Dr. Jane Goodall: her life and her legacy

By:  Matt Morcelle, Contributor

In a small residential community in London, in April of 1935, Mortimer Morris-Goodall gave his daughter a stuffed toy chimpanzee for her first birthday. Mr. Goodall’s wife, Margaret Joseph, was horrified by the little creature, but little Jane hugged her new friend, Jubilee, with an unprecedented smile and a sparkle in her eyes. Now, over 90 years later, little Jane may not be the same little girl she was, but that sparkle in her eyes never went away, and her fondness for the natural world only grew. As any aspiring scientist would do, she became curious, she asked questions and she intended to find the answers to each and every single one of them. Jane Goodall’s journey from a curious child to a pioneer of science redefined how we understand animals and inspired generations to pursue not only science but also the natural world with passion.

By the time young Jane was two, she practically lived in the public gardens of London. She convinced her family to house a series of pets, starting with a tortoise, then a dog, the occasional insects, a pony, horse and chickens. There is one account in Autumn of 1939 where young Jane snuck away to the chicken coup and waited to return home only after the sun had set and her family had recruited neighbors to search for her. At the age of five, she had wondered how a hen lays eggs, so she sat still, enveloped in straw for five hours straight until she observed the answer.

As Jane stated on multiple occasions, she had “Africa in her blood.” She started working tirelessly as a waitress to save enough money for a sea passage to Kenya. During this time, she was advised to reach out to the renowned Dr. Louis Leakey. Surprisingly enough for Jane, he hired her as a secretary at the National Museum in Nairobi. Leakey, after observing Jane’s work ethic, decided to offer her a spot on his trip to the forest of Gombe in Tanzania. In her time there, she had multiple groundbreaking discoveries in the chimpanzee community such as tool use, emotions and even individual personalities while working specifically with David Greybeard and Flo, two chimpanzees that she recalled very fondly.

As a woman in an increasingly male-dominated field of study, she knew she had to work harder to be heard. So, what did she do? Without any previous degrees, Jane pursued her PhD in ethology at the University of Cambridge, England. Her doctoral thesis, The Behavior of Free-living Chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve, was completed in 1965. This study would turn into a project that continues even today.

Jane Goodall wasn’t just a scientist, she was a humanitarian and an activist. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports wildlife research and conservation. In 1991, she founded the Roots for Shoots Program, which is a youth-led movement that is now active in over 100 countries and encourages young people to make a difference on environmental and community levels. Jane was a huge voice in many political and legal battles against animal testing, habitat destruction and the illegal wildlife trade. She also advocated for the sustainable development of rural community-led conservation efforts. 

Throughout her career she published 32 books, not including journals and research papers, and contributed to over 40 films. She was awarded many brilliant awards and honors in her life, some of which include the 1990 Kyoto Prize, the 2002 UN Messenger of Peace, the 2021 Templeton Prize and the 2025 United States Presidential Medal of Freedom.

It is also important not to neglect how many lives Dr. Jane Goodall impacted on a personal level. Whether you grew up watching documentaries or got to see Dr. Goodall give live lectures, she touched millions of lives all around the world. Elyssa Wallis, a second-year animal behavior, ecology and conservation (ABEC)  major, commented that “learning more about what research Jane Goodall did, how she did it and her findings did impact me. I realized I wanted to do research like her and continue to advocate for animals because of how revolutionary her story was.” Elyssa isn’t the only student who feels this way either. Lily McMenemy, another second-year ABEC major, commented that “imagining a life and career anything like the one this woman led, I set my heart on Canisius. Jane Goodall gave me my future. I’m here because I decided to follow in her footsteps.” Not only did Dr. Goodall impact the up-and-coming students but also the veterans of the scientific community. Dr. Susan Margulis, a seasoned primatologist and ABEC professor, commented, “I think if you asked any ABEC major, they would say that Jane Goodall inspired them. Jane really demonstrated that you can be a solid scientist, and also care about the world in ways that were not really appreciated 60 or 70 years ago.”

After reading 21of her 32 published works and watching all of the films available, I found that the most impressive thing about Jane Goodall’s story is her pursuit of her goals regardless of the gender barriers. When she stepped onto the red soil of Tanzania for the first time, she had nothing but curiosity, determination and a notebook. She didn’t have a fancy lab or a degree, but she had patience, empathy and an unshakable belief that what she was doing mattered. Jane proved that being a woman in science wasn’t a challenge; it was her strength. She trusted herself when everyone else doubted her, she challenged outdated methods of research and chose to see animals as individuals, not just numbers or data points. Beyond her discoveries, she became a symbol of what it means to believe in yourself and pursue your dreams. With her recent passing, she leaves behind a legacy that is too much for any one person to carry. Her legacy lies within all of us, every soul that she has touched and every positive difference that we make in the world. The world will never be the same without Dr. Jane Goodall, but it is one hell of a better place than it was before her.