John Goddard (born 1924/25) is an American adventurer, explorer, author, and lecturer.
In 1940, when he was 15 years old, he wrote down a list of 127 goals he wanted to accomplish, from learning to type and becoming an Eagle Scout to climbing Mt. Everest and exploring the Nile. "When I was 15," he told LIFE magazine, "all the adults I knew seemed to complain, 'Oh, if only I'd done this or that when I was younger.' They had let life slip by them. I was sure that if I planned for it, I could have a life of excitement and fun and knowledge".[1] After serving in World War II with the Army Air Forces, he began pursuing the goals on his list in earnest, and in 1951 became the first man to navigate the entire length of the Nile in a kayak; this and subsequent adventures, such as exploring the Congo River in 1956 and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1968, fueled a successful career on the lecture circuit.[2] Goddard has written two books: The Survivor(ISBN 1558746951) and Kayaks Down the Nile (ISBN 0842513655), and been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul. He has lived to see the 21st century.