Jane Goodall

Born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934 in London, England, she developed a passion for animals and Africa from childhood, dreaming of wildlife study despite lacking formal scientific training. At age 26 in 1960, funded by Louis Leakey, she arrived at Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve (now Gombe Stream National Park) on Lake Tanganyika's northeast coast in Tanzania for what was planned as a six-month observation but became a lifelong commitment spanning over 60 years. Living among the Kasakela chimpanzee community, Goodall immersed herself without rigid protocols, naming individuals like David Greybeard and Fifi to track personalities, mother-child bonds, and social dynamics. Her observations from 1960 onward revolutionized primatology: she documented chimpanzees making and using tools, hunting meat cooperatively, engaging in warfare and infanticide, displaying emotions like joy and sorrow, and forming complex societies with altruism, such as adoptions. These findings, published in works like The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, forced redefinitions of 'tool,' 'man,' and human uniqueness, earning praise from figures like Stephen Jay Gould and Leakey. As one of Leakey's 'Trimates' alongside Dian Fossey and Birutė Galdikas, Goodall pioneered field studies by women, dominating primate ethology. By the 1980s, witnessing deforestation and chimp population declines, Goodall shifted from pure research to activism; a 1986 conference marked her turning point toward conservation. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 for wildlife protection, sanctuaries, and reforestation in Africa, and Roots & Shoots in 1991 as a global youth network for environmental and humanitarian action. Appointed UN Messenger of Peace in 2002, she advised on ending U.S. invasive chimp research, relocating them to sanctuaries, and authored over 30 books translated into 13+ languages while producing films. Goodall received honors like the Kyoto Prize and Tang Prize, lectured worldwide into her later years, and passed away on 1 October 2025.