Jane Goodall, Feminist Icon And Scientific Trailblazer, Dies At 91 After A Life Of Defiance, Discovery, And Hope
By Erin Whitten
Jane Goodall, the groundbreaking primatologist who redefined the bond between humans and animals, while simultaneously busting through scientific and gender barriers in the process has died at 91. Her death was confirmed by The Jane Goodall Institute on Wednesday posted on a statement to her Instagram, stating she died of natural causes while on a speaking tour in California.
Goodall first rose to fame in the 1960s for her work in Gombe, Tanzania, where she made the then-revolutionary observation that wild chimpanzees make and use tools, behavior that was previously believed to be uniquely human. Her long-term, immersive field research permanently shifted scientific and public understandings of primates and upended assumptions that had long defined anthropology, biology, and psychology.
Jane Goodall’s impact stretched FAR beyond her research. She was one of the most visible women in science at a time when the field was male-dominated. She encountered skepticism and derision from male peers for giving her subjects names and expressing emotion in her writing, which are now standard practice in animal behavioral studies. She was also a magnet for media fascination and, at times, scrutiny or objectification for her appearance but yet she never let it deter her.
In one of her last public interviews, conducted on the Call Her Daddy podcast just one day before her 91st birthday, Goodall looked back on her decades-long career. Sitting across from host Alex Cooper, Goodall accepted a bottle of whiskey and, without skipping a beat, said, “I don’t much like water.” From there, Goodall spoke of her decades-long mission to protect chimpanzees, and of the more recent work she had been doing to urge people to take action on the growing environmental crises facing the world.
“We’re going through dark times,” she said. “The big problem is people are losing hope.” Goodall never lost hope. Through the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots, a global youth program she created that is now active in more than 75 countries, she continued to advocate for education, sustainability, and community until the end.
Even in her 90s, she would travel hundreds of days per year, often speaking directly to young people, activists, and world leaders about the power of individual action at a local level. She often described her drive as a sense of obligation not only to the animals she had dedicated her life to protecting, but to those who would follow. Tributes from scientists, celebrities, politicians, and everyday admirers have poured in since her death was announced on Wednesday. Many remember her not just as a primatology pioneer, but as a global force for compassion and action, and as a feminist pioneer who modeled what it could mean to lead on one’s own terms. Jane Goodall made space where there was none, and now, no one’s going to forget who opened the door.
