Overview
- Her death on Oct. 1 was announced by the Jane Goodall Institute, which said she was 91 and in California for events.
- Beginning in 1960 at Gombe Stream, her fieldwork documented chimpanzee tool use, rich social bonds, cooperative hunting and intergroup violence, reshaping views of non-human behavior.
- She transformed scientific renown into a global conservation effort, founding the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots education program active across dozens of countries.
- Goodall remained a prominent public advocate into her 90s, traveling extensively and receiving the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom on Jan. 4, 2025.
- In Italy, her institute pressed in 2020 for stronger standards for great apes in zoos, a proposal supporters say still awaits government approval.