8 Defining Facts About Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall was still a young woman when her research changed the course of scientific history. Of her discovery that chimpanzees make and use tools—an ability previously believed to belong only to humans—paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey famously said, "Now we must redefine 'tool,' redefine 'man,' or accept chimpanzees as humans."

1. A STUFFED ANIMAL CHANGED HER LIFE.

Jane met her first chimpanzee on her first birthday. From that day forward, the stuffed ape named Jubilee accompanied the little girl on all her adventures, inspiring the love of animals that would one day shift our views on animal intelligence.

Today, Goodall gives talks on animal welfare with the assistance of a stuffed monkey named Mr. H (shown above) and a cow named Cow, both gifts from her fans. "Cow has worked really hard," Goodall told Mosaic. "She has created I don't know how many vegetarians."

2. SHE STARTED HER RESEARCH WITHOUT A DEGREE.

Goodall's first steps into Gombe Stream National Park in 1960 were extraordinary for many reasons. The 26-year-old was only the second researcher to attempt to study chimpanzees in the wild, and she had no one with her aside from her mother and an assistant. She also had no formal scientific training—a fact that likely enabled her many breakthroughs. Unbound by preconceived notions of what animal research should be, the young scientist got close to her subjects, sat down, and paid attention.

3. BUT NOW SHE HAS PLENTY OF DEGREES …

Goodall became Dr. Goodall in 1966 when she received her Ph.D. in ethology (animal behavior) from the University of Cambridge. Since then, she's earned more diplomas than most walls could hold, with honorary degrees from nearly 40 universities in 15 different countries.

4. … AMONG OTHER TITLES.

Dr. Goodall is also a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a UN Ambassador for Peace, and the recipient of countless awards and honors for her scientific, humanitarian, and animal welfare work. For a brief period, during her marriage to wildlife photographer Baron Hugo van Lawick, she was also Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall.

5. HER WORK RUBBED A LOT OF PEOPLE THE WRONG WAY.

Historically, the scientific establishment has not taken kindly to upstarts and outsiders. Or women, for that matter. In the beginning, many established researchers held Goodall's unusual approach and lack of university pedigree against her. They found her methods soft and problematic—Goodall named her research subjects instead of giving them ID numbers, which caused a scandal—and some went so far as to suggest that the tool-using chimps had been trained. Over time, her body of research grew so compelling that her supporters outnumbered her detractors.

6. STEVIE NICKS WROTE A SONG ABOUT HER.

"She could look a challenge/right between the eyes …"

7. YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN HER IN CARTOON FORM.

In the 2001 Wild Thornberrys episode "The Trouble With Darwin," Goodall appeared, as herself, to help Eliza save chimpanzees from greedy poachers.

8. SHE'S STILL WORKING.

Goodall returned from the field in the 1980s, but her life's work had barely begun. For the last three decades, she's been on the road more than 300 days a year, giving talks and leading initiatives to improve the lives of chimpanzees, apes, and all animals in captivity and in the wild. With her urging, in 2015, the National Institutes of Health announced that it would retire the last of its chimpanzee research subjects.