Jane Goodall

There were no jets going over with tourists.

And we just heard rumors about, you know, poisoned arrows and sinister drumbeat messages and things like that.

But my mother never laughed.

So I left school and didn't go to university because at that time in England, unless you were good in a foreign language, you couldn't get a scholarship.

And I was always hopeless in foreign languages.

And so my mother said, well, if you are set on going to Africa or some other foreign place, if you learn secretarial work, then you can get a job anywhere in the world, which, of course, was a brilliant idea because that's exactly what I did.

I had my first job with Louis Leakey as his secretary.

How did you get a job as a secretary?

How did you even meet him?

Well, I was in London and I had this wonderful job with documentary films and it was... As a secretary?

Well, secretary, not really.

I sort of was choosing music and things like that for these documentary films.

And it was a fascinating job and I met lots of people but didn't pay very well.

Lots of jobs didn't just after the war.

So when I had a letter from a school friend inviting me to Kenya where her parents had just bought a farm...

I instantly handed in my resignation and went home and worked as a waitress and saved up my wages and my tips until I had enough for a return fare by boat.

So once I got out to Kenya in Nairobi, I heard about Louis Leakey and somebody said, Jane, if you really are interested in animals, you should meet Louis.

So I made an appointment immediately.

went to see him in his office at the Natural History Museum.

And I think he was impressed because although I didn't have a degree, I'd gone on reading about Africa and animals and I could answer so many of his questions.