Agassiz, Louis

[persona]

(1807-1873) A geologist and paleontologist, born and educated in Europe, but regarded as one of the founding fathers of American science. While in Switzerland and France, Agassiz studied comparative anatomy under Georges Cuvier in 1832, focusing on fossil and modern fish. In 1836, he began to study glacial landforms and became a strong proponent of the theory of glacial ice ages. In 1848, Agassiz accepted a position at Harvard University and moved to the United States, where he helped found the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution.