Washoe The Chimpanzee

 Washoe was a female common chimpanzee which was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language. Washoe learned about 350 words American Sign Language. Washoe also taught her adopted son Loulis some American Sign Language. Washoe was born in West Africa in 1965. She was captured for the research for the space program. Washoe was named for Washoe County, Nevada, where she was raised and taught to use American Sign Language. In 1967, Allen and Beatrix Gardner  made a project to teach Washoe American Sign Language at the University of Nevada. To show people the Washoe had learned a sign she had to use it appropriately for 14 straight days. Washoe had lived at Central Washington University since 1980, on October 3 2007, officials from the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute on the CWU campus said that she died at the age of 42.