Jane Goodall Biography

Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934 in London, England. Goodall’s teenage years were filled with a curiosity for nature, especially anything that moved. The most influential animal in her young life, however, was a mixed-breed dog named Rusty from whom Jane learned valuable lessons about animal behavior. Goodall was a good student, but the drudgery of school did not square with her outdoorsy, adventuresome nature. She did enjoy reading and after she discovered the Doctor Dolittle series and Tarzan of the Apes, she began dreaming about going to Africa and living in similar closeness with animals.

Rusty digital art by Steve Simon

At the age of nineteen, Goodall received a diploma from Queen’s Secretarial College, but quickly realized she was ill-suited for secretarial work. She decided to visit a former classmate in Kenya. In Nairobi, Goodall was introduced to the famous paleoanthropologist and archaeologist, Dr. Louis Leakey, who offered Goodall a position as his secretary.

Leakey liked Goodall from the start. Before long, he offered her the opportunity to study wild chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve along Lake Tanganyika in western Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Despite not having the relevant academic credentials and being exposed to the dangers of wild chimpanzees, Goodall jumped at the opportunity.

Within the scientific community, it was customary to study animal behavior from a detached distance. Goodall, however, took a different approach and worked exceedingly hard and with great courage to integrate with the chimpanzees. She knew from her experiences with all sorts of animals, especially Rusty, that animals were socially complex, mindful, and capable of strong emotional feelings. This was the realm in which she wanted to work and through this commitment, she achieved profound results. 

She knew from her experiences with all sorts of animals, especially Rusty, that animals were socially complex, mindful, and capable of strong emotional feelings.

Red Palm Nut sculpted by Marla Friedman, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois

Goodall’s first breakthrough came when she witnessed a chimp eating meat, overturning the accepted belief that chimps were not carnivorous. The discovery that really caught the scientific community’s attention, however, was when Goodall witnessed chimps using blades of grass-like tools to “fish” termites out of a mound. It was believed only humans were capable of using tools and this discovery was groundbreaking. It also began Goodall’s meteoric rise as a famous scientist. Dr. Leakey arranged to have Goodall study at the University of Cambridge where she received a Ph.D. in ethology in 1965.

With the support of the National Geographic Society, Goodall appeared in popularly received magazine articles and TV specials. Building on these successes, she co-founded the Gombe Stream Research Centre for students and others to observe and learn about wild chimpanzees. Some five decades later the facility still trains primatologists.

Over the years, Goodall became increasingly concerned with protecting her beloved chimpanzees. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute with this goal in mind. Today, in addition to protecting chimpanzees, the institute is active in wildlife research and environmental conservation.

In 1991, Goodall founded the youth service program, Roots & Shoots. The program’s mission is to “foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs, and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, other animals, and the environment.”

In 2002, Goodall was named a Messenger of Peace by the United Nations and the following year Dame of the British Empire.