Dian Fossey

While studying at Darwin College, Dian Fossey discovered that she was pregnant. She aborted the foetus.

During her African safari, Dian Fossey met Alexie Forrester, the brother of her ex-boyfriend in Louisville. She and Forrester later became engaged though they never married.

In her later years, she became involved with Bob Campbell who was already married at that time. Eventually, the duo parted ways.

Dian Fossey was born on January 16, 1932 in San Francisco, California, the USA to Kathryn, a fashion model, and her husband, George E. Fossey III, an insurance agent.

When Dian was six, her parents divorced and her mother went on to marry businessman Richard Price. Fossey’s father tried to keep contact with the family but her mother discouraged it.

Her stepfather ill-treated her. He would not allow her to sit at the dining table for meals. Struggling with personal insecurities, Fossey turned to animals to gain some love and acceptance.

She started learning horse riding and by her graduation in 1954, she had established herself as an equestrienne.

Fossey attended Lowell High School and later enrolled in a business course at College of Marin as per her stepfather’s wishes.

Dian Fossey was once asked to join the Henrys on an African tour. Although she turned down the offer at first due to lack of finances, later she borrowed $8,000 and took out her life savings to make this trip a reality.

Finally in September 1963, Fossey arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. There, she met safari guide John Alexander who helped her explore Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Rhodesia. His route included the saline lake of Manyara; Tsavo, Africa's largest national park; and the Ngorongoro Crater.

While touring Africa, Fossey also got to visit the archaeological site of Louis and Mary Leakey, Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. There she met the Leakeys and discussed with them the significance of long-term research on the great apes.

By October 1963, she was residing in the Travellers Rest, Walter Baumgartel's hotel in Uganda. Baumgartel, an advocate of gorilla conservation, introduced Fossey to wildlife photographers Alan and Joan Root. She was given the opportunity to camp behind the couple’s camp and ultimately got a chance to encounter wild mountain gorillas for the first time.

She then returned to Louisville to pay back her loans. After her trip, she published three articles for ‘The Courier-Journal’ newspaper, describing her visit to Africa.

In December 1966, Dian Fossey was on her way to Africa once again. With the help of Leakey and Joan Root, she acquired the necessary provisions and set off for Congo in a Land Rover purchased by Leakey, which she named “Lily”.

On her way, she visited the Gombe Stream Research Centre and met Jane Goodall and observed her research methods with chimpanzees.

She started her field study in Kabara in early 1967. She worked tirelessly every day until the day she was driven away from the camp during a political upheaval. On July 9, 1967, soldiers arrived at her camp to escort her and her research workers to a military base. Fossey eventually had to spend two weeks in Rumangabo under military guard.

She managed to escape somehow and went straight to the Travellers Rest Hotel, where Baumgärtel called the Ugandan military to get the soldiers arrested.

She finally flew back to Nairobi where she and Dr. Leakey decided that she would continue her job on the Rwandan side of the Virungas.