Stephen Jay Gould, a renowned American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, historian of science, and influential popular science author, passed away on May 20, 2002, at the age of 60. He died from metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung in his SoHo home in New York City. Born in Queens, New York, on September 10, 1941, Gould was celebrated for his groundbreaking theory of punctuated equilibrium, his extensive body of popular essays and books, and his ardent advocacy for science against creationism. He is survived by his beloved wife, Rhonda Roland Shearer, his mother, Eleanor Gould, and his sons, Jesse and Ethan Gould.