John Philip Algernon Gould, (20 December 1927 – 19 October 2001) was a British classical scholar. He specialised in

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed ...

, but also had wider interests in

ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic Greece, Archa ...

ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has bee ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. He began his academic career as a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes f ...

(1949–1953), and then a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in c ...

and student (i.e.

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

) at Christ Church, Oxford (1954–1968). He was Chair of Classics at the University College of Swansea from 1968 to 1974, and the H O Wills Professor of Greek at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

from 1974 to 1991.

Early life and education

Gould was born on 20 December 1927. His father was Harold Gould, a school teacher of Latin, and his mother was Marjorie Gould, a lecturer in French at Birkbeck College, London. He was educated at

Wellingborough School Wellingborough School is a co-educational day independent school in the market town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. It was established in 1595 and is one of the oldest schools in the country. The school today consists of a Prep school ...

, an independent school in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, and

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, an independent school in Hampstead, London. Having been awarded a scholarship, he studied the

Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previously studied L ...

, graduating with a

double first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA) degree in 1948: he was awarded a "special merit" in ancient philosophy. Having completed his undergraduate degree, Gould was required to undertake eighteen months of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. Following officer training, he was commissioned in the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Ge ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

on 4 February 1949. In one obituary, it was stated that "he did not greatly enjoy army life".

Personal life

While at University College School, Gould met and began a relationship with Pauline Bending. The couple were married by the time Gould moved to the University of Oxford in 1954. Pauline worked as a nurse, then as a teacher, and finally as a social worker. Together they had four children. In 1974, Gould began an affair with Gillian Tuckett, a school teacher who had attended his Ancient Greek summer school. They separated from their respective spouses and married each other. Gould became step-father to Gillian's three children, and would have "almost no contact" with the children from his first marriage for the rest of his life. Gould was ill in later life, having developed Sjögren's syndrome and suffering

detached retinas Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...

in both eyes (only one eye could be saved). He was diagnosed with

lymphatic cancer Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

and died on 19 October 2001, aged 73.

Honours

In 1990, Gould was awarded the

Runciman Award The Runciman Award is an annual literary award offered by the Anglo-Hellenic League for a work published in English dealing wholly or in part with Greece or Hellenism. The award is named in honour of the late Sir Steven Runciman and is currently ...

by the

Anglo-Hellenic League The Anglo-Hellenic League was founded in the aftermath of the 1912–13 Balkan Wars in order to counter anti-Greek propaganda in the United Kingdom. Dedicated to promoting Anglo-Greek understanding and friendship, the League has a long history of c ...

for his book ''Herodotus'' (1989). In 1991, Gould was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, John 1927 births 2001 deaths British classical scholars Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Academics of Swansea University Classical scholars of the University of Bristol Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge Classical scholars of the University of Oxford Scholars of ancient Greek literature Scholars of Greek mythology and religion Fellows of the British Academy People educated at Wellingborough School People educated at University College School Royal Army Educational Corps officers