Renowned Chimpanzee Expert Jane Goodall Dies At 91 In California

Jane Goodall, the world’s leading chimpanzee researcher and subject of over 40 documentaries, died Wednesday in California at age 91. The Jane Goodall Institute confirmed her death, stating “Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute has passed away due to natural causes. She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.” Goodall had been scheduled to speak at UCLA on Friday. Her groundbreaking 1960 discovery that chimpanzees could make and use tools transformed primatology. Born in London, she worked under anthropologist Louis S.B. Leakey starting in 1957. Goodall founded her institute in 1977, established the youth program Roots and Shoots, and created TACARE for sustainable African village development. Her work was featured in the Emmy-winning 2017 documentary “Jane.” (Story URL)