Augustus Addison Gould

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Augustus Addison Gould (b. April 23 1805, New Ipswich, New Hampshire - d. September 15 1866) was an American conchologist.

He graduated at Harvard College in 1825, and took his degree of doctor of medicine in 1830. Establishing himself in Boston, he devoted himself to the practice of medicine, and finally rose to high professional rank and social position. He became president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and was employed in editing the vital statistics of the state.

As a conchologist his reputation was worldwide, and he was one of the pioneers of the science in America. His writings fill many pages of the publications of the Boston Society of Natural History (see vol. xi. p. 197 for a list) and other periodicals. He published with Louis Agassiz the Principles of Zoology (2nd ed. 1851); he edited the Terrestrial and Airbreathing Mollusks (1851-1855) of Amos Binney (1803-1847); he translated Lamarck's Genera of Shells (1833).

The two most important monuments to his scientific work, however, are Mollusca and Shells (vol. xii, 1852) of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (1833), published by the government, and the Report on the Invertebrata published by order of the legislature of Massachusetts in 1841. A second edition of the latter work was authorized in 1865, and published in 18l0 after the author's death.

Gould was a corresponding member of all the prominent American scientific societies, and of many of those of Europe, including the London Royal Society.