Jane Goodall

In 1960, Jane Goodall set out to study wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her discoveries about
primate behaviour have continued to shape scientific course. She has created one of the
most groundbreaking studies of primates in modern world, which is why she’ll be the topic of
this essay.

Dame Jane Morris Goodall was born on April 3, 1934, in London, England to Mortimer
Herbert Goodall and Margaret Myfanwe Joseph. Goodall has a sister named Judith, with
whom she was brought up in Bournemouth, England. As a child, Goodall’s father gave her a
stuffed chimpanzee named Jubilee. Goodall said that her fondness for the figure started her
love of animals. To this day, Jubilee still sits on Goodall's dresser.
Jane Goodall has son named Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick from her first marriage. Her
second marriage lasted only five years as a result of her husband dying of cancer.
Through all her life, Jane Goodall has suffered a certain degree of prosopagnosia.

Jane Goodall studied in the University of Cambridge, from where she got a degree in
ethology. She was one of only eight people ever to have a doctoral dissertation accepted by
Cambridge without first having an undergraduate degree. She went on to find employment
as a secretary at Oxford University, and in her spare time also worked at a London-based
documentary film company to finance a long-anticipated trip to Africa.

Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzee social and family life. In 1960, she
began studying the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Gombe Stream National Park in
Tanzania. Her findings suggest that similarities between humans and chimpanzees exist in
more than genes alone, and can be seen in emotion, intelligence, and family and social
relationships. One of her most notable achievements is discovering that some chimpanzees
alter pieces of grass or twigs and then poke them into termite mounds.

In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall institute, which supports the Gombe
research. Furthermore, she is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their
habitats. Today, Goodall devotes a massive part of her time to advocate on behalf of
chimpanzees and the environment, travelling nearly 300 days a year.

Jane Goodall has written over twenty-five books, in which she has talked about
chimpanzees and other animals. She also has touched on the subject of animal farming and
exploitation. She went vegetarian 50 years ago for animals, health and climate. She has also
mentioned that if she wouldn’t be travelling as much she’d be 100% vegan, because a lot of
the places she travels don’t offer options completely free of animal byproducts.

Jane Goodall has greatly impacted the field of primatology and has helped humans
understand the behavior of chimpanzees. She is one of chimpanzees greatest advocates,
helping to raise awareness about captive and wild chimpanzees. Jane Goodall has taught
countless people to be compassionate, kind and to care for the world around us.