8 Defining Facts About Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall, who Death was announced On October 1, 2025, she was still a young woman when her research changed the course of scientific history. On her discovery that chimpanzees make and use tools—an ability previously thought to be specific to humans—human paleontologist Louis Leakey He famously said“Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ or redefine ‘human,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”

Her work and legacy loom large among animal lovers. Below, discover eight fascinating facts about the brilliant primatologist.

1. A stuffed animal that changed her life.
2. She began her research without obtaining a degree.
3. But she ended up with a lot of grades…
4. …and among other titles.
5. Her work has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
6. Stevie Nicks wrote a song about Jane Goodall.
7. You may have seen Jane Goodall in animated form.
8. It worked to the end.

A stuffed animal that changed her life.

Jane met her first chimpanzee on her first birthday. From that day on, a stuffed monkey named Jubilee accompanied the little girl on all her adventures, inspiring a love of animals that would one day change our views on animal intelligence.

Decades later, Goodall gave talks on animal welfare with the help of a stuffed monkey named Mr. H and a cow named Cow, both gifts from her fans. “The cow worked really hard,” Goodall said He said mosaic. “I’ve created I don’t know how many vegetarians.”

She began her research without obtaining a degree.

Goodall’s first steps into Gombe Stream National Park in 1960 were unusual for many reasons. The 26-year-old was only the second researcher to attempt to study chimpanzees in the wild, and she was accompanied by no one except her mother and her assistant. She also received no formal scientific training, a fact that likely enabled her to achieve many accomplishments. Unbound by preconceptions about what animal research should be like, the young scientist approached her subjects, sat down, and became interested in the topic.

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But she ended up with a lot of grades…

Goodall became Dr. Goodall in 1966 when she earned her Ph.D. in Ethics (Animal Behavior) from the University of Cambridge. After that, I had more degrees than most walls could hold Honorary degrees From about 40 universities in 15 different countries.

…and among other titles.

Dr. Goodall was also an OBE, a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and has received countless awards and honors for her scientific, humanitarian and animal welfare work. Briefly, during it marriage For wildlife photographer Baron Hugo van Lawick, she was also Baroness Jeanne van Lawick Goodall. I got an award Presidential Medal of Freedom In January 2025.

Her work has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Historically, the scientific establishment has not been kind to neophytes and outsiders. Or women, for that matter. Initially, many well-known scholars were opposed to Goodall’s unusual approach and lack of university pedigree. They found her methods weak and problematic, as Goodall named her research subjects rather than giving them identification numbers, which caused a scandal, with some going so far as to suggest that the chimpanzees using the tools had been trained. Over time, her research became so convincing that her supporters outnumbered her critics.

Stevie Nicks wrote a song about Jane Goodall.

Nicks first began the song in 1991. “I met Jane in Dallas at the end of 1991. I went back and got all her books and I was so impressed. She was so much like me when she was little. She was definitely going to devote herself to something, and so would I. I think some kids are like that and some kids aren’t. We were looking hard for something to devote our lives to — and we both found something.” The singer wrote.

You may have seen Jane Goodall in animated form.

In 2001 Wild Thornberry In the episode “The Trouble with Darwin”, Goodall appears as herself to help Eliza rescue a chimpanzee from greedy poachers.

It worked to the end.

Goodall returned from the field in the 1980s, but her career had not yet begun. For decades afterward, she was on the road more than 300 days a year, giving talks and leading initiatives to improve the lives of chimpanzees, great apes and all animals in captivity and in the wild. she He died While she was in California during one of her speaking tours. She was 91 years old.

A version of this story was originally published in 2017; Updated for 2025.