Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall began watching chimpanzees at Gombe in Tanzania in 1960, sponsored by Louis Leakey, and the study has run ever since, the longest continuous study of wild chimpanzees. Its length revealed things a short study could not: tool use passed down families, a four-year war between communities and the life histories of individuals. Tanzanian field assistants have kept daily records for decades, and the work continues after her death in October 2025.