Citizendia

Alexander Emanuel Agassiz

Born17 December 1835(1835-12-17)
New York City, New York, USA
Died27 March 1910 (aged 74)
at sea aboard the SS Adriatic
NationalitySwitzerland, United States
FieldsChemistry, engineering
InstitutionsUnited States Coast Survey
Alma materHarvard University

Alexander Emanuel Agassiz (December 17, 1835 – March 27, 1910), son of Louis Agassiz and stepson of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, was an American scientist and engineer. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1835 ( MDCCCXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting SS Adriatic may refer to one of several notable Steamships named after the Adriatic Sea:, operated by the Black Ball Line in Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Engineering is the Discipline and Profession of applying technical and scientific Knowledge and The National Geodetic Survey and the Office of Coast Survey are the two successor agencies in the United States to the U Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1835 ( MDCCCXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( May 28 1807 — December 14 1873) was a Swiss - American Zoologist, Glaciologist Elizabeth Cabot Cary ( 5 December 1822 in Boston Massachusetts - 27 June 1907 in Arlington Heights Massachusetts was an American The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Contents

Biography

Agassiz was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland and emigrated to the United States with his father in 1849. Neuchâtel ( literally: New Castle in Old French) is the Capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He graduated at Harvard University in 1855, subsequently studying engineering and chemistry, and taking the degree of bachelor of science at the Lawrence scientific school of the same institution in 1857; and in 1859 became an assistant in the United States Coast Survey. Engineering is the Discipline and Profession of applying technical and scientific Knowledge and Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties A Bachelor of Science ( BS, BSc or BSc in the UK; less commonly S The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (also known as FAS) is the largest of the seven faculties that comprise Harvard University. The National Geodetic Survey and the Office of Coast Survey are the two successor agencies in the United States to the U

Thenceforward he became a specialist in marine ichthyology, but devoted much time to the investigation, superintendence and exploitation of mines. Ichthyology (from Greek ἰχθυ ikhthu, "fish" and λόγος logos, "knowledge" is the branch of Zoology devoted to the study Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body E. J. Hulbert, a friend of Agassiz's brother-in-law, Quincy Adams Shaw, had discovered a rich copper lode known as the Calumet conglomerate on the Keweenaw Peninsula Lake Superior in Michigan. Keweenaw Peninsula (ˈkiːwənɔː roughly KEY-win-awe is the most northern part of Michigan 's Upper Peninsula. Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. He persuaded them, along with a group of friends, to purchase a controlling interest in the mines, which later became known as the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company based in Calumet, Michigan. The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major Copper -mining company based in the Michigan Copper Country. Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U Up until the summer of 1866, Agassiz worked as an assistant in the museum of natural history that his father founded at Harvard. That summer, he took a trip to see the mines for himself and he afterwards became treasurer of the enterprise.

Over the winter of 1866 and early 1867, mining operations began to falter due to the difficulty of extracting copper from the conglomerate. Hulbert had sold his interests in the mines and had moved on to other ventures. But Agassiz refused to give up hope for the mines, and he returned to the mines in March of 1867 with his wife and young son. At that time, Calumet was a remote settlement, virtually inaccessible during the winter and very far removed from civilization even during the summer. With insufficient supplies at the mines, Agassiz struggled to maintain order, while back in Boston, Shaw was saddled with debt and the collapse of their interests. Shaw obtained financial assistance from John Simpkins, the selling agent for the enterprise to continue operations.

Agassiz continued to live at Calumet, making gradual progress in stabilising the mining operations, such that he was able to leave the mines under the control of a general manager and return to Boston in 1868 before winter closed navigation.

The mines continued to prosper and in May 1871, several mines were consolidated to form the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company with Shaw as its first president. The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major Copper -mining company based in the Michigan Copper Country. In August, 1871, Shaw "retired" to the board of directors and Agassiz became president, a position he held until his death.

Agassiz was a major factor in the mine's continued success and visited the mines twice a year. He innovated by installing a giant engine, known as the Superior, which was able to lift 24 tons of rock from a depth of 1,200 metres (4,000 feet). He also built a railroad and dredged a channel to navigable waters. However, after a time the mines did not require his full-time year-round attention and he returned to his interests in natural history at Harvard.

Out of his copper fortune, he gave some US$500,000 to Harvard for the museum of comparative zoology and other purposes. Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of

In 1875 he surveyed Lake Titicaca, Peru, examined the copper mines of Peru and Chile, and made a collection of Peruvian antiquities for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, of which he was curator from 1874 to 1885. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the The Museum of Comparative Zoology is located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is one of three museums which collectively Curator (from Latin cura care means manager overseer. A curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution (e He assisted Charles Wyville Thomson in the examination and classification of the collections of the 1872 Challenger Expedition, and wrote the Review of the Echini (2 vols. Professor Sir Charles Wyville Thomson ( March 5, 1830 &ndash March 10, 1882) was Professor of Zoology The Challenger Expedition was a scientific expedition that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of Oceanography. , 1872-1874) in the reports.

Between 1877 and 1880 he took part in the three dredging expeditions of the steamer Blake of the Coast Survey, and presented a full account of them in two volumes (1888). Dredging is an Excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater in shallow seas or Fresh water areas with the purpose of

In 1896 Agassiz visited Fiji and Queensland and inspected the Great Barrier Reef, publishing a paper on the subject in 1898. Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent The Great Barrier Reef is the largest Coral reef system in the world composed of over 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2600 kilometres (1600 mi

Of Agassiz's other writings on marine zoology, most are contained in the bulletins and memoirs of the museum of comparative zoology; but he published in 1865, with Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, his stepmother, Seaside Studies in Natural History, a work at once exact and stimulating, and in 1871 Marine Animals of Massachusetts Bay. Elizabeth Cabot Cary ( 5 December 1822 in Boston Massachusetts - 27 June 1907 in Arlington Heights Massachusetts was an American

Agassiz served as a president of the National Academy of Sciences, which since 1913 has awarded the Alexander Agassiz Medal in his memory. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS is a corporation in the United States whose members serve Pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science The Alexander Agassiz Medal is awarded by the US National Academy of Sciences for an original contribution in the science of Oceanography. He died in 1910 onboard the SS Adriatic en route to New York from Southampton. RMS Adriatic was an Ocean liner belonging to the White Star Line. Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England

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