Laurence McKinley Gould
Encyclopedia
Laurence McKinley "Larry" Gould (August 22, 1896–June 21, 1995) was an American geologist
, educator, and polar explorer.
Gould was born in Lacota, Michigan on August 22, 1896. After completing high school in South Haven, Michigan
in 1914, he went to Boca Raton, Florida
and taught grades 1 to 8 in a one-room school for two years, while saving money for college. He enrolled at the University of Michigan
in 1916, but interrupted his education the following year to enlist in the U.S. Army following U.S. entry into World War I
. He served in the Army until 1919, when he returned to the university to resume his studies.
After graduating in 1921 with a B.S. degree in geology he joined the University of Michigan faculty as a geology instructor while continuing his studies there. During his undergraduate days, he was the founder of the Beta Tau Chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha
Fraternity. He also was an active member in the university Society of Les Voyageurs
. He received an M.A. degree in 1923 and a D.Sc. degree in 1925, with a dissertation on the geology of Utah
's La Sal Mountains, and he advanced to assistant professor in 1926, and to associate professor in 1930.
In the summer of 1926 Gould undertook his first trip to the Arctic
, serving as assistant director and geologist with the University of Michigan Greenland
Expedition. The following summer he was geographer and topologist for George P. Putnam
's expedition to survey the coast of Baffin Island
in Arctic Canada
.
During 1928 to 1930 he accompanied Admiral Richard E. Byrd on Byrd's first expedition to Antarctica, serving as the expedition's chief scientist and second-in-command. On November 4, 1929 Gould and five companions began a grueling 2½ month, 1500-mile dog-sledge journey into the Queen Maud Mountains
, with the primary purpose of providing ground support and possible emergency assistance for Byrd's historic first airplane flight over the South Pole
and a secondary purpose of conducting the first geological and glaciological survey of an area that Gould called "a veritable paradise for a geologist."
After the successful flight over the Pole in November 1929, Gould and his companions climbed Mount Fridtjof Nansen
to investigate its geology. The layered sandstones that Gould found in outcrops at the mountain's peak helped confirm that Antarctica was linked geologically to the Earth's other continents.
The expedition's progress had been reported regularly in the news media, and when the members of the expedition returned to the United States on July 19, 1930, they received a hero's welcome. Recognitions that Gould received upon his return included a Congressional Gold Medal, the 1930 David Livingstone
Gold Medal of the American Geographical Society
, and a Medal of the Mayor's Committee of the City of New York.
On August 2, 1930, two weeks after returning from Antarctica, Gould was married to Margaret ("Peg") Rice in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. She had been a student in one of his classes at the University of Michigan, .
In the months and years after returning from Antarctica, Gould traveled around the country giving lectures on the experience. His 1931 book Cold: the Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey described the dog-sledge trek, recalling blinding blizzard
s, snow bridge
s that collapsed into deep crevasses, and weather so cold that it nearly froze a person's eyelids shut. Additionally, he published several scientific articles about the findings of the Byrd expedition.
In 1932 Gould accepted a position as full professor and chairman of the geology department at Carleton College
, so the Goulds moved to Minnesota
. "Larry" Gould was a popular professor at Carleton and was named president of the college in 1945, holding that position until 1962. In 1963 he retired to Tucson, Arizona and taught Glaciology at the University of Arizona.
He also served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
.
During his lifetime, Gould was the recipient of 26 honorary degrees.
In 1995 Carleton College renamed its college library the Laurence McKinley Gould Library in his honor. The R/V Laurence M. Gould, a 76-m-long ice-strengthened research ship built in 1997 for the National Science Foundation
and designed for year-round polar operations, is named in his honor.
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, educator, and polar explorer.
Gould was born in Lacota, Michigan on August 22, 1896. After completing high school in South Haven, Michigan
South Haven, Michigan
South Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County. The population was 5,021 at the 2000 census....
in 1914, he went to Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
and taught grades 1 to 8 in a one-room school for two years, while saving money for college. He enrolled at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1916, but interrupted his education the following year to enlist in the U.S. Army following U.S. entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He served in the Army until 1919, when he returned to the university to resume his studies.
After graduating in 1921 with a B.S. degree in geology he joined the University of Michigan faculty as a geology instructor while continuing his studies there. During his undergraduate days, he was the founder of the Beta Tau Chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
Fraternity. He also was an active member in the university Society of Les Voyageurs
Society of Les Voyageurs
The Society of Les Voyageurs is a co-ed fraternal outdoors society at the University of Michigan and one of the oldest university outing clubs in the United States...
. He received an M.A. degree in 1923 and a D.Sc. degree in 1925, with a dissertation on the geology of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
's La Sal Mountains, and he advanced to assistant professor in 1926, and to associate professor in 1930.
In the summer of 1926 Gould undertook his first trip to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, serving as assistant director and geologist with the University of Michigan Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
Expedition. The following summer he was geographer and topologist for George P. Putnam
George P. Putnam
George Palmer Putnam was an American publisher, author and explorer. Known for his marriage to and being the widower of Amelia Earhart, he had also achieved fame as one of the most successful promoters in the United States during the 1930s.-Early life:Born in Rye, New York, he was the son of John...
's expedition to survey the coast of Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
in Arctic Canada
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Arctic Archipelago, is a Canadian archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic...
.
During 1928 to 1930 he accompanied Admiral Richard E. Byrd on Byrd's first expedition to Antarctica, serving as the expedition's chief scientist and second-in-command. On November 4, 1929 Gould and five companions began a grueling 2½ month, 1500-mile dog-sledge journey into the Queen Maud Mountains
Queen Maud Mountains
The Queen Maud Mountains are a major group of mountains, ranges and subordinate features of the Transantarctic Mountains, lying between the Beardmore and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Shelf to the polar plateau in Antarctica...
, with the primary purpose of providing ground support and possible emergency assistance for Byrd's historic first airplane flight over the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
and a secondary purpose of conducting the first geological and glaciological survey of an area that Gould called "a veritable paradise for a geologist."
After the successful flight over the Pole in November 1929, Gould and his companions climbed Mount Fridtjof Nansen
Mount Fridtjof Nansen
Mount Fridtjof Nansen is a high massive mountain which dominates the area between the heads of Strom and Axel Heiberg Glaciers, in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica...
to investigate its geology. The layered sandstones that Gould found in outcrops at the mountain's peak helped confirm that Antarctica was linked geologically to the Earth's other continents.
The expedition's progress had been reported regularly in the news media, and when the members of the expedition returned to the United States on July 19, 1930, they received a hero's welcome. Recognitions that Gould received upon his return included a Congressional Gold Medal, the 1930 David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
Gold Medal of the American Geographical Society
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world...
, and a Medal of the Mayor's Committee of the City of New York.
On August 2, 1930, two weeks after returning from Antarctica, Gould was married to Margaret ("Peg") Rice in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. She had been a student in one of his classes at the University of Michigan, .
In the months and years after returning from Antarctica, Gould traveled around the country giving lectures on the experience. His 1931 book Cold: the Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey described the dog-sledge trek, recalling blinding blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
s, snow bridge
Snow bridge
Snow bridge is an arc across a crevasse, a crack in rock, a creek, or some other opening in terrain. It is typically formed by snow drift, which first creates a cornice, which may gradually grow to reach the other side of the opening.-Dangers:...
s that collapsed into deep crevasses, and weather so cold that it nearly froze a person's eyelids shut. Additionally, he published several scientific articles about the findings of the Byrd expedition.
In 1932 Gould accepted a position as full professor and chairman of the geology department at Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
, so the Goulds moved to Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. "Larry" Gould was a popular professor at Carleton and was named president of the college in 1945, holding that position until 1962. In 1963 he retired to Tucson, Arizona and taught Glaciology at the University of Arizona.
He also served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science , founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and engineering, representing 10 million individuals worldwide...
.
During his lifetime, Gould was the recipient of 26 honorary degrees.
In 1995 Carleton College renamed its college library the Laurence McKinley Gould Library in his honor. The R/V Laurence M. Gould, a 76-m-long ice-strengthened research ship built in 1997 for the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and designed for year-round polar operations, is named in his honor.
External links
- Hillemann, Eric. Laurence McKinley Gould Online Exhibit. Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
- National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs. R/V Laurence M. Gould. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
- University of Michigan Department of Geological Sciences. "Laurence M. Gould-a great alumnus". Geoscience News, December 1995. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
- Carleton College Bookstore: Order copies of COLD. "Order copies of Cold: The Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey by Laurence McKinley Gould".