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Period: to
World War II
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Stephen Jay Gould is born
Born in New York, New York. -
Gould discovers his future in geology
His father took him to the American Museum of Natural History when Gould was five years old. It was here that Gould saw his first dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus rex, and decided that he was going to devote his life to the study of geologic periods. -
Period: to
The Cold War
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Death of King George IV
Elizabeth becomes Queen. -
Gould completes his Undergraduate degree
Completes Undergraduate degree in geology at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. -
Gould marries his first wife
He marries Deborah Lee, an artist and writer, whom he met at Antioch College. They have two children together, Jesse and Ethan. -
Gould becomes a Professor of Geology
He leaves New York to become a Professor of Geology at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. -
Gould receives his Ph.D.
Receives his Ph.D. in paleontology at Columbia University in New York. -
Gould takes an assistant professorship
Gould moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take an assistant professorship for geology at Harvard University. In that same year he finished his doctoral work, completing his degree program from Columbia. -
Gould is promoted to associate professor
He is promoted to associate professor of geology at Harvard University. -
Gould makes a notable contribution to the development of evolutionary theory
Gould and a colleague, Niles Eldredge, made a notable contribution to the development of evolutionary theory in what they called "punctuated equilibrium." The concept of punctuated equilibrium opposed Darwin's notion, known as phyletic gradualism, that evolutionary change occurred gradually and over millions of years; instead, Gould and Eldredge argued such changes occurred in relatively shorter periods (several thousand years) following long periods of stability. -
Gould is promoted to full professor
He is promoted to a full professor of geology at Harvard University. -
Gould becomes a curator
Gould also became curator (a person who oversees an exhibit or show) of invertebrate (species without a backbone) paleontology at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. -
Gould receives the Charles Schuchert Award
Receives the Schuchert Award by the Paleontological Society for his work in evolutionary theory. It is presented to a person under 40 whose work reflects excellence and promise in the science of paleontology. -
Gould publishes Ontogeny and Phylogeny
In 1977 Gould published a book-length discussion of phyletic gradualism called Ontogeny and Phylogeny. Phyletic gradualism theorizes that most speciation is slow, uniform, and gradual. -
Gould receives awards for his book, The Panda's Thumb
For his book, The Panda's Thumb, he received two awards: the Notable Book citation from the American Library Association in 1980 and the American Book Award in Science for 1981. -
Gould receives awards for his book, The Mismeasure of Man
He received two awards for The Mismeasure of Man: the National Book Critics Circle Award for general nonfiction in 1981 and the American Book Award nomination in science for 1982. -
Gould discovers he has cancer
Gould was told he had mesothelioma, a particularly deadly form of cancer in which he was told he only had 8 months to live. But the disease had been caught early and he underwent an aggressive program of treament including radiation and chemotherapy. -
Gould divorces his first wife
Gould divorces Deborah Lee. -
Gould marries his second wife
Gould marries Rhonda Roland Shearer, an artist and sculptor. -
Death of Stephen Jay Gould
Died in Manhattan, New York. Early in 2002 Gould was discovered to have advanced lung cancer, apparently unrelated to his previous cancer in which he died several months later.
