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Alexander Agassiz
b. Neuchatel, Switzerland, December 17, 1835
d. Onboard "The Adriatic,"
March 27, 1910
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Marine zoologist, mining entrepreneur, and author.
Son of famous botanist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), and stepson of Elizabeth
Cabot Cary (1822-1907), a founder and first president of Radcliffe College.
Arrives in the United States in 1849, graduates from Harvard University
in 1855 and from Lawrence Scientific School two years later.
He purchases 30 acre peninsula on the eastern side of the entrance to Narragansett
Bay. In the winter of 1874-75 his summer house is built. Originally a laboratory
is set up in one room. Early in 1878, a chalet-style laboratory is constructed
to the east of the house near the inlet.
Agassiz brings 12 Harvard University students to Newport to gather and
analyze various forms of sea life, e.g., flounder, sea urchins, and sand
fleas.
This laboratory predates the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole,
Massachusetts. The Newport Laboratory closes to students in 1898.
In later years, Agassiz's gourmet dinners at his home are the talk of Newport.
Julia Ward Howe is often in attendance. Her nickname for Agassiz: "Dear
Zoo."
Bibliography
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