Anne Innis Dagg
A trailblazing zoologist who ventured alone into the South African veld to become the first scientist to study giraffe behavior in the wild.
1933–2024 (age 91)·Canadian zoologist, feminist, and author·Birthday: January 25·The Silent Generation
Biography
Anne Innis Dagg was a pioneer who refused to be fenced in by academic convention or gender barriers. In 1956, years before Jane Goodall set foot in Gombe, the 23-year-old Canadian traveled alone to South Africa to study the behavior of wild giraffes—a scientific first. Facing immense logistical and social challenges, she conducted groundbreaking research that formed the basis of modern giraffe biology. Upon returning, however, she encountered a rigid academic system that repeatedly denied her tenure despite her publications, bluntly exposing its sexism. This injustice fueled her second act as a fierce feminist author, analyzing systemic discrimination in universities. Her early contributions to zoology were largely forgotten until late in life, when documentaries and awards finally celebrated the woman who loved giraffes and changed how we see them.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Anne was born in 1933, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1933
#1 Movie
King Kong
Best Picture
Cavalcade
Anne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1933Born
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1938Started school
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1946Became a teenager
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Could drive
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1951Could vote
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Turned 21
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1963Turned 30
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 40
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 50
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 60
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 70
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 80
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2024Died at 91
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
Key Achievements
- Conducted the first-ever scientific study of wild giraffe behavior in South Africa in 1956–57.
- Authored the seminal 1976 book 'The Giraffe: Its Biology, Behavior, and Ecology,' a foundational text for the field.
- Wrote influential feminist critiques of academia, including 'The Feminine Gaze: A Canadian Compendium of Non-Fiction Women Authors' and ''Harrassment' and 'Employment Equity'.
Did You Know?
She traveled to South Africa to study giraffes after writing to over a hundred game wardens; only one agreed to host her.
She earned her PhD in biology from the University of Waterloo in 1967 with a thesis on giraffe locomotion.
The 2018 documentary 'The Woman Who Loves Giraffes' brought her story to a wide audience.
She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019.
“I was told that women weren't allowed to do that sort of thing. I thought that was ridiculous.”
