Lefalophodon- An Informal History of Evolutionary Biology Web Site

Biographical Information:

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was born in Friborg Switzerland on May 28, 1807. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On December 14, 1873. By the time of his death, Agassiz was considered one of Americas leading scientists. He strongly disagreed with Darwin's theory of evolution and provided much insight to evolutionary biologists.

Time Line:
-A student in Heidelberg in the mid-1820s.
-Earned a Ph.D. from the University of Erlangen in 1829.
-Received his M.D. at University of Munich in 1830.
-Professor of natural history at the College of Neuchatel from 1832-1846.
-Conducted research in the United States from 1846-1847.
-He was a Professor at Harvard University from 1847-1873.
-Director of Comparative Zoology Museum from 1859-1873.
-Leader of Thayer expedition in 1865 to 1866.
-Founder of Anderson School of Natural History at Penikese Island in 1873.

UC berkeley/ Agassiz

Agassiz, Elizabeth (1822 - 1907)

Agassiz trip was very different from most travel writers of his time period. He visited Brazil for the purpose of scientific research, and was not particularly interested in the subject matter that was the common focus of travel writers, such as food or other observations about the country. A reviewer in Putnam's Magazine comments: A New light has been thrown on the alluvial and drift formations of the country bordering on the Amazon; and in the features of theses formations, Agassiz finds fresh proofs of his theories of the glacial period. We confess, however, to having been somewhat disappointed in the volume as a book of travel. Of course, we could not reasonably expect to find pictures of Brazilian life in the description of a journey of a few months, devoted almost exclusively to scientific research but the narrative seems wanting in sprightliness and general interest, and somewhat overburdened with trivial details (Putnam's Magazine 510). Agassiz scientific purpose made his account very different from the travel writers of the period, with his focus almost exclusively on his research and with little information being revealed about the country in which he is working, except to the extent that the reported information bears on the scientific purpose of the work.

Mrs. Agassiz was very important in the making of this travel log she took allot of time an effort to put the whole log together. "One word as to the manner in which this volume has grown into its present shape, for it has been rather the natural growth of circumstance than the result of any preconceived design. Partly for the entertainment of her friends, partly with the idea that I might make some use of it in knitting together the scientific reports of my journey by a thread of narrative, Mrs. Agassiz began this diary (ix)." For these reasons Mrs. Agassiz was a very important part in the travel diary because without her it would have undoubtedly ended up as just a scientific report and not a travel journal.