(1807 - 1873)
Of Swiss parentage, he studied at Zurich, Heidelberg and Munich universities, obtaining doctorates in natural history and medicine. Agassiz was described as a man of brilliant intellect, outstanding ambition and enthusiasm, with a charming manner and boundless energy. By the age of 25, he was professor at Neuchatel Academy. Inspired by the fossil fish in Munich museum, and having inherited the collection of the eminent naturalist Cuvier, he embarked on his Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles. This massive work (published 1833-43), describing and illustrating 1700 fossil fish species, brought him worldwide fame. Specimens were sent to him from all over Europe, including those from Dura Den, for his expert opinion. He was astonished to see so much material new to science, and made two visits to Scotland, resulting in new publications on the Old Red Sandstone fishes as well as on the Ice Age. However, his tendency to name species too quickly resulted in major confusion, and his classification based on scale appearance was eventually replaced by Traquair’s system based on bone structure.
By 1846 he was almost bankrupt, and on the recommendation of Charles Lyell he emigrated to America where science was more lucrative. He became the first professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, proving to be a captivating lecturer and establishing the famous Museum from small beginnings in an old bath-house. Although he did not accept the possibility of evolution, it was said that Agassiz had ‘. . .done more to excite and push forward natural history in the United States than any other man’.