Exhibition Visionary Female Researchers: Jane Goodall

Dame Jane Morris Goodall, born on 3 April 1934 in London, is a world-renowned zoologist and primatologist who is considered a leading expert on chimpanzees. She has spent more than six decades studying the behaviour of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, gaining groundbreaking insights that have not only revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees, but also raised awareness of conservation issues worldwide.

Goodall's fascination with animals and nature was evident from childhood, and her favourite film was, of course, ‘Tarzan’. After finishing school, she attended a secretarial college, but her dream of exploring Africa never left her. In 1957, she travelled to Kenya at the invitation of a former schoolmate, where she worked at the Kenya National Museum and met the famous paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. Leakey recognised her potential and commissioned her to study the behaviour of chimpanzees, which laid the foundation for her future career.

In 1960, Goodall set up camp in Gombe Stream National Park for the first time. Less than six months after her arrival, she made a discovery that is considered one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century: she observed a chimpanzee, whom she named ‘David Greybeard,’ breaking off a branch and using it as a tool to catch termites from a mound. This observation refuted the assumption that only humans were capable of making and using tools. In addition, she discovered that chimpanzees consume not only plants but also meat, which greatly expanded our understanding of their dietary habits. Although Goodall did not have a university degree, she was granted special permission to study at Cambridge University and was awarded a doctorate in 1962 after three years.

Parallel to her rise to become the world's leading primatologist, Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, which is dedicated to nature conservation and animal welfare. To raise awareness of the endangered status of chimpanzees, she began giving public lectures. The Roots & Shoots programme, which she also founded, is a global, ecological and humanitarian youth programme that was instrumental in her appointment as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

After more than 25 years in the field, she decided to devote more of her time to protecting chimpanzees, as pressure on their habitat was increasing due to the growing human population and its associated needs, such as firewood and agricultural land. Goodall recognised early on that it was not enough to simply prohibit hunting by people living near chimpanzees. She advocated working closely with local communities and taking social and economic aspects into account. Her approach to providing development aid from the bottom up led to the establishment of the TACARE programme in 1994, which is active in over 100 villages around Gombe National Park. She herself summed it up as follows: ‘How can we tell people who barely have enough to survive about nature conservation if we don't first help them improve their living conditions?’

Goodall is a living example of how much one person can change. Her research has inspired many women to become primatologists, and she has contributed to the fact that today it is predominantly women who are leading long-term studies and research into primate behaviour. Since 2022, Goodall has also been on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project, which advocates for animal rights and the abolition of animal testing.

Although at the end of her life she only spent a few weeks a year in Gombe National Park, her visits are very important to her. Her long-time friend and colleague Anthony Collins describes her visits as follows: "In the morning, she gets a cup of coffee, a slice of bread and a banana and disappears. I don't ask her where she's going, and she doesn't tell me. She is then alone in the forest, and ideally the chimpanzees find her."

Jane Goodall's life's work has not only changed our understanding of chimpanzees but also raised awareness of nature conservation worldwide. She was one of the most prominent voices in the fight for animal rights and environmental protection, inspiring people around the world to work for a better future for animals and nature.

In 2025, the Gombe Stream Research Center celebrates its 65th anniversary. Researchers continue to conduct long-term studies that combine behavior, health, genetics, and conservation. That same year, Jane Goodall is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the United States—in recognition of her lifelong commitment to environment, science, and humanity. Jane Goodall dies on 1 October 2025, at the age of 91, while on a lecture tour in California.