Stephen Jay Gould



Stephen J. Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) is considered one of the best known and most popularly read scientists of the 20th century. Gould believed in evolution and was a paleontologist and professor at Harvard University. Among his contributions to science were his monthly articles with Natural History magazine for 25 years.

Gould graduated from Antioch University with a geology degree and earned his Ph.D. in paleontology from Columbia University four years later. His job descriptions include being Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Professor of Geology at Harvard University, Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, a member of the Department of the History of Science, and Vincent Astor Visiting Research Professor of Biology at New York University.

Gould taught and wrote on challenging ideas such as racial groups, human intelligence, and structure of organisms. He studied Darwin's works and continued to teach according to Darwin's ideas. Gould was dedicated to his beliefs and opposed any consideration other than evolution. After a court case decided that teaching creation science alongside evolution was unconstitutional, he saw this as "successful completion of a sixty-year battle against creationism (since the Scopes Trial of 1925) in our resounding Supreme Court victory (Edwards vs. Aguillard) of 1987."

Gould's contribution to the controversy of Creation vs. Evolution has fired many new ideas and theories that scientists and educators struggle with and debate today.

Publications

 * Evolution as Fact and Theory Stephen J. Gould, May 1981
 * The Structure of Evolutionary Theory A technical scientific book on macroevolutionary theory. 2002

Related References

 * Evolution as Fact and Theory Speak out Against the New Right, Beacon Press, Edited by Herbert F. Vetter
 * Photo Resources for Socialists Marxsite.com
 * Stephen Jay Gould Windows to the Universe, June 13, 2002
 * Stephen J. Gould Stanford Presidential Lectures in the Humanities and Arts, Henry Lowood, Standford University, 1998
 * Death of a Paleontologist New York Times Editorial, May 21, 2002

Stephen Jay Gould