Overview

• Her institute said on October 1 that she died of natural causes in California while on a U.S. lecture tour.
• Early Gombe findings showed chimpanzees make and use tools and exhibit complex social behavior, challenging assumptions about human uniqueness.
• She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and later launched ChimpanZoo and the Roots & Shoots youth program to advance primate welfare and environmental education.
• Named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2002, she continued traveling into her 90s to press for action on biodiversity loss and climate change.
• Her recognitions include a 1965 doctorate from Cambridge, a 1963 National Geographic cover, and the 2025 U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.