John Stanton Gould was a 19th-century Quaker scientist and philanthropist of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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Biography

Gould was a member of the Society of Friends. He received a thorough education, especially in physical science, and was well known as an industrious student and a popular essayist and lecturer on scientific subjects. He had a farm in Columbia County, New York

Columbia County, New York

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...

, and took an active part in agricultural improvement. For several years, he was president of the State Agricultural Society, and did much to advance its interests.

He was also an earnest temperance advocate, and though in earlier years a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

, and a member of the assembly from that party in 1846, and subsequently acting generally with the Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, he held his temperance principles above party allegiance, and was recognized as a prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

ist. He was much interested in the subject of prison reform, and was for many years one of the directors and executive officers of the New York Prison Association.