In addition to heading History of Life, Gould co-taught Religion 1045, “Thinking About Thinking,” with Frankfurter Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz and Thomas Professor of Divinity Harvey G. Cox Jr. He also co-taught Biology 208, a seminar in “Issues in Paleobiology,” with Fisher Professor of Natural History Andrew Knoll and Professor of Biology and Geology Charles R. Marshall.

History of Life teaching fellow John Mathew informed the students in his section of Gould’s death in an e-mail.

“For everything that may be said about him, good or ill, he was a man of deep convictions, immeasurable breadth of perspective, and profound insight,” Mathew wrote.

Rebecca Brogan ’02, a student in Gould’s History of Life class this semester, said she was grateful for the opportunity to have Gould as her professor.

“You didn’t have to be a scientist to appreciate his lectures and writings. Gould’s wit, humor and clarity brought his topics to life for anyone,” Brogan said. “He was a man with an inordinate amount of passion, who, especially during this difficult semester for him, exemplified the true spirit of a teacher.”

Sarah J. Hines ’02, another student in the class, said that she was impressed by Gould’s dedication to his teaching duties.

“I will remember him as an extreme perseverer in the face of what was a debilitating illness,” Hines said. “The students in his class watched him get less energetic in body but stay very energetic in his lectures and teaching.”

According to Director of the Core Program Susan W. Lewis, the final exam for History of Life will take place tomorrow, as planned.

Legendary Career

After growing up in New York City, Gould earned a degree in geology from Antioch College in 1963 and a Ph.D. in paleontology from Columbia University in 1967.

In 1975, Gould won the Paleontological Society’s Charles Schuchert Award for excellence in his field under the age of 40.

But Gould’s success did not come without criticism that he let popular work overshadow his scholarly contributions. In an April 26 review of Structure of Evolutionary Theory in Science, SUNY-Stonybrook Professor Douglas J. Futuyma described Gould “as an object of professional controversy” and wrote, “It has been 25 years since his first and, until now, only book directed at his peers.”

Though Futuyma wrote he agreed with many of the book’s themes, he added that the work “omits vast fields and perspectives in evolutionary biology and advocates positions that few will embrace in toto.”

Gould led arguments against scientific claims that IQ varies between races for genetic reasons. His 1982 book The Mismeasure of Man, which tried to debunk claims that IQ and race were linked, won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Gould has served as president of the Paleontological Society, president of the American Association for Advancement of the Sciences and curator of Invertebrate Paleontology in Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.