Stephen Jay Gould was born on September 10, 1941 in New York City. As a boy, at the age of five, Stephen went to the Museum of Natural History in New York where he saw the Tyrannosaurus Rex along with other large dinosaur skeletons. He decided he wanted to study fossils and evolution; he began to read up on as much information as possible. As Stephen grew up, he discovered that there was a specific field of study that suited his interests. This field of study is called paleontology. Mr. Gould graduated from Antioch University in Ohio with degrees in geology and philosophy “in 1963” (Theory, 2009). While in Antioch, Stephen interned on a maritime expedition at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. In Bermuda he collected tons of snail fossils and brought them back to Antioch for study. Gould continued his studies at Columbia University where he earned his doctorate in paleontology. Here he continued his studies on snails but began observing snails throughout the Caribbean region. Stephen “became the leading authority on the snail known as cerion” which includes approximately 600 distinct species (Theory, 2009). It was here at Columbia University that Stephen Gould slowly made his name known. While in graduate school, Stephen Gould met fellow graduate student Niles Eldredge and they both began studying the numerous snail fossils. In a New York Times article Stephen Jay Gould, 60, is dead; Enlivened Evolutionary Theory (2002), states that “the two students could not find the gradual and continuous change in fossil forms that they had been taught as the stuff of evolution. Instead they found sudden appearances of new fossil forms followed by long periods in which these organisms changed... middle of paper... and beliefs and is considered the savior of the scientific essay. Stephen may have made many enemies with his work, but if it were not for him, many fields may never have been reopened to exploration and the development of new theories and ideas. Works cited The theory of punctuated equilibria. Success Academy. November 17, 2009 Retrieved from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/gou0bio-1Williams, AP (nd) Book Review: The mismeasure of man by Stephen Jay Gould. Think about it. Retrieved from http://reachandywilliams.weebly.com/gould-1996-mismeasure-of-man.htmlYoon, C. K. (2002, May 21). Stephen Jay Gould, 60, died; Enhanced evolutionary theory. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/21/us/stephen-jay-gould-60-is-dead-enlivened-evolutionary-theory.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1