April 3, 1934

Jane Goodall was born in London, England.

Age One

Jane was given a stuffed monkey, which she still has today.

1952

Jane graduated high school in 1952 but she couldn't afford university.

May, 1956

Jane's friend invited her to her family farm in Kenya. She worked as a waitress to save money for a boat fare.

April 2, 1957

Jane at 23 years old, traveled to Kenya by boat.

Louis Leakey and Jane

Jane met famous anthropologist and paleontologist Louis Leakey. He eventually hired her as his assistant and became her mentor. She traveled to Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania with him and his team. "I could have learned a whole lot more about fossils and become a paleontologist. But my childhood dream was as strong as ever–somehow I must find a way to watch free, wild animals living their own, undisturbed lives–I wanted to learn things that no one else knew, uncover secrets through patient observation. I wanted to come as close to talking to animals as I could.".

She began her chimpanzee study by Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. 

July 4, 1960

Jane and her mother, who was with her for three months, went to the chimpanzee reserve at Gombe National Park in Western Tanzania.