Overview

• The Jane Goodall Institute said she died of natural causes in the Los Angeles area while on a U.S. speaking tour, and local officials reported no foul play.
• Her Gombe research in the 1960s documented chimpanzee tool use, meat eating, social bonds and intergroup violence, narrowing the perceived gap between humans and other primates.
• She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and launched the Roots & Shoots youth program in 1991, building a global conservation network that continues her work.
• Major honors included being made a Dame in 2003 and receiving the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025, alongside her role as a UN Messenger of Peace.
• Leaders and organizations worldwide—from the United Nations to Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Greenpeace and others—issued statements praising her scientific impact and lifelong advocacy.