Jane Goodall, Pioneering Scientist Who First Discovered Tool-Use In Chimps, Dies At 91

Dame Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute announced on October 1. Tributes have poured in as people mourn the loss of one of the most important scientists and conservationists of the 20th century. 

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British-born Dr Jane Goodall began studying chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, in 1960. What followed was a 65-year study on wild chimpanzees, revealing many unknown behaviors and attributes that Goodall was the first to witness and describe. Among her many significant achievements were the discoveries that chimps ate meat, went to war, insights into their breeding,  and the groundbreaking discovery of tool use, a behavior she witnessed from a large male chimpanzee she had named David Greybeard, who was using a grass stem to reach insects inside a hole in the ground. 

The discovery was monumental; until that point, it was assumed only humans were intelligent enough to manipulate tools. Dr Goodall’s mentor, Louis Leakey, who had helped arrange her trip to Tanzania, famously said, “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.” 

In 1965, Goodall made the cover of National Geographic bringing her research and the lives of her chimpanzees to the wider world. Miss Goodall and the World of Chimpanzees was also broadcast on television the same year, narrated by Orson Wells. 

However, Goodall had no formal scientific training when she began her career, and her results were not always accepted, especially by male scientists. “When my first information about Gombe came out, about tool-using, there were scientists saying, 'Why should we believe her, she hasn’t been to college, she’s just a girl,' said Goodall in an interview with the New York Times last year. “The thing was, I never wanted to be a scientist. Because when I was growing up, women weren’t scientists.” 

Knowing she’d have to have some form of qualification to be taken seriously, Goodall was accepted into a PhD program at Cambridge, despite her lack of an undergraduate degree, based on her findings from her time in Tanzania. 

Throughout her life, but especially in her later years, Goodall became a tireless advocate for the natural world and its protection. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which was originally set up to support research on the chimpanzees at Gombe. There are now 25 Jane Goodall Institute offices in operation across the world. The Roots & Shoots non-profit program, which encourages young people to work on environmental and conservation issues, is working in over 65 countries. 

In 2002, she was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, an accolade she was reportedly especially proud of. In 2003, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) at Buckingham Palace. Earlier this year, she also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Goodall is also the author of 32 books, including 15 written for children. In 2022, Mattel released the Jane Goodall doll to honor the 62nd anniversary of Goodall’s first visit to the Gombe reserve.

Despite her many achievements, both humanitarian and scientific, Goodall showed no signs of slowing down; in fact, she spent 300 days of her 90th year giving talks and traveling. She died in Los Angeles, California, while on a speaking tour of the US. 

“Jane was a consummate storyteller and could hold an audience rapt and often tear-stained as she related her journey and life experiences. She left people stirred, enriched, and motivated. Her message of hope and humanity is too important to fail, so conservationists and scientists, everyone, should take up the baton," said Professor Chris West, Director of Koala Life and Adjunct Professor of Biodiversity Conservation at Flinders University, who knew Jane personally, in a statement.