William Gould
Encyclopedia
The Rev. William Gould A.M. (1715 – 16 Mar 1799) was an English
cleric
and naturalist
.
He was born at Sharpham
Park, Glastonbury
, Somerset
, son of Davidge Gould, and educated at Exeter College
, Oxford
, where he matriculated in 1732, aged 17; he gained his B.A.
in 1736. He was afterwards Rector of Stapleford Abbotts
in Essex
.
He was described by Horace Donisthorpe
as "the father of British
myrmecology
" (the branch of entomology
dealing with ant
s).
He is most famous for his book, An account of English ants, published in London
by A. Millar in 1747. It was the first scientific paper written on ant
s, with 109 pages, and brought together all previous observation into a single volume. When it was published it was quite controversial, since Gould, albeit reluctantly, conceded that his observations directly contradicted the Bible
, specifically Proverbs
6:6-8, where it was written:
Gould, however, correctly stated that there was no evidence at all to suggest that any of the British ant species he knew hoarded grain
, and for this reason he faced much criticism from the established church.
His book remains an important early record in ant observation and the science of myrmecology, even though he only recognised a handful of species, which he categoried as "hill ants", "jet ants", "red ants", "common yellow ants", and "small black ants".
His work is divided into four chapters:
In May 1774 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cleric
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
.
He was born at Sharpham
Sharpham
Sharpham is a village and civil parish on the Somerset Levels near Street and Glastonbury in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.It is located near the River Brue.-Governance:...
Park, Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, son of Davidge Gould, and educated at Exeter College
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where he matriculated in 1732, aged 17; he gained his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1736. He was afterwards Rector of Stapleford Abbotts
Stapleford Abbotts
Stapleford Abbotts is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located approximately SW of Ongar and N of Romford and is situated entirely within the M25 motorway...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
He was described by Horace Donisthorpe
Horace Donisthorpe
Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus Lasius after him as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.He is often considered...
as "the father of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
myrmecology
Myrmecology
Myrmecology is the scientific study of ants, a branch of entomology. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the ideal form of society and sought to find solutions to human problems by studying them. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of...
" (the branch of entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
dealing with ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s).
He is most famous for his book, An account of English ants, published in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by A. Millar in 1747. It was the first scientific paper written on ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s, with 109 pages, and brought together all previous observation into a single volume. When it was published it was quite controversial, since Gould, albeit reluctantly, conceded that his observations directly contradicted the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, specifically Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
6:6-8, where it was written:
- "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; which having no chief, overseer, or ruler, provideth her bread in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."
Gould, however, correctly stated that there was no evidence at all to suggest that any of the British ant species he knew hoarded grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, and for this reason he faced much criticism from the established church.
His book remains an important early record in ant observation and the science of myrmecology, even though he only recognised a handful of species, which he categoried as "hill ants", "jet ants", "red ants", "common yellow ants", and "small black ants".
His work is divided into four chapters:
- Their different Species and Mechanism
- Their manner of Government, and a Description of their several Queens
- The Production of their Eggs, and Process of the Young
- The incessant Labours of the Workers or common Ants
In May 1774 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society