Jane Goodall: Biography, Achievements & Lasting Legacy

Dame Valerie Jane Morris Goodall (; née Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934 – 1 October 2025) was an English primatologist and anthropologist. Regarded as a pioneer in primate ethology, and described by many publications as "the world's preeminent chimpanzee expert", she was best known for more than six decades of field research on the social and family life of wild chimpanzees in the Kasakela chimpanzee community at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Beginning in 1960, under the mentorship of the palaeontologist Louis Leakey, Goodall's research demonstrated that chimpanzees share many key traits with humans, such as using tools, having complex emotions, forming lasting social bonds, engaging in organised warfare, and passing on knowledge across generations, which redefined the traditional view that humans are uniquely different from other animals.

In 1965 Goodall was awarded a PhD in ethology from the University of Cambridge. In the 1960s Goodall published several accounts of her research in Tanzania, including a series of articles in National Geographic. Her first book-length study, In the Shadow of Man (1971), was later translated into 48 languages. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to promote wildlife conservation, followed by the Roots & Shoots youth programme in 1991, which grew into a global network. Goodall also established wildlife sanctuaries and reforestation projects in Africa and campaigned for the ethical treatment of animals in animal testing, animal husbandry and captivity. Goodall was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2002, and advised organisations such as Save the Chimps and the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks.

Throughout her career Goodall wrote 32 books, 15 of them for children, and was the subject of over 40 films. She remained an active lecturer, travelling extensively to promote conservation and climate action. Goodall was an honorary member of the World Future Council. Among other honours, she was a recipient of the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal, the Kyoto Prize, the Templeton Prize and the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2003 she was named a dame commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Goodall served on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project from 2022 until her death.