1941 - 2002
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science, known for his contributions to the theory of punctuated equilibrium, which he developed in collaboration with Niles Eldredge. He was a prolific writer and a prominent public intellectual, recognized for his essays in "Natural History" magazine and his books, including "The Mismeasure of Man" and "Wonderful Life." Gould's work emphasized the complexity of evolution and critiqued biological determinism and the misuse of statistics in the social sciences.