By Dannielle Maguire
Copyright abc
Primatologist Jane Goodall has died aged 91, leaving behind an impressive legacy in science and conservation.
Here’s a look back her her life in photos.
An animal lover from the start
Born in London on April 3, 1934, Dr Goodall showed an interest in animals and nature at an early age.
“Before she became the global icon we know today, Jane was a little girl in England with a stuffed chimpanzee named Jubilee and an insatiable curiosity about animals,” the institute wrote in an Instagram post.
“She spent hours observing hens laying eggs, climbed trees in her backyard, and dreamed of living among wildlife in Africa.”
“By the time she was 10, Jane was already a dedicated explorer of the natural world — observing worms, watching birds and chickens, and filling notebooks with her discoveries,” the institute said.
“Like one of her childhood heroes, Dr Doolittle, she wasn’t just fascinated by animals — she cared deeply about their well-being.”
She worked as a waitress to save enough money for a sea passage to Kenya and connected with palaeontologist Louis Leakey, who gave her a job as a secretary at the National Museum in Nairobi.
After spending time with Dr Leakey and his wife, Mary Leakey, on a dig in Olduvai Gorge in search of fossils, she was sent to study chimpanzees.
It was 1960, and authorities wouldn’t let her go without a companion, so her mother, Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, volunteered to go along.
Into the jungle
At 26 years old, Dr Goodall set up camp in what’s now known as Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park to observe chimpanzees.
Dr Goodall didn’t have a university degree or even any formal training, but her research went on to revolutionise the way we think about what separates humans from all other animals.
She was the first researcher to observe an animal creating and using a tool — something researchers used to think was unique to humans.
Dr Leakey arranged for her to do post-doctorate research at Cambridge University, where she was the eighth person to be admitted without having first completed an undergraduate degree.
Dr Goodall completed her doctoral thesis, called The Behaviour of Free-living Chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve, in 1965.
World-famous researcher
Her discovery made headlines around the world, making Dr Goodall an international celebrity.
But it wasn’t just Dr Goodall’s research that captured the media’s attention, with commentary about her looks featuring heavily in the coverage.
She later reflected on the “sensationalist articles” that made a point of “emphasising my blonde hair and referring to my legs”.
“Some scientists discredited my observations because of this — but that did not bother me so long as I got the funding to return to Gombe and continue my work,” she said.
She met her first husband, wildlife photographer Hugo Arndt Rodolf, Baron van Lawick, who was sent to document her research for National Geographic.
The pair married in 1964 and had their son Hugo — better known by his nickname Grub — in 1967.
They separated in 1974, with Dr Goodall marrying the director of Tanzania’s national parks, Derek Bryceson, in 1975.
Mr Bryceson died in 1980.
Campaigning for decades
Dr Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, initially to support the research at Gombe, but the scope of the foundation has since widened far beyond that.
As time went on, her focus shifted from purely science to environmental advocacy, promoting the cause of conservation.
In 1991, she founded Roots & Shoots, a humanitarian and environmental program aimed at encouraging young people to create positive change for the environment and their local communities.
Promoting conservation in her 90s
As Dr Goodall approached her ninth decade, she continued to promote her message of conservation.
Her main message was that of hope, last year embarking on her Reasons for Hope tour, which brought her to Australia.
She wasn’t afraid to utilise social media to get the word out there, appearing on the series Subway Takes, asking to “collaborate” with rapper Post Malone.
Her foundation even got in on the Barbie Movie marketing frenzy in 2023 — this came after Mattel released a Jane Goodall doll made from recycled ocean-bound plastic.
One of her last public appearances was at the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025 Global Business Forum in New York on September 24.
Dr Goodall will be remembered for her contributions to science, her environmental advocacy and her love of animals.
