Jane Goodall redefined what it means to be human and set the standard for behavioural studies through her work with wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.
Born in Bournemouth, England, on April 3, 1934, as a child, she loved the outdoors and animals, enjoying time with her beloved dog Rusty, a pony, and a tortoise, among other pets. At about eight, she read the Tarzan and Dr Dolittle series and dreamed of travelling to Africa to work with animals like those featured in her favourite books.
Jane couldn’t afford college after graduation and instead attended secretarial school in South Kensington, where she perfected her typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping skills. She kept her dream of going to Africa to learn from wild animals, so she took various jobs, including waitressing and working for a documentary film company, saving every penny for her goal. At 23, she left for Africa to visit a friend whose family lived near Nairobi, Kenya.
In March 1957, Jane boarded the Kenya Castle to visit her friend and family. There, she met famed paleoanthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey, who offered her a job at the local natural history museum. After working there for some time, Leakey sent her to the Gombe Stream Game Reserve (now Gombe Stream National Park) in Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). He believed her passion for animals, high energy, and fortitude made her an excellent candidate. Leakey thought Jane’s lack of formal academic training would free her from traditional biases, allowing her to study chimpanzees with an open mind. By studying our closest living relatives, he hoped to learn about early humans—insights he could not gather from fossils alone. The next step was to secure project funding.
Jane couldn’t afford college after graduation and instead attended secretarial school in South Kensington, where she perfected her typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping skills. She kept her dream of going to Africa to learn from wild animals, so she took various jobs, including waitressing and working for a documentary film company, saving every penny for her goal. At 23, she left for Africa to visit a friend whose family lived near Nairobi, Kenya.
In March 1957, Jane boarded the Kenya Castle to visit her friend and family. There, she met famed paleoanthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey, who offered her a job at the local natural history museum. After working there for some time, Leakey sent her to the Gombe Stream Game Reserve (now Gombe Stream National Park) in Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). He believed her passion for animals, high energy, and fortitude made her an excellent candidate. Leakey thought Jane’s lack of formal academic training would free her from traditional biases, allowing her to study chimpanzees with an open mind. By studying our closest living relatives, he hoped to learn about early humans—insights he could not gather from fossils alone. The next step was to secure project funding.
In December 1958, Jane returned to England and Leakey began arranging the expedition, obtaining government permissions and raising funds. To prepare, Jane moved to London to work at Granada Television’s film library at the London Zoo, spending her spare time studying primate behaviour. In May 1960, Jane learned Leakey had secured funding from the Wilkie Brothers Foundation. With 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 required her to have an escort—and their cook, Dominic. The first weeks were difficult: Jane developed a fever, likely malaria, which delayed her research. After recovering, the rugged terrain and dense vegetation made crossing the reserve difficult, and she often hiked for miles without seeing a chimpanzee.
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 required her to have an escort—and their cook, Dominic. The first weeks were difficult: Jane developed a fever, likely malaria, which delayed her research. After recovering, the rugged terrain and dense vegetation made crossing the reserve difficult, and she often hiked for miles without seeing a chimpanzee.
Finally, an older chimpanzee—whom Jane named David Greybeard, though naming study subjects was taboo in ethology—began to let Jane watch him. As a high-ranking male in the chimpanzee community, his acceptance meant other group members also allowed Jane to observe them. David Greybeard was the first chimpanzee Jane saw using tools. She observed him sticking stiff grass blades into termite holes to extract termites. Excited, she telegraphed Dr. Leakey about her discovery. He replied, “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”
During her years studying at Gombe Stream National Park, she made three observations that challenged conventional scientific ideas:
(1) chimps are omnivores and hunt for meat
(2) chimps use tools
(3) chimps make their own tools, a trait previously thought unique to humans.
Beyond the significance of these discoveries, it was Jane’s high ethical and methodological standards in behavioural studies that may have had the greatest impact on the scientific community.
Jane continued in the field and, with Leakey’s support, started her doctorate in 1962 without an undergraduate degree. At Cambridge University, she found herself at odds with senior scientists over the methods she used, for example, 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.
During her years studying at Gombe Stream National Park, she made three observations that challenged conventional scientific ideas:
(1) chimps are omnivores and hunt for meat
(2) chimps use tools
(3) chimps make their own tools, a trait previously thought unique to humans.
Beyond the significance of these discoveries, it was Jane’s high ethical and methodological standards in behavioural studies that may have had the greatest impact on the scientific community.
Jane continued in the field and, with Leakey’s support, started her doctorate in 1962 without an undergraduate degree. At Cambridge University, she found herself at odds with senior scientists over the methods she used, for example, 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 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 not significantly. Then, in the early 1990s, she flew over the park and was shocked to see large-scale deforestation on the other side, where local villages were rapidly expanding. Miles of bare hills stretched where forests had once stood. Jane knew she had to act to protect the forest and the habitat of the chimpanzees.
Her first mission was to improve conditions for chimpanzees in medical research facilities. Jane helped set up several refuges for chimps freed from those facilities or orphaned by the bushmeat trade. She established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in 1977, a global, community-centred conservation organization, and created JGI’s Roots & Shoots program in 1991 to encourage young people worldwide to protect the environment, wildlife, and their communities. Jane met with those key to protecting places like Gombe Stream National Park and has always advocated for animals, peace, and harmony with the environment.
Jane passed away on October 1, 2025, at age 91, still dedicated to raising awareness and funds for protecting chimpanzees, their habitats, and our planet. She spent around 300 days a year giving speeches, meeting with government and business leaders worldwide, and urging them to support wildlife conservation and preserve vital habitats.
Jane shifted from scientist to conservationist and activist after attending a primatology conference in 1986, where she noticed all 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 not significantly. Then, in the early 1990s, she flew over the park and was shocked to see large-scale deforestation on the other side, where local villages were rapidly expanding. Miles of bare hills stretched where forests had once stood. Jane knew she had to act to protect the forest and the habitat of the chimpanzees.
Her first mission was to improve conditions for chimpanzees in medical research facilities. Jane helped set up several refuges for chimps freed from those facilities or orphaned by the bushmeat trade. She established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in 1977, a global, community-centred conservation organization, and created JGI’s Roots & Shoots program in 1991 to encourage young people worldwide to protect the environment, wildlife, and their communities. Jane met with those key to protecting places like Gombe Stream National Park and has always advocated for animals, peace, and harmony with the environment.
Jane passed away on October 1, 2025, at age 91, still dedicated to raising awareness and funds for protecting chimpanzees, their habitats, and our planet. She spent around 300 days a year giving speeches, meeting with government and business leaders worldwide, and urging them to support wildlife conservation and preserve vital habitats.
