Jane Goodall was born in Hamstead, a London neighborhood, in April 1934. Having always been interested in animals and in Africa, she went to a friend's farm in White Highlands, Kenya in 1957. She was able to obtain work as a secretary and on the friend's advice, telephoned Louis Leakey. Leakey believed that studying existing great apes could provide analysis of behavior of early hominids. Initially, Leakey suggested that Goodall work for him as a secretary. Once Leakey got approval from his co-researcher, Goodall was sent to study the chimpanzees. Louis Leakey later was able to arrange funding, which Goodall used to attend Cambridge University to pursue her Ph.D. She became the eighth person allowed to study for a Ph.D. at Cambridge without having previously earned a bachelor's degree.
Goodall studied chimpanzee social behaviors and family life in the Gombe Stream National Park of Tanzania. She found that "it isn't only human beings who have personality, who are capable of rational thought and emotions like joy and sorrow." She also observed behaviors often considered human, such as hugs, kisses, and tickling. Goodall insisted that these gestures are evidence of "close, supportive, affectionate bonds that develop between family members and other individuals within a community, which persist throughout a lifespan of more than 50 years." Additionally, her research at Gombe challenged two long-standing beliefs: that only humans construct and use tools; that chimps were vegetarians.
In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports the research in Gombe, and by that time, she was recognized as a global leader in the effort to protect chimps & their habitats. There are now 19 offices for the Jane Goodall Institute around the world, and it is widely recognized for community-centered conservation and the development of programs in Africa.
Over the years, Goodall and her work have been recognized in a variety of ways: The Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence, the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Life Science, the French Foreign Legion of Honour, the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. In 2002, Kofi Annan named Goodall a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 1995, she was appointed a Commander for the Order of the British Empire for services to zoology and then in 2003, promoted to Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to the environment and conservation. In 2025, President Joe Biden awarded Goodall with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She passed away in her sleep on October 1, 2025, during a speaking tour in the United States.
If you are looking to learn more about Jane Goodall, the Quincy Public Library has access to DVDs: Jane Goodall's When Animals Talk, Jane, as well as books for adults: Beyond Innocence: A Life in Letters, Africa in My Blood: An Autobiography in Letters, and children: Who Is Jane Goodall?, The Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World & Ours. We can also get the books that she wrote, as well as books on Chimpanzees, either through the library catalog or by asking a librarian during your next visit to the Quincy Public Library.