John Gould (Born 1804) was an English bird artist and ornithologist. He was born in Lyme, Dorset, the first son of a gardener. Gould published a number of monographs on birds that he illustrated by plates that he produced with the assistance of several artists including William Matthew Hart, Joseph Wolf, Henry Constantine Richter and Edward Lear. The Gould League in Australia is named after him and he has been considered the father of bird study in Australia. He is the one who identified the bird nicknamed “Darwin finches” that played a big role in the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. The book the on the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin references his work.
In 1818, Gould became foreman in the Royal Gardens of Windsor. For some time here, he was under the care of J.T. Aiton. He started training as a gardener. Being that he was employed under his father at Windsor from 1818 to 1824 made him to learn a lot in gardening from his father. Soon he was a gardener at Ripley Castle in Yorkshire. He later became an expert in the art of taxidermy. Come 1824, Gould opened a business in London as a taxidermist, and three years later, his hard work and skill made him to be the first Preserver and Curator at the museum of Zoological Society of London. Gould’s work has appeared in many publications. Framed John Gould art is today much sought after by many collectors and they can be found in many galleries and museums throughout the world.