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Stephen Jay Gould
Sign in to saveAmerican biologist and historian of science (1941–2002)
Stephen Jay Gould was an American biologist and historian of science who lived from 1941 to 2002 and became one of the most influential scientific voices of his time. He is remembered for his contributions to evolutionary biology and his ability to communicate complex scientific ideas to general audiences through his writing.
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Film & TV
New York City, New York, USA
Known for
- Reich: Three Tales — Self2002
- Van de Schoonheid en de Troost — himself2000
- The Sterilization of Leilani Muir — Himself1996
- Baseball — Self1994
- A Glorious Accident — himself1993
- The Simpsons — Stephen Jay Gould (voice)1989
- NOVA — Self1974
via TMDB
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Jay
- Family name
- Gould
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Queens
- Place of death
- New York City
- Occupation
- botanist
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- agnosticism
- Notable work
- punctuated equilibrium
- Doctoral advisor
- Norman D. Newell
- Field of work
- evolution
- Image
- Stephen Jay Gould.jpg
- Residence
- Queens
Show 13 more facts
- Commons category
- Stephen Jay Gould
- cause of death
- lung cancer
- date of birth
- 1941-09-10
- date of death
- 2002-05-20
- birth name
- Stephen Jay Gould
- manner of death
- natural causes
- topic's main category
- Category:Stephen Jay Gould
- nominated for
- Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
- influenced by
- Peter Kropotkin
- name in native language
- Stephen Jay Gould
- P6944
- Stephen Jay Gould
- ethnic group
- Jewish people
Sources (12)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Stephen Jay Gould (/ɡuːld/ GOOLD; September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, historian of science, and one of the most widely read authors of popular science of his generation. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential figures in evolutionary biology. Gould spent most of his career teaching at Harvard University and working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In 1996, Gould was hired as the Vincent Astor Visiting Research Professor of Biology at New York University, after which he divided his time teaching between there and Harvard.
Gould's most significant contribution to evolutionary biology was the theory of punctuated equilibrium developed with Niles Eldredge in 1972. The theory proposes that most evolution is characterized by long periods of evolutionary stability, infrequently punctuated by swift periods of branching speciation. The theory was contrasted against phyletic gradualism, the popular idea that evolutionary change is marked by a pattern of smooth and continuous change in the fossil record.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Stephen Jay Gould” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.