Remembering the life and contributions of the revolutionary primatologist
On Oct. 1, 2025, the Jane Goodall Institute sadly announced the passing of Jane Goodall, a British beloved scientist and environmental activist. At the time of her passing, Goodall was in California, making a stop on her speaking tour in the United States, promoting the need for climate protection and action. She was 91 years old at the time of her death and passed away from natural causes. Goodall’s career spanned over 65 years, and during this time, she revolutionized not only her own field of primatology, but the ways in which researchers think of and practice ecology. Specializing in the study of chimpanzees, she was notably the first person to discover that the primates created and used tools. In her later years, she expanded her practice to advocate more generally for what she described as “the three crises:” biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental inequality. But in order to fully understand the immeasurable impact of Goodall’s work, it is crucial to consider the grassroots of passion that informed her career.
Born in 1934 in Hampstead, U.K., Goodall spent her childhood reading about animals and aspiring to study them one day. In a 2025 interview with Alex Cooper on the Call her Daddy podcast, Goodall recalled her mother’s impact on her life, citing her as one of the reasons Goodall felt capable of travelling abroad to pursue her dreams. Although many people throughout her life told her becoming a scientist was unrealistic as a young girl, her mother offered unwavering support. According to Goodall, “she said, if you really want to do this, you are going to have to work really hard, take advantage of every opportunity. And if you don’t give up, hopefully you will find a way.” As a result, her early adulthood was spent waitressing in order to save up the passenger fare that would take her to Africa. She wanted to study and write about wildlife, and she made that dream come true at the age of 26, as she boarded a ship to Kenya.
Upon landing in Nairobi, Kenya, she began working as a secretary at the National Museum, where she would meet her eventual mentor, Louis Leakey. Goodall accompanied Leakey and his wife, Mary, to the Olduvai Gorge on an expedition for fossils, marking her first scientific exploration. Continuing her study under Leakey, Goodall and her mother accompanied him in 1960 to Gombe, Tanzania, where Goodall would perform monumental research on chimpanzees, observing affectionate behaviour between them thought only to be present in humans (such as kisses or pats on the back), and patterns of social hierarchy and aggression. These discoveries reshaped previously held conceptions of what behaviour was unique to human beings, and the depth of intelligence that animals could possess.
Goodall’s life was anything but ordinary. At the suggestion of Leakey, she received her Ph.D in Ethology from Cambridge, at Newnham College. Although her home base has always been in Bournemouth, U.K., she was known to travel for work 300 days of the year. Over the course of her life, she authored 27 books for both children and adults. She was a messenger of peace for the UN, and the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, which uses “community-centred conservation” to improve biodiversity and habitat loss, as well as regional inequality through donations, volunteer work and implementing initiatives to create impactful change across the world. She was the first person to observe chimpanzees using tools, and one of the first individuals to note that animals could have complex inner lives worthy of studying, beyond only considering their anatomy. In all aspects of her life, she was a trailblazer.
During her last recorded interview with Netflix titled “Dr. Jane Goodall’s Final Message To The World,” Goodall’s last public words were about finding our place within this world and contributing positively to Earth’s larger story. “I want to make sure that you all understand, that each and every one of you has a role to play. You may not know it, you may not find it, but you are here for a reason. And I just hope that reason will become apparent as you live through your life,” said Goodall. The Jane Goodall Institute stated that it will be continuing Goodall’s mission to protect the environment and combat climate change. However, her legacy is carried on by everyone who continues to fight for a more just tomorrow, fostering hope for animals, the climate, and people alike. In her final interview, Goodall left the world with one last touching reminder: “Every single day you live, you make a difference in the world. And you get to choose the difference that you make.”