Laurence McKinley Gould (August 22, 1896 – June 21, 1995) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, educator, and polar explorer. He made expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic, and was chief scientist on

Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

's first Antarctic expedition, which Gould described in his 1931 book ''Cold: the Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey.'' He served as president of

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

from 1945 to 1962, and president of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 1964. His namesakes include the research vessel ''Laurence M. Gould'' as well as Antarctic features including Gould Bay,

Gould Coast The Gould Coast () is a portion of the coast of Antarctica along the eastern margin of the Ross Ice Shelf at Amundsen Coast between the west side of Scott Glacier (Transantarctic Mountains), Scott Glacier and the south end of the Siple Coast (). ...

, and Mount Gould.

Biography

Gould was born in Lacota, Michigan on August 22, 1896. After completing high school in

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 4,403 at the 2010 census. Because of its position on Lake Michigan, at the ...

in 1914, he went to

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

and taught grades 1 to 8 in a

one-room school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

for two years, while saving money for college. He enrolled at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1916, but interrupted his education the following year to enlist in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

following U.S. entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. 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 (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

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 The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range are a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal. This range ...

, and he advanced to assistant professor in 1926, and to associate professor in 1930.

Polar expeditions

Arctic

In the summer of 1926 Gould undertook his first trip to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

, serving as assistant director and geologist with the University of Michigan

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Expedition. The following summer he was geographer and topologist for George P. Putnam's expedition to survey the coast of

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

Arctic Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories and ...

Antarctic

During 1928 to 1930 he accompanied

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

on his first expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, serving as the expedition's chief scientist and second-in-command. In March 1929 Gould along with

Harold June Harold Irving June (1895–1962) was a machinist, an aviator, a test pilot, and an explorer in Antarctica. He is best known for his 1928–1930 service in the first Antarctic expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Sitting in the co-pilot's seat ...

and

Bernt Balchen Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Distingu ...

flew in the expeditions

Fokker Universal The Fokker Universal was the first aircraft built in the United States that was based on the designs of Dutch-born Anthony Fokker, who had designed aircraft for the Germans during World War I. About half of the 44 Universals that were built betwe ...

east to establish a geologic camp near the

Rockefeller Mountains The Rockefeller Mountains () are a group of low-lying, scattered granite peaks and ridges, almost entirely snow-covered, standing 30 miles (48 km) south-southwest of the Alexandra Mountains on the Edward VII Peninsula of Antarctica. Discovered ...

at the edge of what would soon be known as

Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centur ...

. A furious blizzard hit, destroying their plane. Not having radio contact with the party for ten days, Byrd made a rescue flight that found them marooned but well. During that time they had continued scientific observations. On November 4, 1929, Gould and five companions began a grueling 2½ month, 1500-mile dog-sledge journey into the

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 Antarctic P ...

, with the primary purpose of providing ground support and possible emergency assistance for Byrd's historic first airplane flight over the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

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 flight over the Pole in November 1929, Gould and his companions climbed

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. Discovered by Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen ...

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 southern continents in

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

. The expedition's progress had been reported regularly in the news media, and after his return he received the

Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal The Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal is a Congressional medal established by an Act of Congress in 1930 to commemorate the Byrd Antarctic Expedition of 1928–1930. Presented in gold, silver and bronze, the medals were awarded to 81 individuals a ...

in gold, the 1930

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

Gold Medal of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) 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 ...

, and a Medal of the Mayor's Committee of the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Academic career

On August 2, 1930, two weeks after returning from Antarctica, Gould married Margaret ("Peg") Rice in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

. She had been a student in one of his classes at the University of Michigan. Laurence Gould posing next to a bust of American polar explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd

Laurence Gould posing next to a bust of American polar explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd

In the months and years after returning from Antarctica, Gould traveled around the US giving lectures on the experience. His 1931 book ''Cold: the Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey'' described the dog-sledge trek, recalling blinding

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...

snow bridge Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

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 and his family moved to Minnesota after he accepted a position as a full professor at

where he founded and served as chairman of the geology department. Gould was named president of the college in 1945, holding that position until 1962. In 1962 he took his retirement package from Carleton College, and then accepted a position on the geology faculty at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

where he taught from 1963 through 1979. He also served as

President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 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 wo ...

. 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 The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

and designed for year-round polar operations, is named in his honor. He is also commemorated in the names of several places in Antarctica, including Mount Gould, Gould Bay, and

Bibliography

*Gould, Laurence McKinley ''Cold: the Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey''. Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1931. *Gould, Laurence McKinley ''Cold: The Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey''. Carleton College, 1984. *Gould, Laurence McKinley ''Cold: The Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey''. Carleton College, 2011. *Hillemann, Eric ''A Beacon So Bright: The Life of Laurence McKinley Gould ''. Carleton College, 2012.

References

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

''Geoscience News'', December 1995. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
Laurence McKinley Gould Diary and Correspondence
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Laurence Mckinley 1896 births 1995 deaths American explorers 20th-century American geologists American polar explorers Carleton College faculty Presidents of Carleton College University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I American Polar Society honorary members American Antarctic scientists Marie Byrd Land explorers and scientists People from Van Buren County, Michigan 20th-century American academics