found work as a secretary at Oxford University. In 1956, Jane jumped at the opportunity to travel to a friend’s farm in Kenya.

“Just remember — if you are really and truly determined to work with animals, somehow, either now or later, you will find a way to do it. But you have to want it desperately, work hard, take advantage of an opportunity — and  never  give up.”

My Life with the Chimpanzees  (1996), p. 113

It was here in Kenya that Jane met the famous anthropologist and palaeontologist, Dr Louis S.B. Leakey. Leakey was impressed with Jane’s enthusiasm and knowledge of Africa and wildlife. As a result, he decided to take Jane to Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania on a fossil-hunting expedition.

In 1960, Leakey and Jane began an important study of wild chimpanzees by Lake Tanganyika in the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve.

With great patience and perseverance, the chimpanzee’s slowly revealed some fascinating habits to the group. These included meat eating – (Chimpanzees had assumed to be vegetarian). Also, Jane saw Chimpanzees making a ‘tool’ out of tree bark to use when extracting termites. This was an important discovery because, at the time, it was assumed only humans made tools. As Jane’s companion, Louis Leakey said at the time:

“Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.”

The study of chimpanzees in their native habit was a groundbreaking event, leading to many new observations. It let to Jane’s first article published in National Geographic 1963 “ My Life Among Wild Chimpanzees .” Some aspects of the study were criticised, for example, Jane’s decision to give the Chimpanzees names rather than numbers. Also, some feared her decision to feed the animals may have distorted their behaviour and made them more aggressive. But, other studies had similar effects. After her study, she was invited to participate in a PhD program at Cambridge University – an unusual occurrence for someone without a degree. She earned a doctorate in ethology from Darwin College, the University of Cambridge, in 1964.

In 1977, Jane set up the Jane Goodall Institute which promotes initiatives to look after Chimpanzees and their environment. The institute has many local networks and programs such as Roots and Shoots which have over 10,000 groups in 100 countries.

“The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. “

In the past few decades, Jane has been increasingly concerned about the damage to the environment, which is especially a problem in Congo and West Africa. Since then she has devoted her time to campaigning and acting as an advocate for environmental charities and concerns. She has an exhaustive travelling schedule and speaks on average 300 times a day, encouraging people to do what they can to create a better world.

For her humanitarian work and environmental charities, she has received numerous awards including being made a Dame of the British Empire, on February 20th, 2004; and in 2002, she was made a United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan.

Global warming and climate change

In recent years, she has expressed concerns about the changing climate. She was very critical of Donald Trump for pulling America out of the Paris Climate Change Accord. From her time in Africa and Asia in the 1960s, she saw first hand how overconsumption of resources can cause direct environmental problems, such as pollution. She currently sees the biggest challenges to solving global warming as the following:

• “We must eliminate poverty.
• We must change the unsustainable lifestyles of so many of us.
• We must abolish corruption.
• And we must think about our growing human population. “( 1 )

Goodall is vegetarian and believes adopting a vegetarian diet can make a contribution to reducing harmful methane and carbon emissions. Her vegetarianism also stems from her close connection and affinity to the animal kingdom.

Despite the grave challenges facing the world, Goodall remains optimistic because of the resilience of nature and the potential wisdom of humans.

“It’s crazy to think that we can have unlimited economic development on a planet with finite natural resources and a still-growing human population. Something’s got to give,”

Jane Goodall on religion and spirituality

Goodall does not follow a particular religion but has held a long-standing faith in a higher spiritual power, which she feels is strongest when she is out in the wild. Asked about whether she is religious, she replied that whilst a committed scientist, she also believes in the mystical, spiritual dimension of life.

“Thinking back over my life, it seems to me that there are different ways of looking out and trying to understand the world around us. There’s a very clear scientific window. And it does enable us to understand an awful lot about what’s out there. There’s another window; it’s the window through which the wise men, the holy men, the masters of the different and great religions look as they try to understand the meaning in the world. My own preference is the window of the mystic.” (2016, 2 )

She married twice and had a son Hugo Eric Louis ‘grub’ with her first husband Baron Hugo van Lawick. Her second husband was Derek Bryceson, who died of cancer in 1980.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of Jane Goodall”, Oxford, www.biographyonline.net , 28th Dec 2010. Last updated 3 November 2019.

My Life with the Chimpanzees

• My Life with the Chimpanzees – Jane Goodall’s relationships with chimpanzees at Amazon

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Dame jane goodall, primatologist and anthropologist.

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Walking out on the plains — the smells, the animals, the wildness. It was just complete magic.

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born in London. Her father, Mortimer Morris-Goodall, was a well-known race car driver. From early childhood, Jane was fascinated by all animals, an interest encouraged by her mother, Vanne. When Mortimer Morris-Goodall went to war, young Jane moved with her mother and younger sister, Judy, to live with her grandmother and aunts in the seaside town of Bournemouth, where they remained when her father and mother divorced following the war. A precocious reader in a family of women who encouraged intellectual accomplishment, Jane read everything she could get her hands on about wild animals and Africa. She did well in school despite an unusual neurological condition, known as prosopagnosia, which makes it difficult to recognize faces. Unable to afford a university education, she moved to London after school to work as a secretary for a documentary film company. When an opportunity arose to visit a friend’s family in Kenya, she returned to Bournemouth and worked as a waitress in a local hotel, living at home to save money for her trip. 

In Kenya, Goodall was introduced to the legendary anthropologist Louis Leakey. Leakey hired her as an assistant and secretary, and she accompanied him and his wife Mary on an archeological dig at Olduvai Gorge. A leading authority on the evolution of man, Leakey knew there was a lack of hard data concerning the behavior of chimpanzees — our nearest evolutionary relatives — in the wild. Although Jane lacked scientific training, or even a college degree, she was eager to attempt the research herself. Despite Leakey’s confidence in her abilities, other experienced professionals did not believe a lone young woman from England could survive in the African bush. When the British colonial authorities refused to allow her to travel alone to the chimpanzee reserve near Lake Tanganyika, she recruited her mother to stay with her. In the summer of 1960, Jane Goodall and her mother arrived at Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in what is now Tanzania. At first the Gombe chimps fled at the sight of a human intruder, and Goodall could only observe them from a distance through binoculars. Over the months that followed, she gradually won the trust of a single male chimpanzee she named David Graybeard.

Her habit of giving the chimps human names was a sharp departure from established practice, which dictated that animals be given numbers, not names. It was believed that the numbering system prevented researchers from investing the animals with human emotions, but Goodall believed that understanding animal behavior requires the observer to see animals as individuals, rather than interchangeable specimens. In fact, she found the chimps in her study group to have widely divergent personalities and complex family relationships. Readers of her books have come to know many of the Gombe chimpanzees by name, including the high-ranking female known as Flo, her daughter Fifi, and Fifi’s ferocious son, Frodo.

Early in her stay at Gombe, Goodall observed David Graybeard and the band’s leader, Goliath, stripping the leaves from sticks to use them for collecting and eating termites. Although animals had been seen using objects as tools in the past, it was the first instance of an animal being observed altering an object for a practical purpose —in other words, toolmaking, an activity previously thought to be the defining characteristic of human beings. Goodall also observed chimps pursuing baboons and bush pigs together, an example of cooperative hunting, also thought to be uniquely human behavior.

In Tanzania, Goodall met Hugo van Lawick, a Dutch wildlife photographer and filmmaker. His photographs of Jane Goodall and the Gombe chimps in National Geographic magazine drew widespread attention to her work and helped win increased support for the research.

On the advice of Louis Leakey, Goodall returned to England to earn a doctorate in ethology, the science of animal behavior, at Cambridge University. In 1964, Goodall and Van Lawick were married in London. Her husband held the title of baron in the Netherlands; during their marriage, Jane Goodall was often referred to in the press and elsewhere as Baroness van Lawick. She received her doctorate from Darwin College, Cambridge, in 1965. The couple returned to Tanzania, where she established the Gombe Stream Research Centre.

Goodall’s discoveries gained an international audience when the National Geographic television program Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees was broadcast in 1965. Goodall and Van Lawick’s son, Hugo, known affectionately as “Grub,” was born in 1967. Following the example of the more well-adjusted chimps she had observed, Goodall remained in constant contact with her child for the first three years of his life. For much of the ’70s she promoted the lessons of primatology for successful child rearing. Jane Goodall and Hugo van Lawick divorced in 1974 but remained on good terms for the rest of Van Lawick’s life, collaborating on the documentary film People of the Forest .

In the 1970s, Dr. Goodall began to observe a darker side of chimpanzee life, including a four-year war between two bands of chimps, marked by extreme savagery and acts of cannibalism. Her field research suggests that the aggressive and warlike behavior of humans is deeply rooted in our primate ancestry. Goodall and her allies had long advocated the creation of a national park in Gombe. In the course of this work she met the director of Tanzania’s national park system, Derek Bryceson. The British-born Bryceson was a Royal Air Force veteran who had settled in Tanzania after World War II. A supporter of Tanzanian independence, he was elected to the new country’s National Assembly. Bryceson was profoundly impressed by Goodall’s presentation to the National Assembly. She was moved by his courage in overcoming injuries sustained when he was shot down over Egypt during World War II. Sharing their love for the treasures of Tanzania’s wildlife, Goodall and Bryceson were married in 1975 and made their home at Lake Tanganyika until his death in 1980.

In 1977, Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation. While the Institute initially focused on supporting continued field research on wild chimpanzees, its work has expanded to promoting the power of individuals to protect the environment for all living things. As of this writing, the Goodall Institute has 19 offices around the world, operating community-centered conservation and development programs, principally in Africa. Jane Goodall later founded a youth program, Roots & Shoots, which now operates in more than 50 countries.

For many years, Jane Goodall has been an outspoken opponent of the use of chimpanzees in medical research, and has campaigned for the more humane treatment of research animals when their use cannot be done away with altogether. Other dangers to the world’s chimpanzees include the erosion of their natural habitat through careless development, and the hunting of wild chimpanzees for the luxury “bush meat” trade. Her fight to preserve the world’s chimpanzee population has included service on the board of the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary, Save the Chimps, in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Dr. Goodall has received numerous international honors, including the Medal of Tanzania, the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal, the Kyoto Prize of Japan, the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, and the Gandhi/King Award for Nonviolence. In 2002 the United Nations named her a Messenger of Peace. In a 2003 ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II conferred on Dr. Goodall the title of Dame of the British Empire (DBE), equivalent to a knighthood.

For 45 years, Jane Goodall continued her firsthand observation of the chimpanzees at Gombe, gaining constant insight into the variety of their social behavior, ranging from senseless cruelty to extreme tenderness. As late as 1987, she observed an adolescent chimpanzee adopt a three-year-old orphan who was not a close relative, a demonstration of altruism that was long thought to be beyond the capacity of animals.

The essence of her scientific work appears in her book The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior , the definitive work on the behavior of chimpanzees. Her work forms the core body of knowledge on social learning among chimpanzees. It helped differentiate chimpanzees from a related species, the bonobo, and led to the classification of chimps, bonobos and gorillas — alongside human beings — as hominids.

Dr. Goodall has shared her findings with the general public in a series of highly readable books, including My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees , In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window . She has also written a number of books for children, including  Grub: The Bush Baby , Chimpanzees I Love and My Life with the Chimpanzees . A vast audience has learned of her work through a series of National Geographic television programs and the IMAX film, Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees . Her other books include two volumes of memoirs and a spiritual autobiography, Reason for Hope , in which she discusses her religious beliefs and her faith in the future of humankind. A more recent work is Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating (2005), in which she encourages her readers to weigh the moral and environmental implications of their dietary choices.

Although Jane Goodall’s discovery of group violence among chimpanzees suggests that aggressive behavior is deeply rooted in our evolutionary past, her observations of kindness and selfless behavior among the chimps of Gombe show that these traits too are part of our evolutionary heritage. She maintains our ability to reason and learn from shared experience will yet enable us to preserve a livable environment for ourselves and all our fellow creatures. Today, Jane Goodall travels nearly 300 days a year, circling the globe to share her message of hope, and encouraging young people to work for a better world.

As a girl in England, Jane Goodall dreamed of traveling to Africa to study animals in the wild. In the summer of 1960, her dream brought her to the shores of Lake Tanganyika, to observe the wild chimpanzees at Gombe Stream. Other scientists did not believe that a 26-year-old woman could survive alone in the bush, but Jane Goodall did more than survive. Her work revolutionized the field of primatology.

Over the years, she found chimpanzees engaging in activities that were once thought definitively human, such as toolmaking, cooperative hunting and even warfare. Her work, the longest continuous field study of any living creature, has forced us to redefine our understanding of what it means to be human, and provided a vital insight into the evolution of our own species.

Today, Jane Goodall travels the world, campaigning for the humane treatment of all animals, and empowering young people in their own efforts to preserve the environment for all living things.

What was it like, coming to Africa for the first time, arriving in Nairobi on your 23rd birthday?

Jane Goodall: I arrived off this boat, having made lots of friends, the way one does on boats, feeling really sad, because — although a lot of us were going by train from Mombassa to Nairobi — it was kind of like the end of this very special little piece of magic, this voyage. It was longer than normal.   We had to go all the way around the Cape because the Suez War was happening, so you couldn’t go through the Suez Canal. Looking out of the train window, seeing giraffes — and I think a couple of elephants — seemed unreal. Then I was met by my school friend and her parents, and we went straight up to where they lived in the White Highlands, and it was getting dark. But I remember, very close to the road, a giraffe. And giraffes are completely unreal creatures. When you see one for the first time in the wild close up, it’s totally magic and… gosh, I was in Africa! And we saw an aardvark, which is very rare to see in the wild. In fact, I’ve only seen one other since, but this one just wandered across the road. I didn’t realize how rare it was. And then got up to this farm house, and the very next morning was woken up and they said, “Come out.” There’s a footprint in the mud of this big leopard, and he’d taken one of their dogs. So it was a real introduction to wild, savage Africa.

You said you were sad. Why were you sad?

Jane Goodall: I was sad because when you get very close to a group of people in an unreal situation like on a boat, when nothing’s really real, it’s like being taken out of the world. There I was with these people that I got to know really well. It was a group of us young women and we were going to say goodbye and probably never see each other again. So it was the end of a piece of magic.

How did your meeting with Louis Leakey come about?

Jane Goodall: I’d been staying with my friend, then I got a job in Nairobi, a very boring one which my uncle had arranged before I ever set off. Being very much “ family family,” they wanted to know I was going to be okay. “You don’t sponge on your friends, so you mustn’t stay more than a month.” A month and a half at the most.

Somebody said, “If you’re interested in animals you must meet Louis Leakey.”   So I rang up.   A voice said, “I’m Leakey.   What do you want?”   He hated the telephone.   So I said I wanted to meet him, and he said, “Come to the museum.”   The natural history museum.   Asked me all these questions, took me around. I think he was amazed that a young girl straight from England with no degree knew so much, because I had done what my mother suggested,   I’d gone on learning about Africa.   I read books, been around the Natural History Museum in London.   So I could answer many of his questions, and he offered me a job just like that, boom, first day.   And I said, rather cheekily, I suppose,   “Well, this is fantastic, but before I settle down to…” — because it was a secretary —    “…to work for you, I must get out into Africa.   I must.   I’ve come all this way and I must go out into the wild and see a lion.”

He let me go with himself, his wife, one other young English girl (Gillian Trace) who also worked at the museum, about five Kenyans, to what is now a very famous place, Olduvai Gorge, where many human fossils have been found. But in those days, only animal fossils. So it was totally unknown, completely wild. There were no people there. There were no roads, there was no trail, there was no track. It was nothing. And the Leakeys had been there about four summers running, because they were convinced that they would find early human remains, which of course they did, but when I went there they hadn’t yet. So there it was, wild untouched Africa. And after this hard work of digging for fossils under the hot sun, Gillian and I were allowed out onto the plains walking, and there were lions, there were rhinos. We just were the two of us. I don’t think other people would be allowed to do that today. It was magic. And that I think is when Louis decided I was the person he’d been looking for.

There you were, working with fossils instead of live animals, which you’d dreamed about all your life. How did you feel about that?

Jane Goodall: When I was at Olduvai, I wasn’t there because I wanted to be a paleontologist, but I was in the middle of the Africa I dreamed about. It was one of the most magic times of my life.   I wasn’t totally thrilled with digging for fossils, but I was totally thrilled with digging for fossils in the middle of the wilderness in Africa. And just every so often, I would hold a bone in my hand and I would almost seem to… it would be almost like a mystical experience. I remember once holding the tusks of one of these big prehistoric pigs and just there stood the pig. And I could smell it and see the color and hear the sound of the pig. And then I came back to reality and it was the bone in my hand. But it was the walking out on the plains, the smell, the animals, the wilderness, the wildness. It was just complete magic. And afterwards, Louis told me that he deliberately selected someone with no degree because he wanted somebody whose mind was, as he said, unbiased by the reductionist attitude of the animal behavior people of that time in Europe, the ethologists. He didn’t tell me that, he just… that’s what his idea was.

Resulting from that dig, and your relationship with the Leakeys, a new project developed. Perhaps it was a project that Dr. Louis Leakey had planned all along, but it took some time to link you to this project. Can you tell me a little bit about how that happened?

Jane Goodall: I think it was the day when I got back to the little camp, in the evening with Gillian, and we’d just encountered this young male lion — about two years old, his mane beginning to sprout — and he’d followed us — oh, I don’t know, I mean the length of a long room, which was a bit scary but it was really exciting. And I was telling Louis about this, and I think that’s when he realized I was the person he’d been looking for to go and try and learn about chimpanzees in the wild. Because his reckoning was, “They are our closest living relatives.” And he didn’t know back then quite how close biologically they actually are to us, but it was known they were close. And so he argued that if somebody would go and learn about them in the wild, if we found behavior that was the same or very similar in chimpanzees today and humans today, then if we agreed that there was a common ancestor about six, seven million years ago, then maybe that behavior was present in the common ancestor. And therefore, we brought it with us, all up through our evolutionary pathway, and that would help him to have a better feeling for how early humans behaved, the creatures whose fossil remains he was digging up. That’s why he wanted somebody to study them, and he asked if I would. Well yes!

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How Jane Goodall Became One of the World's Most Notable Scientists—Without a College Degree

In fact, Goodall’s approach – and lack of formal academic training – were key to her method of recording personality traits and naming her subjects, rather than numbering them as tradition dictated at the time.

Goodall couldn't afford college so she attended secretarial training

Born in London, Goodall had long been fascinated by both Africa and animals, says Anita Silvey, author of Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall . Tarzan books, which, of course. featured a character named Jane, and Dr. Dolittle books were favorites.

"When I was 10, I dreamed of going to Africa, living with animals and writing books about them," Goodall told CNN in 2017 . "Everybody laughed at me because I was just a girl, we didn't have any money [and] World War Two was raging."

Unable to afford college and encouraged by her mother to learn typing and bookkeeping, Goodall sought steady employment by attending secretarial school.

“She needed to support herself and she and her family felt that with secretarial training, she'd always be able to get a job,” Silvey says.

Leaky was drawn to Goodall's observational skills

But Goodall found office work a bore, and when a friend invited her on an extended trip to her family’s farm near Nairobi, Kenya, she spent time waitressing to earn money for the voyage. At 23, she arrived and soon after was offered a job working with famed paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey at a natural history museum. Leakey, according to National Geographic , believed Goodall’s lack of formal scientific training, along with her passion for animals, would make her the right choice to study the social lives of chimpanzees at Gombe and Jane was enthralled by the idea.

“He wanted someone observant and not blinded by scientific theory,” Shivey says. “When he took Jane around in a Jeep, he found she could see and name all the animals in the area.”

Another test: Leakey gave Goodall a deck of cards and asked her which were black and which were red by viewing only the backs of the cards. “She couldn't tell him, but did show him all the bent corners,” Shivey says. “He had run this test a lot of times, often with men, who didn't see the bent corners. In general, Leakey thought women to be more observant than men and chose three women (Goodall, Birutė Galdikas and Dian Fossey ) to research chimps, orangutans and gorillas.”

In her 2010 book, Jane Goodall: 50 Years at Gombe , Goodall notes that because she didn't attend college, Leakey had trouble finding funding for the research.

“Eventually, though, he got a six-month grant from Leighton Wilkie, a Des Plaines, Illinois, businessman with an interest in human evolution,” she writes. “The British authorities had refused to let a young girl go into the forest alone — so my mother, Vanne, volunteered to accompany me.”

In 1960, Goodall began her observations, giving the chimps names, such as Goblin, Freud and Frodo.

“She took an unorthodox approach, immersing herself in their habitat, experiencing their complex society as a neighbor rather than a distant observer, and defying scientific convention by giving them names instead of numbers,” according to the Jane Goodall Institute . “She came to understand them not only as a species, but as individuals with personalities, complex minds, emotions and long-term bonds. Her findings on the tool-making practices of chimpanzees remain one of the most important discoveries in the world of primatology.”

Despite not having an undergraduate degree, Goodall eventually earned her Ph.D.

With Leakey’s influence, according to Shivey, Goodall entered a doctoral program at Cambridge University in 1962 without an undergraduate degree — one of just a handful to do so, though she was not exactly enthusiastic about it.

“I was only doing this thesis for Leakey’s sake,” Goodall told the BBC . “I’d never had an ambition to be a scientist and be part of academia.”

According to the BBC, she was patronized by her mostly male classmates for giving the chimpanzees names and personalities. “I didn’t give them personalities, I merely described their personalities,” she told the news source. “Some scientists actually said I must have taught them (to use tools). That would have been fabulous if I could have done that.”

And, as she said during the 2019 One Young World summit London, her research methods were often dismissed at Cambridge.

“You can’t share your life in a meaningful way with a dog, a cat, a rabbit and so on, and not know the professors were wrong,” she said, according to CNBC . “And now animal intelligence, in particular, is something that people are really interested in.”

Goodall earned a Ph.D. in ethology, the science of animal behavior in 1966, and continued her research at Gombe for 20 more years.

“She was at that point the foremost researcher in chimpanzees in the world,” Shivey says. “When her doctoral thesis was submitted to the committee (with no name given), one of the members said it had to be sent to Jane Goodall, because she knew more about chimpanzees than anyone.”

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• World Biography

Jane Goodall Biography

Born: April 3, 1934 London, England English primatologist and scientist

Jane Goodall was a pioneering English primatologist (a person who studies primates, which is a group of animals that includes human beings, apes, monkeys, and others). Her methods of studying animals in the wild, which emphasized patient observation over long periods of time of both social groups and individual animals, changed not only how chimpanzees (a kind of ape) as a species are understood, but also how studies of many different kinds of animals are carried out.

The older of two sisters, Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934, in London, England, into a middle-class British family. Her father, Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall, was an engineer. Her mother, Vanna (Joseph) Morris-Goodall, was a successful novelist. When Goodall was about two years old her mother gave her a stuffed toy chimpanzee, which Goodall still possesses to this day. She was a good student, but she had more interest in being outdoors and learning about animals. Once she spent five hours in a hen-house so she could see how a hen lays an egg. She loved animals so much that by the time she was ten or eleven she dreamed of living with animals in Africa. Her mother encouraged Goodall's dream, which eventually became a reality.

When Goodall was eighteen she completed secondary school and began working. She worked as a secretary, as an assistant editor in a film studio, and as a waitress, trying to save enough money to make her first trip to Africa.

An African adventure begins

Jane Goodall finally went to Africa when she was twenty-three years old. In 1957 she sailed to Mombasa on the east African coast, where she met anthropologist Louis Leakey (1903–1972), who would become her mentor, or teacher. In Africa, Leakey and his wife, Mary, had discovered what were then the oldest known human remains. These discoveries supported Leakey's claim that the origins of the human species were in Africa, not in Asia or Europe as many had believed.

Living among chimps

In July 1960, twenty-six-year-old Jane Goodall set out for the first time for Gombe National Park in southeastern Africa to begin a study of the chimpanzees that lived in the forests along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. She had little formal training; still, she brought to her work her love of animals, a strong sense of determination, and a desire for adventure. She thought at the time that the study might take three years. She ended up staying for more than two decades.

In her earliest days at Gombe, Goodall worked alone or with native guides. She spent long hours working to gain the trust of the chimpanzees, tracking them through the dense forests and gradually moving closer and closer to the chimps until she could sit among them—a feat that had not been achieved by other scientists. Her patience produced an amazing set of discoveries about the behaviors and social relations of chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees had been thought to be violent, aggressive animals with crude social arrangements. Researchers had given chimps numbers rather than names and had ignored the differences in personality, intelligence, and social skills that Goodall's studies revealed. Chimpanzees, Goodall showed, organized themselves in groups that had complex social structures. They were often loving and careful parents and also formed attachments to their peers. They hunted and ate meat. And they used simple tools—twigs or grasses that they stripped of leaves and used to get termites out of termite mounds. This discovery helped force scientists to give up their definition of human beings as the only animals that use tools.

In 1962 Leakey arranged for Goodall to work on a doctorate degree at Cambridge University, in England, which would give scientific weight to her discoveries. In 1965 she became the eighth person ever to receive a doctorate from Cambridge without having earned an undergraduate degree.

By 1964 the Gombe Stream Research Center had become the destination of choice for graduate students and other scientists wishing to study chimpanzees or to learn Goodall's methods. The general public was also learning about Goodall's work through a series of articles in National Geographic magazine and later through National Geographic television specials. In 1964 Goodall married Hugo Van Lawick, a Dutch wildlife photographer who had come to Gombe at the invitation of Leakey to take pictures for the magazine. Goodall's son by that marriage, Hugo (more often referred to as Grub), was her only child.

New discoveries

The 1970s saw changes in Goodall's understanding of the chimpanzees and in the way in which research was carried out at Gombe. In 1974 what Goodall referred to as a "war" broke out between two groups of chimpanzees. One group eventually killed many members of the other group. Goodall also witnessed a series of acts of infanticide (the killing of an infant) on the part of one of the older female chimps. These appearances of the darker side of chimpanzee behavior forced her to adjust her interpretation of these animals as being basically gentle and peace loving.

In May 1975 rebels from Zaire, Africa, kidnapped four research assistants from the research center. After months of talks, the assistants were returned. Because of the continued risk of kidnappings, almost all of the European and American researchers left Gombe. Goodall continued to carry out her work with the help of local people who had been trained to conduct research.

A chimp's true friend

Later Goodall turned her attention to the problem of captive chimpanzees. Because they closely resemble humans, chimpanzees have been widely used as laboratory animals to study human diseases. Goodall used her knowledge and fame to work to set limits on the number of animals used in such experiments and to convince researchers to improve the conditions under which the animals were kept. She also worked to improve conditions for zoo animals and for conservation of chimpanzee habitats (the places in the wild where chimps live). In 1986 she helped found the Committee for the Conservation and Care of Chimpanzees, an organization dedicated to these issues. She has even written children's books, The Chimpanzee Family Book and With Love, on the subject of treating animals kindly.

For her efforts Godall has received many awards and honors, among them the Gold Medal of Conservation from the San Diego Zoological Society, the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize, and the National Geographic Society Centennial Award. In 2000 she accepted the third Gandhi/King Award for Non Violence at the United Nations. Much of Goodall's current work is carried on by the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She does not spend much time in Africa anymore; rather, she gives speeches throughout the world and spends as many as three hundred days a year traveling.

For More Information

Goodall, Jane. The Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours. New York: Scholastic Press, 2001.

Goodall, Jane. My Life with the Wild Chimpanzees. New York: Pocket Books, 1988.

Haraway, Donna. Primate Visions. New York: Routledge, 1989.

Meachum, Virginia. Jane Goodall, Protector of Chimpanzees. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 1997.

Pratt, Paula Bryant. Jane Goodall. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1997.

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Adventures With Jane Goodall: A Kid’s Guide to Her Life of Chimpanzees and Activism

D r. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, "UN Messenger of Peace," is an ethologist, conservationist, and activist, most known for her ground-breaking research of chimpanzee behavior and evolution.

Jane Goodall's work helped shape a lot of what we know about the similarities between chimpanzees and humans today, and there is so much to learn from her story.

If you're teaching your youngsters about Dr. Goodall's expansive body of work, here are a few things that might help.

A kid's guide to Jane Goodall's biography.

Before Dr. Jane Goodall became the famous wildlife biologist we all know today, she was just a kid living in London with parents with a growing fascination for animals. In 1934, Jane Goodall was born in London, England to her parents, Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall and Margaret Myfanwe Joseph.

According to Khan Academy, Jane was curious about wildlife from a very early age . At the age of four, Jane hid in a henhouse for several hours to wait for a hen to lay an egg. However, while Jane was patiently waiting for a miracle to happen, her parents had no idea where she had gone, and even called the police to report her missing!

Jane first fell in love with the idea of studying animals in Africa after a childhood of reading adventurous tales such as those of Dr. Dolittle and Tarzan. However, after graduating from secondary school, she could not afford a college education and instead spent her time working to save money to pursue her dreams. Jane worked hard, and when she was 23, she had saved enough money to visit a friend in Nairobi, Kenya, per National Geographic.

In 1957, Jane met Dr. Louis Leakey, a famed paleoanthropologist who studied ancient human fossils. Dr. Leakey hired Jane to work with him , and eventually, in 1960, when she was just 26, Leakey sent her to study and live among chimpanzees in Tanzania at Gombe Stream National Park, per the National Geographic Society.

While in Tanzania, Jane made five scientific discoveries about chimpanzee behavior that would change the future of primate research. She learned that chimpanzees ate both meat and plants and were not vegetarian as previous research hypothesized. She also learned that chimpanzees were able to build tools, and sometimes fight against each other in acts of war.

While chimps can be violent like humans, they can also be kind and loving like humans. According to the Jane Goodall Institute, Jane discovered that baby chimpanzees are very close with their mothers and can even learn to comfort one another.

Here are some fun facts about Jane Goodall:

There's no doubt in the fact that Dr. Jane Goodall is one impressive woman. Here are some fun facts to prove she only gets more interesting the more you know.

Jane Goodall was the first person to study chimpanzees in the wild, per National Geographic Kids.

Her first introduction to chimpanzees was a stuffed animal chimp named Jubilee from her father, per Khan Academy.

Jane Goodall eats a vegan diet to advocate for animal rights, the environment, and also for her health, per the AARP .

Although Jane Goodall never went to college, she was awarded a Ph.D. in ethology —the study of animal behavior—from the University of Cambridge, per Britannica.

Looking for more adventure? Here are some videos about Jane Goodall.

Jane Goodall's story is inspiring, and also a reminder that you should never give up on your dreams.

If you are interested in continuing to learn more about it, here's a fun bedtime story to fall asleep to.

Or, consider going on a little adventure with Jane in the forest!

Biographies for Kids

Jane goodall.

• Occupation: Anthropologist
• Born: April 3, 1934 in London, England
• Best known for: Studying chimpanzees in the wild

• Tools - Jane observed a chimp using a piece of grass as a tool. The chimp would put the grass into a termite hole in order to catch termites to eat. She also saw chimps remove leaves from twigs in order to make a tool. This is first time that animals had been observed using and making tools. Prior to this it was thought that only humans used and made tools.
• Meat eaters - Jane also discovered that chimpanzees hunted for meat. They would actually hunt as packs, trap animals, and then kill them for food. Previously scientists thought that chimps only ate plants.
• Personalities - Jane observed many different personalities in the chimpanzee community. Some were kind, quiet, and generous while others were bullies and aggressive. She saw the chimps express emotions such as sadness, anger, and joy.
• There is a carving of the chimp David Greybeard on the Tree of Life at Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park. Next to it is a plaque in honor of Goodall.
• She established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977.
• Jane took a break from Africa in 1962 to attend Cambridge University where she earned a Ph.D. degree.
• Chimpanzees communicate through sounds, calls, touch, body language, and facial expressions.
• Jane was married twice and had a son named Hugo.
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Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars, and her fascination with wildlife, Jane Goodall braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Trough nearly 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Jane Goodall has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment. Today she travels the world, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees and environmental crises, urging each of us to take action on behalf of all living things and planet we share.

When Jane Goodall entered the forest of Gombe, the world knew very little about chimpanzees, and even less about their unique genetic kinship to humans. She took an unorthodox approach in her field research, immersing herself in their habitat and their lives to experience their complex society as a neighbor rather than a distant observer and coming to understand them not only as a species, but also as individuals with emotions and long-term bonds. Dr. Jane Goodall’s discovery in 1960 that chimpanzees make and use tools is considered one of the greatest achievements of twentieth-century scholarship. Her field research at Gombe transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and redefined the relationship between humans and animals in ways that continue to emanate around the world.

On the path to becoming the world’s leading primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall redefined traditional conservation. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute to support the research in Gombe and scale up the protection of chimpanzees in their habitats. In the late 1980s, it became clear that Gombe was only part of the solution to a much bigger, rapidly growing problem of deforestation and declining chimpanzee populations across Africa. Knowing that local communities are key to protecting chimpanzees, she redefined traditional conservation with an approach that recognizes the central role people play in the well-being of animals and habitat.

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"Exploring Jane Goodall's Legacy" dives into the extraordinary life and pioneering research of Dr. Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian. Each episode unpacks different facets of Goodall's groundbreaking work with chimpanzees, her innovative conservation efforts, and her global impact on environmental advocacy. Through interviews with experts, colleagues, and Goodall herself, this podcast paints a vivid picture of her journey from a young girl fascinated by animals to a global icon of scientific research and environmental activism. Join us as we explore the enduring legacy of Jane Goodall's work and its ongoing influence on conservation and our understanding of the natural world.

Jane Goodall - Audio Biography Quiet. Please

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Jane Goodall -A Life Devoted to Understanding and Protecting Chimpanzees and Our Planet

This podcast is a comprehensive biography of Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist, conservationist, and environmental advocate. It covers her early life and education, her groundbreaking chimpanzee research at Gombe Stream National Park, her extensive conservation and advocacy work through the Jane Goodall Institute and other organizations, her personal life and challenges, and her enduring legacy in the fields of primatology, conservation, and environmental activism. The article highlights Goodall's significant contributions to our understanding of chimpanzees and the importance of protecting the natural world, as well as her role as a global icon and source of inspiration for generations of scientists, activists, and concerned citizens.

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Jane Goodall Biography: Pioneer Scientist, Activist and Messenger of Peace

Best known as the young, golden-haired woman living alongside humankind’s closest relatives, this scientist-turned-activist has devoted her life to understanding, and working to save chimpanzees from near extinction. Her unorthodox methods of observation revolutionized how scientists conduct animal research in the wild, debunked long-held assumptions about primate behavior, and showed the world how much we have in common with the animal kingdom.

Let’s learn more about the legendary British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace, Jane Goodall.

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born in London, England on April 3, 1934. She was the oldest of two girls, born to father Mortimor, an engineer-turned-race car driver, and to mother Vanne, a successful novelist. Exactly four years following Jane’s birth, her younger sister Judith was born and completes the family. The happy foursome would be short-lived, however. With World War II declared in England in 1939, Jane’s father enlisted and was posted to France. From then on, he would become a distant figure in Jane’s life, only rarely coming home when he was on leave. After the allies declared victory and war was over, the Goodall marriage ended in divorce. A few years before Jane must have know it was coming, the youngster writing a heartfelt letter to her father pleading him to wait until she was 12.

The divorce of Jane’s parents may have had a greater impact on her if her mother hadn’t been such an influential and supportive parent. Jane says it was her mother, primarily, that encouraged her to live out her passions, saying,

“Jane, if you really want something, and if you work hard, take advantage of the opportunities, and never give up, you will somehow find a way.”

Her mother would later play a role in Jane’s early career, traveling with Jane and staying on at the camp at the Gombe Reserve.

Jane spent the majority of her childhood growing up in her maternal grandmother’s 1872 Victorian house in the resort town of Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. They had a yard, with a garden and trees — where Jane spent most of her free time.

Surrounded by women, Jane shared the residence with her mother, sister, grandmother, and two aunts. It was a happy home, and a place Goodall, now in her 80s, goes back to when she needs to relax and recharge. She says, “all my childhood books, the trees I climbed as a child, the cliffs where I walked…. I am blessed in this way.”

Fascination with Wildlife

Young Jane developed an early fascination with wild animals. At just over a year old, Jane’s father gifted her a lifelike, three-foot tall stuffed chimpanzee that she affectionately named Jubilee and carried around with her everywhere. Jane’s mother’s friends were quite horrified by the toy chimpanzee, fearing it would give the young toddler nightmares. Quite the opposite, Jane loved the toy and still has it over 80 years later!

Being that Jane devoted her life to researching and saving chimps, the early gift of a stuffed chimpanzee seems like the ultimate foreshadowing. But Jane admits she is keen on all animals, and would have studied another species if the circumstances had been different. In fact as a girl, Jane did not limit herself to learning about one kind of animal. Jane would often be outside the family home in the yard, quietly observing, sketching or writing notes about birds and other creatures. Her family had a host of pets including a tortoise and a dog, and the young Jane took in many more including racing snails, caterpillars, a lizard and a canary. Jane was an avid reader too, some of her favorite books included Doctor Doolittle , Tarzan , and The Jungle Book . Reading these books ignited a desire to go to Africa some day, to observe and write about wild animals.

Jane was also a curious and patient youngster. Once when Jane was five years old, her parents could not find her and presumed her missing. As panic ensued and a search began, it turned out Jane had been sitting in the hen house waiting for the chickens to lay eggs. This quiet observation and persistence is the hallmark of how Goodall would later conduct her research at Gombe Stream.

While Jane entertained fanciful thoughts of Africa and longed to be outside in nature, she was still young and enrolled at the Uplands Private School. By all accounts, she was a good student but felt the routine of the classroom unbearable. At 16 she confided in her diary writing, “Woke up to be faced by yet another dreary day of torture at that gloomy place of discipline and learning, where one is stuffed with ‘education’ from day’s dawn to day’s eve.” Despite these feelings, she managed to embrace her school studies and finish strong, focusing on her interests in biology and English. She even won two school prizes for essay writing.

In 1953 and at the urging of her mother, Jane enrolled in the London’s Queens Secretarial College and graduated one year later. After receiving her qualification, Jane held clerical jobs in Bournemouth and Oxford University. She also sometimes waited tables, and took a part-time job with a film company. Still, Jane never gave up on her dream of going to Africa even if the idea seemed far-fetched.

African Adventure

In 1955, Jane Goodall received a letter from Clo, an old school friend, with an invitation to come to Kenya. The day had finally come, it was the opportunity she had been waiting for. She saved hard for the fare and in March 1957, embarked on a three-week journey by ship. Soon after arriving in Kenya, Jane took a job in the capital city of Nairobi and met the famed British paleontologist Louis Leakey, who was then the curator of the natural history museum, the Coryndon Museum. Jane was just 23 years old.

Leakey asserted Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and believed humans originated in Africa. He was motivated to find the missing link and was searching for just the right person to study primates in the wild, rather than in captivity. Research of apes in their natural habitat had not been carried out before in this manner and Leakey saw in Jane the perfect candidate to conduct the study. Not only did Jane exhibit the enthusiasm he was looking for, but she also had the temperament to sustain long periods of time in the African bush, “with a mind uncluttered and unbiased by theory.” Up until this time, Goodall had no formal scientific training or academic credentials that qualified her to conduct such a study. Not to mention, women scientists were practically unheard of during the 1950s and 1960s. Nevertheless, Leakey took a chance on the young woman, first hiring her as a secretary and then sending her to Gombe Stream Reserve in Tanzania in 1960. Jane would earn her Ph.D. later, in 1965, from Cambridge University. The degree would earn Jane respect in the field and allow her to receive funding for research.

Gombe Stream

In 1960, at the age of 26, Jane Goodall embarked for the Gombe Stream Reserve, now part of Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Gombe is bordered by the longest lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika, in the Kigoma region of the country. In 1960 when Jane began her research, the forests of Gombe were part of a continuous chain through Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, and stretched westward to the great Congo Basin. Jane’s destination was only accessible by boat and the land was characterized by steep valleys and lush, green rainforests. The African bush and waters were alive with many species of wildlife, birds and fish. Today, it remains one of the best places on earth to observe primates in their natural habitat.

Goodall’s mission was to learn everything she possibly could about the wild chimpanzees while in Gombe. Her mother accompanied her on the trip for the first few months, the local authorities believing a young British woman would never survive alone in the wilderness. Perhaps they were right, though the dangers of nature were less of a concern. At the time, civil war in the Congo had flooded Gombe with refugees. For several weeks, Jane, her mother and one cook, were forbidden to travel to the stream, and waited out the conflict in a prison camp until it was safe again.

Thinking back on her first day in Gombe, Jane recalled…

“Looking up from the shore to the forest, hearing the apes and the birds, and smelling the plants, and thinking it was very, very unreal.”

Jane’s early attempts at getting close to chimpanzees failed; she could get no closer than 500 yards. She found another troop, and established a pattern of consistent observation by appearing in the same spot each morning along the Kakaombe Stream near the chimps feeding area.  

It was one male chimpanzee who allowed Jane within close range. She tempted him with the odd banana and named him David Greybeard, for his white-tufted chin . Once he allowed Jane to get close and watch him, other members of the troop started to feel comfortable and accept her presence. No other human, up until now, had ever gotten so close to chimpanzees in the wild. It would take two years for the chimps to show no fear of her and she was allowed to observe them almost as if she was a chimp herself. Jane imitated them, ate their foods, and spent time in the trees. She would become closely acquainted with over half of the 100 or so chimps in the reserve.

Much to the horror of some scientists, Jane gave all the chimps names like Flo, Fifi, Flint, and Mr. McGregor . During the time, one was careful not to give human characteristics to animals for fear of engaging in anthropomorphism. Researchers used numbers instead. Goodall would later recall, “These people were trying to make ethology a hard science. So, they objected – quite unpleasantly – to me naming my subjects and for suggesting that they had personalities, minds and feelings.” Critics aside, Jane continued the practice. She believed, that empathy was the key to detecting slight changes in mood or attitude, and those changes could provide insights into complex social processes.

Discoveries

Within weeks at Gombe, Jane was making new discoveries and turning conventional thought on its head. Making tools and using tools was thought to be an exclusive trait of humans, not animals. Yet, Jane witnessed David Greybeard using a blade of grass to extract termites from a mound and on another occasion, he stripped leaves from a twig to gain better access to his prey. This was the first recorded time in history another species had used or modified tools. Leakey was so excited, he famously exclaimed, “ We must now redefine man, redefine tool, or accept chimpanzees as human.” He was surely exaggerating, but the discovery was a major blow to the notion of ‘man the tool maker.’

A few weeks after the toolmaking revelation, Jane observed David Greybeard eating what looked like a piece of meat. It was a piglet, and so the long-held theory of primates as strictly vegetarians, was debunked. Through Jane’s observations, the world would also learn chimps engage in cannibalism and warfare. Jane witnessed a brutal four-year war with a neighboring “tribe” that devastated the chimps. Male chimps also routinely patrol the borders of their territory and will attack a solitary male chimpanzee from another tribe to protect their area. This dark side of chimpanzee behavior Jane Goodall likened to gang activity.

Living amongst the primates, Jane observed that chimpanzees have complex brains and social systems. The “caste system” of chimpanzee society places the dominant male at the top, which is often ranked by how intense his performance is at feedings. Over the course of her research, Jane discovered chimps to develop long-term bonds with each other, have ritualized behaviors and a primitive “language” with 20 unique sounds. Chimpanzees possess individual personalities and communicate through touch and body language. They kiss and embrace each other, give pats on the back, shake their fists, and engage in a whole variety of other non-verbal ways.

Jane noted the males do not play an active role in the family; this is left up to the females. Jane observed the strong bond in the mother-child relationship, and found that maternal instincts are taught, not inherent. Chimpanzees learn through observation,  imitation, and practice. The chimpanzees with good mothers, who were above all else supportive, ended up being good mothers themselves. The ones who were poor, ended up having female offspring that was also poor at mothering. Jane even theorized that chimps may have a sense of self, and perhaps, a spiritual connection. Jane’s research concluded that mother-centric groupings, along with sex, food sharing, and grooming, are the essential components of chimpanzee society. Goodall’s publication, The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior , is the definitive work on the behavior of chimpanzees. It would become the core body of work used to establish chimps, gorillas, and bonobos as hominids.

Celebrity & Activism

The early discoveries of toolmaking and meat-eating chimps, and the idea of a young woman living in the jungle, caught the interest of National Geographic and in 1962, they sent the dashing Dutch photographer, Baron Hugo van Lawick to film her work. The two fell in love while on assignment and they wed in 1964. Three years later, they had their son Hugo Jr., who she called “Grub.” Life seemed idyllic for Jane, doing what she most loved; being with, and writing about, chimpanzees. Van Lawick’s film, Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees , aired in 1965 and thrust Jane into the spotlight. In the same year, Jane received her Ph.D from Cambridge. Even though it was Leakey’s idea, and he pushed Jane to pursue her Doctorate, she acknowledged it was important saying, “Cambridge taught me to think in a scientific way, so I could stand up to people. It taught me to think logically, I loved it, and I loved analyzing the data; it was a very important part of my development.”

Jane and Hugo’s marriage lasted a decade and by 1974, the pair called it quits, yet they remained on good terms. She would marry Derek Bryceson, member of Tanzanian parliament and Director of Tanzania’s National Parks the following year. They had five good years together and made their home at Lake Tanganyika until his death in 1980 to cancer. Jane was devastated by the loss but she came to terms with it.

“…I went to Gombe, and the forest is very healing. You get this endless cycle of living and dying, and things fell into perspective.”

In 1971, Jane Goodall published one of her most popular and well-known books, In The Shadow of Man, on the Gombe chimps where her vivid descriptions brought them to life and bridged the gap between science and entertainment . Jane published many more books after, held a professorship at Stanford University, and was appointed honorary visiting professor of Zoology at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. In 1977, Dr. Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) with a mission to protect the chimpanzees and further the research at Gombe.

The soft-spoken Jane seemed an unlikely celebrity but she would find her academic respectability and popularity an advantage when speaking on behalf of the chimps she loved. Over the course of her research at Gombe it became increasingly clear the wildlife there, including the chimpanzees, were at a significant risk. In fact, by the 1980s, chimpanzees were an endangered species. Their home, and resources were being destroyed at an amazing rate.

After attending a conference organized by the Chicago Academy of Sciences in 1986 to coincide with the publication of The Chimpanzees of Gombe , Goodall found herself at a turning point. At 52, and after 25 years of field research, Jane went on the road to educate the public on the vanishing habitats, the “bush meat” trade, animal trafficking, and the unethical treatment of animals used in modern medicine and for scientific research.

In 1990, the revelation came that Jane must turn her attention to humans in order to save her chimps. While flying over Gombe, she saw the hills stripped bare by deforestation. The local villagers were responsible, having over-farmed their land. With little options left, they had taken the trees in the national park to sell as timber in order to survive. At that moment, Jane realized then that unless you address poverty, and work to improve the lives of villagers, you can never expect to conserve the land and save the wildlife.

“Everything’s interconnected. You learn that in the rainforest,” Jane explains.

Soon after, the JGI launched programs focused on education, family planning, water management, sustainable agriculture, and microcredit for women.

Accomplishments

Thanks to her work with the Jane Goodall Institute’s Lake Tanganyika Catchment Reforestation and Education Project, the Gombe chimps now have “three to four times more forest than they had ten years ago.”  Her work on ethical treatment of captive chimps led the medical community to steer away from their use in cross-species organ transplant, also known as xenotransplanation. And, Goodall has made strides to phase out the use of chimpanzees in medical research. Goodall works tirelessly, an average of 300 days per year, to spread the mission of the JGI. The Institute has offices around the globe with programs primarily in Africa to involve the local people in community-centered conservation. Another initiative, the Roots & Shoots program, is in operation in over 130 countries and works to foster environmentalism and peace among the world’s children. Goodall’s passionate fight to preserve the world’s chimpanzee population has included service on the Save the Chimps board, the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary located in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Over her long career, Goodall became the world’s expert on primates. Her fieldwork has led to the publication of numerous articles and five major books including, My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees , In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window. She has also written a number of children’s books, such as Grub: The Bush Baby , Chimpanzees I Love and My Life with the Chimpanzees. Countless people, over multiple generations have gotten to know her work through the National Geographic magazine, television programs, and IMAXX film, Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees . Jane , A new documentary film by Brett Morgen was released in 2017 to critical acclaim that features over 100 hours of archived National Geographic footage. The trailblazer Jane Goodall is still captivating audiences all this time later.

Goodall has received numerous honors and awards including the Gold Medal of Conservation from the San Diego Zoological Society in 1974, the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize in 1984, the Schweitzer Medal of the Animal Welfare Institute in 1987, the National Geographic Society Centennial Award in 1988, the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences in 1990, the National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal for Distinction in Exploration, Discovery and Research in 1995, In 2002, she was named Messenger of Peace by the United Nations, and in 2003, a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II of England, and in 2006, she was honored with 60th Anniversary Medal of the UNESCO and French Legion Honor. She also holds honorary Doctorate degrees from many prestigious universities around the world.

Jane’s research continues at the Gombe Stream Research Centre, established by Goodall in 1965. It is the longest-running study of chimpanzees the world has seen. The center hosts visiting researchers and continues to further our understanding of chimpanzee health, group dynamics, diet, and more. The information gathered here can also inform conservation efforts. These days, Jane visits the center at least twice per year but all the chimps she knew and loved have passed on.

Jane’s legacy is more than her contributions to science, or activism. Her determination and body of work inspires us to believe in ourselves, and remember our connection to nature and what we leave behind. She wants us to think about the earth’s future and our role in protecting it…

“I care passionately about nature. I care passionately about children. I have three grandchildren. I think about their children. If we can’t do things differently, what is the world going to be like in 50 years?”

Above all else, Jane has taught us, it is up to us to make change. “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference. Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help shall all be saved. The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Jane Goodall’s Video Biography

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The Productive Teacher

Building Background Knowledge: Jane Goodall

August 9, 2023 Leave a Comment

New science TEKS are coming to Texas! One change is that students will learn about specific scientists in various fields. Another change is that the STARR tests will pull from science and social studies topics for reading passages. This is a good change because so much of our reading comprehension depends on our background knowledge of a topic. What isn’t great is that some of these topics will be taught starting in kindergarten, and kindergarteners will not be ready to absorb the necessary knowledge. As a result, we will have to continue going back and reteaching what students have already learned.

Jane Goodall is a scientist students will learn about for the first time in second grade. She was the first scientist to observe and report on chimpanzees using tools. Before Jane’s research, people thought only humans used tools. Jane is famous for her research methods. She lived in the forest with the chimpanzees to observe them. It took her years to gain their trust. Jane no longer lives in the forest, but other scientists have continued her work. Today, Jane Goodall teaches about the importance of protecting the environment.

JANE GOODALL: A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Jane Goodall was born in London, England, on April 3, 1934. From a young age, she showed deep love and curiosity for animals, often observing the wildlife in her backyard. Little did she know that this childhood fascination would lead her to become one of the most influential conservationists of our time.

Jane’s life took an extraordinary turn when, at the age of 26, she ventured to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, Africa. Armed with determination and an unwavering desire to understand chimpanzees, she embarked on a groundbreaking study that would change how we view these intelligent creatures. Jane’s patient observations and unique insights revealed that chimpanzees have rich and complex social lives, use tools, and share emotions – much like us!

Jane Goodall’s work wasn’t just confined to the forests of Gombe. She expanded her efforts to promote conservation and raise awareness about the importance of protecting the natural world. Her tireless advocacy efforts led to the creation of the Jane Goodall Institute, which inspires people globally to connect with nature and take action for a sustainable future.

Through her numerous books, lectures, and documentaries, Jane Goodall has become a beacon of hope and a symbol of the power of one individual’s dedication to making a difference. Her emphasis on the interconnectedness of all life on Earth has resonated with people of all ages, inspiring them to become stewards of the environment.

TEACHING SECOND GRADERS ABOUT JANE GOODALL

Here are the big ideas second graders need to know about Jane Goodall:

• She went into the forest to observe chimpanzees in Tanzania when she was 26. She was one of the first people to observe chimpanzees in the wild. It took years for the chimpanzees to trust her.
• She was the first scientist to report that chimpanzees use tools.
• She saw that chimpanzees were very similar to humans.
• She teaches people about protecting the environment.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN READING AND WRITING

Reading and writing are two ways we work to understand information. To ensure that your students understand and remember what they learn about Jane Goodall, you will have them read and write about her. There are many writing structures you can use in your classroom. I have created an “adding details” system to help students write more interesting sentences.

Here is how it works:

• There are three to four videos on the subject. Students do not need to watch all of the videos. I like to show my favorite video to the entire class and then share the presentation with students so that they can choose which other videos they want to watch. Watching the videos aims to build up the students’ background knowledge on a subject. They get familiar with the relevant vocabulary and start making connections. This helps them understand what they read.
• Students read the paragraph on the subject. They may have to read it a couple of times to understand it.
• Students complete the details chart (who, what, where, when, why, and how) to organize their learning from the reading passage. There will be multiple ways to complete the chart correctly.

JANE GOODALL PRESENTATION AND READING PASSAGE

Click on the picture below to access the Jane Goodall presentation.

MORE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

Background knowledge is so important for helping our students and children be successful. Reading books is a great way to build background knowledge. Watching videos can build background knowledge too! I have lots of blog posts that build background knowledge! Check out some below!

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Jane Goodall Celebrates Turning 90 with a Message About Animals: 'The Gift I Want to Give'

Mercy For Animals and the Jane Goodall Institute created a short film with celebrity appearances to honor the conservationist's milestone birthday

Amanda Edwards/Getty

Dr. Jane Goodall is celebrating her 90th birthday by sharing an important message with a few of her famous friends.

On April 3, Goodall, a beloved ethologist and conservationist, will turn 90. To mark the occasion Mercy For Animals and the Jane Goodall Institue — the conservation organization founded by Goodall —created a short film titled Voices of Hope — Words of Wisdom by Dr. Jane Goodall .

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the film, which includes quotes from Goodall recited by her famous friends and fans, including Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Sen. Cory Booker, Alicia Silverstone , Paul Wesley, Joseph Morgan, Nikki Reed , Gus Kenworthy , Mya, and several more.

Voices of Hope — Words of Wisdom by Dr. Jane Goodall was created by Mercy For Animals and the Jane Goodall Institue to honor the impact Goodall's decades-long work has had on people, animals and the planet.

"As Mercy For Animals celebrates its 25th year, we are amazed by all that Dr. Goodall has accomplished throughout her decades of advocacy. Dr. Goodall has made the world a better place for all its inhabitants and has educated and empowered several generations to take action to create a more just, sustainable, and beautiful future. Dr. Goodall’s mission and vision for animals, people, and the planet is central to Mercy For Animals’ work, and we are honored to share her inspiring words of wisdom through this moving tribute," Leah Garcés, CEO and president of Mercy For Animals, said in a statement about what inspired the film.

The video opens with Goodall speaking over clips from her early life and career. "I've spent my life working with and for animals. I was born loving them and wanting to learn about them," Goodalls says to open the short film. I'm sure all of you will agree; you can't spend time with an animal and not know that we are not the only beings with personalities, minds and emotions."

The film continues with public figures and famous voices continuing Goodall's quote about the importance of protecting our planet, and treating all the creatures within it with kindness.

Mercy for Animals and the Jane Goodall Institute hope this tribute to Goodall and her advocacy inspires other to follow in her footsteps.

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Goodall herself is using her birthday to reflect on and reinforce the importance of connecting with the Earth and it inhabitants, big and small, and sees this film as a "gift" to herself and others.

"As I celebrate my 90th birthday and reflect on my journey, the gift I want to give to the world is a message about the connection between animals, people, and the planet we share, and this film by Mercy For Animals and JGI inspires that universal understanding," Goodall shared in a statement to PEOPLE.

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Deal Dive: Not all climate startups are focused on carbon

Windfall bio is seeing strong demand for its methane-eating microbe startup.

When Josh Silverman started shopping around the idea for his methane-eating microbe startup, Windfall Bio, eight years ago, the market just wasn’t ready. Nobody cared about methane, he said. Companies were instead focused on lowering their carbon emissions. But a few years later, the market is starting to come around.

Menlo Park–based Windfall Bio raised a $28 million Series A round to expand its commercialization efforts. The round was led by Prelude Ventures with participation from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Incite Ventures and Positive Ventures, among others, as well as existing investors, including Mayfield.

Windfall works with industries that produce large levels of methane, such as agriculture, oil and gas, and landfills. The startup supplies methane-eating microbes that absorb methane emissions, turning them into fertilizer. Companies can either utilize the fertilizer themselves, if they are in the agriculture sector, or they can sell it as a revenue stream.

“We think there is a big opportunity to leverage this natural ecosystem that gives us a low-cost solution without needing massive investments in capital like we are seeing for these other carbon capture technologies,” Silverman said.

While it took a couple of years to really get investors and companies on board, Silverman said that since the Windfall raised its seed round last year and emerged from stealth in March 2023, demand has been high.

“We have had a massive influx from all continents and all verticals; huge amounts of excitement,” Silverman said. “It’s profitable for everybody regardless of the industry. Everyone wants to reduce their carbon footprint, and they want to do it in a way where they make money and there aren’t many solutions.”

Silverman says that carbon capture was the only focus for so long because once carbon is in the atmosphere, it lasts forever, compared to methane’s 10- to 12-year lifespan. A few decades ago, when people thought about climate change, they were looking for more long-term solutions. But now that the impacts of climate change are both more clear and worsening, people are waking up to the need for both short-term and long-term solutions.

“We have literally missed every single climate target we have put in place,” Silverman said. Not a single G20 country has the policies needed in place for it to reach the Paris Agreement’s emission-reduction targets , for example. “If all you are doing is looking out in the future and not doing the day to day, you miss those targets and miss what is right in front of you. We need to manage the short-term climate factors, or we won’t be around to deal with the long-term.”

The lack of attention to methane is also surprising because methane actually can create a better ROI for companies than their carbon-reduction efforts.

Carbon is waste, which means that when companies capture it, they do so largely just to get rid of it, as opposed to turning it into something else. In comparison, methane is energy, which means it can be captured and repurposed much easier than carbon. Essentially, companies can reduce carbon for potential cost savings down the road, or a super legit carbon credit, while focusing on methane can actually make them money if they work with a company like Windfall.

This deal also stood out to me because Windfall lies within a growing category of startups focused on mitigating the climate issues of today and not just the ones down the road. While it is good for companies to be focused on mitigating the long-term impacts of climate change or trying to prevent future climate-induced events, we need solutions now.

It reminded me of Convective Capital , a venture fund I’ve written about before that’s dedicated to wildfire tech. It’s not dedicated to the tech that helps prevent them but rather tech that helps society adapt to the impact of increased wildfires now. Firm founder Bill Clerico told TechCrunch in 2022 that while it’s great to build long-term solutions, those mean nothing if your home is in danger from wildfires this summer.

Silverman said the market is still in the early innings of coming around to the potential benefits of investing in methane-reduction technology. But progress is good, and though he might be biased, Silverman is happy to see funding heading to a climate company that isn’t another carbon credit startup. I agree with him there.

“It was a long road getting here, lots of years of zero traction,” Silverman said. “Now that the traction is there and there aren’t very many people working in this area, there aren’t that many competitors. We are the best of the very few options. As I’ve said, ‘in my land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.'”