Jane Goodall, DBE, is a celebrated authority in primatology. Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, she is credited for some of the most seminal studies on chimpanzees.

Most importantly, she broke down barriers delineating women from primatology. She effectively opened doors for such female primatologists as Birute Galdikas, Cheryl Knott, Dian Fossey, and Penny Patterson.

On Dr. Louis Leakey’s recommendation, Jane Goodall signed on to study chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960. Goodall had met the famous anthropologist on a trip to Kenya in 1957, after which she became his secretary.

Jane Goodall came at close range with the creatures at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Lake Tanganyika. With her mother as chaperone, Goodall endured a bout of malaria as she tried to approach chimps as close as possible.

It took months before Goodall was able to approach her first chimp, which she named David Greybeard. In one of the most important discoveries in primatology, Goodall observed how David used leaves and twigs to scoop food and drink rainwater. Until this discovery, the general consensus was that only humans fashioned tools for anything.

In 1965, Jane Goodall founded the Gombe Stream Research Centre, which yielded even more insights on chimps. One of the most startling was a bloody war among Gombe chimps in 1974, which immediately drew comparisons with humans. Later, Goodall discovered chimps’ propensity for adopting others’ offspring.

Elevating the Gombe studies to worldwide consciousness, Jane Goodall established her eponymous Institute in 1977. It is among the premier chimpanzee nonprofits in the world, whose Roots & Shoots program alone spans 96 countries.

In 2002, the United Nations set Goodall apart as a “Messenger of Peace.” The body also honored her with the Ghandi-King Award for Non-Violence and Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science.

In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed on her the title of Dame of the British Empire (DBE). Three years later, she received the French Legion of Honor.

Jane Goodall had also garnered the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal as well as the 1996 William Proctor Prize for Scientific Achievement.

While Jane Goodall did not have a college degree, the number of academic honors conferred on her more than compensated for the lack thereof. She remains one of the few persons who received a Ph.D. from Cambridge University sans an undergraduate degree. On top of her Ph.D. in ethology, Jane has received honorary doctorates from various universities.