Another Honor for Chimp Expert

Posted by Evelyn Kanter Mar 2, 2007

Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzees in Tanzania in June 1960, under the mentorship of famed anthropologist and paleontologist Louis Leakey.

Her work at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve became the foundation of future research on primates. More importantly, it redefined the relationship between humans and animals. Among her greatest findings is the use of tools by chimpanzees, a behavior long believed to be unique to us Homo sapiens.

In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute. In 30 years, JGI has become a global organization supporting the research at Gombe and programs elsewhere for research, education, community development and conservation.

On March 18, 2007, Goodall receives the 2007 Roger Tory Peterson Medal. It is presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History. She also will give a lecture on her lifelong passion of protecting our animal and environmental heritage for future generations.

Goodall has shared those passions through her books and many television appearances over the years. And if you are like me, your love of adventure travel was nurtured by sharing her adventures on those many TV documentaries.

The Harvard award and lecture is named for Roger Tory Peterson, the naturalist and author of the legendary Peterson Field Guide to Birds. It is the latest in a long list of honors for Goodall -- which include --

• United Nations UN Messenger of Peace
• the Medal of Tanzania
• the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal
• Japan's prestigious Kyoto Prize
• Gandhi/King Award for Nonviolence
• Franklin Institute’s Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life and Science
• Spain’s coveted Prince of Asturias Award.

In 2004, Goodall was awarded England’s highest honor, Dame of the British Empire, at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, and in 2006, she received France’s highest honor, the French Legion of Honor.

Jane Goodall is -- quite simply -- one of the most remarkable people on the planet.