Jane Goodall (1934) is a British zoologist who studies animal behaviors.  She became famous for her work with chimpanzees.  Goodall began her research in 1960 in Tanzania, a country in East Africa.  She lived in a grass hut in the GombeStreamNational Park.  The park is located in the Tanzania jungle.  There Jane studied chimpanzees for months from afar.  Once she had earned their trust they allowed her to get near them.  For years she wrote everything down in behavioral journals. Jane was able to have close and daily contact with the chimpanzees.   

Scientists thought that chimpanzees ate only fruits and vegetables.  Jane Goodall discovered that they actually hunted and ate larger animals including monkeys and pigs.  The most important discovery Jane made was chimpanzees were smart enough to construct tools. They would take long twigs and place the twigs into a tree where termites lived.  The termites would crawl up the twig.  The chimpanzees would eat the termites.  Jane determined that chimanzees made and used tools like human beings.  This separated them from all others animals.

Jane Goodall also discovered that chimpanzees would kill off another large family of chimpanzees to defend their own territory.  So she discovered that chimpanzees hunted, made tools and engaged in warfare like human beings.

Jane Goodall earned her Ph.D. from Cambridge University in England.  Today, Jane is a spokes woman for UNICEF which is part of the United Nations. She works with Green Peace, an international environmental organization that works towards the protection of wild life including human beings.    

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.  Before he became president he had been governor of Virginia and vice president to John Adams.  Thomas is best known for writing the Declaration of Independence which stated that the 13 colonies were free from British rule.

Thomas Jefferson was a great thinker.  He thought about politics and government.  He believed that people could rule themselves without much government control.  He also believed in the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech.

Thomas Jefferson had many talents.  He designed his own home called Monticello.  He invented a plow, a lab desk, and a machine that could figures out codes

When he was President, Jefferson doubled the land size of the United States by purchasing in 1803 a huge amount of land from France. The land stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains  

After Thomas Jefferson stopped being present he established The University of Virginia.  He also advised two other presidents: James Madison and James Monroe.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish writer and poet famous for his children’s stories.  These include The Steadfast Tin Solider, Tin Soldier, the Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, and The Ugly Ducking.

During his life time he was known for having made children happy and was courted by royalty.  His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages.  They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, animated films.

Hans’ father died when he was young.  Therefore, there was little money and Hans attended a poor school.  At 14 he went to Copenhagen, the capitol of Denmark.  There he nearly starved until a friend; Jonas Colin helped him get a royal scholarship.

Hans published his first play in 1829.  At first his stories were printed in booklets.  In 1835, Andersen published his first fairy tales.  His stories became popular in the 1840s and made him famous.  He met royalty and famous people.  One of these people was the Charles Dickenson.  He traveled throughout Europe reading his stories to children until his death in 1875. 

Denmark still celebrates their wonderful fairy tale writer. When you sail into Copenhagen you will see a huge statue of the little mermaid.