Jane Goodall

( 1934- )

Jane Goodall was born in London, England in 1934. When she was young she had her heart set on studying wild animals in Africa. She finished school at 18 and went to work as a secretary. Then a group of friends asked her to come to Africa with them. Her dream was coming true! A month later, she met Dr. Louis Leakey. He was a famous scientist who was studying prehistoric man. He and Jane did a lot of work on chimpanzees. Dr. Leakey was impressed by Jane's interest in chimpanzees. He brought her to study chimps in the wild. Jane had to get the animals to trust her before she could see them up close. One morning one of the chimps took the leaves off a stick. He wet the end and poked it into a termite hole. Then he licked the insects off the stick. He had altered the stick as a tool. Until that time, scientists thought only man made tools. Jane also proved that chimps ate meat not just leaves. During her research she returned to England several times. Although she had not gone to college, she was still working toward a Ph.D. degree. She received the degree in 1965. Today she still studies in Africa as much as possible.

The Jane Goodall Institute Website

1998, by Jon, fourth grade

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