Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall welcomes the opportunity to speak to groups in both public and private settings. She travels and lectures more than 300 days per year, including an average of 75-90 days in the United States. Despite her extensive travel schedule, Dr. Goodall receives far more speaking invitations than she is able to accept. In the event that Dr.

April 3, 1934

• Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall is born in London, England.

Fall, 1939

• Jane hides for hours in henhouse to see how a hen lays an egg, unaware her family is frantically searching for her.

Christmas 1942

Jane’s Favorite Music

Classical

• Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor
• Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
• Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
• Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
• Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626
• Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944
• Strauss Waltzes

Contemporary

Below are some of our most frequently asked questions about Jane and her work. Click on a question to find the answer!

Jane Goodall loved animals even as a child. When she was just over one year old, her father gave her a toy chimpanzee, which she named Jubilee. She carried Jubilee with her everywhere. Today, more than 73 years later, Jubilee – now completely bald from so many hugs – sits on Jane’s dresser in England!

Jane Goodall arrived in Africa, full of dreams. Even as a child, she’d dreamed of living among wild animals and writing about them.Tarzan and Dr. Dolittle were her favorite books, and she knew she’d be a much better jungle companion for Tarzan than that other Jane. African wildlife adventures were an unlikely calling for a little girl in the 1930s and 1940s.