Gould, Stephen Jay

Evolutionary biologist, paleontologist, and science writer 1941-

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-) is an American evolutionary biologist, paleontologist, and science writer. Gould teaches at Harvard University and is known in the lay community for his essays in the Natural History journal. In the scientific community he is known for his ideas on evolutionary theory. He has been awarded many literary and academic honors, including the National Book Award and a MacArthur Prize.

Born on September 10, 1941, in New York City, Gould grew up in Queens, New York. His father was a court stenographer and an accomplished amateur naturalist. At five years of age, while taking a trip with his father to the American Museum of Natural History, Gould saw a reconstruction of the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex. From then on, he was intrigued by science.

During his high school years, Gould was disappointed in the way evolution was depicted in biology textbooks. As a consequence, he began to read the original works of Charles Darwin. Gould received a B.A. from Antioch College in 1963. He was awarded a Ph.D. in paleontology from Columbia University in 1967.

Gould then became assistant professor of geology at Harvard University. In addition, he was appointed curator of invertebrate paleontology at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. At around this time he expanded his study of land snails to the West Indies and other parts of the world.

In the early 1970s Gould introduced his most noted contribution to evolutionary theory, the concept of punctuated equilibrium. Along with Niles Eldridge, he proposed that new species are created by evolutionary changes that occur in rapid bursts over periods as short as a few thousand years, separated by periods of stability in which there is little further change. This contrasts with Darwin's classical theory in which species develop slowly over millions of years at fairly constant rates.

In 1981 Gould served as expert witness in a lawsuit in Little Rock, Arkansas, that challenged a state requirement that so-called creation science be taught. He challenged the literal interpretation of the Bible, stating that Noah's flood could not account for fossil remains around the world. Partly as a result of Gould's testimony, the State of Arkansas legally acknowledged that creationism was a religion and not a science and therefore could not take the place of a scientific curriculm taught in Arkansas public schools.

Gould is widely known for his many books on natural history, paleontology, and biological evolution, including The Mismeasure of Man (1981), Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes (1983), The Flamingo's Smile (1985), Wonderful Life (1989), and Eight Little Piggies (1993).