John Gould (14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist (bird scientist). The Gould League (a bird group) started in Australia in 1909, was named after him. His knowledge of the birds now called "Darwin's finches" was a turning point in the Charles Darwin's thinking about evolution by natural selection. They are barely mentioned in Charles Darwin's book, "On the Origin of Species".