Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1873-12-17

AGAsSIZ

/
The telegraph informs us Of the
death In Boston, Mass, last Sunday OF
Agassiz. Some few days
since he received a shock Of paralysis
from which he never fully rallied, al
conscious at intervals. Until
Saturday last his condition was such as
to give rise to hope for his ultimate re-
covery, but during the night he grew
rapidly worse, becoming entirely un-
In which condition he re-
maiued until his death on Sunday
morning. We havo not space for an
extended sketch Of the life aud labors
Of this eminent naturalist, whose G
reel has been thus suddenly termln-
ated, but abstract from the NeW Amer
ican Cyeiopedia some prominent facts
In his history. Professor Agassiz was
Of French descent, his family being Of
those Huguenots who were driven
from France under the edict Of Nantes.
He was born May %, 1907. In the Par
ish Of Moltier in Switzerland, and
chrlstened Louis John Rudolph. In
1924. having chosen the profession Of
medicine, no went to Zurich, where
for TWO years he attended medical lee
lures, thence he removed to tho Uni
versity Of Heidelberg, where he con-
tinued until the Autumn Of 1921, when
he entered the University Of Munich,
studying and associating with such
men as AIKEN, the ~zoologist, Msrtius,
the botanist, Schslliug, the philoso-
phsr. and Dollinger, the founder OF
modern physiology. His first great
work was an elaborate geological
treatise in Latin on the discoveries
made by an expedition sen out by the
Austrian and Bavarian governments
at the time Of the marriage Of Don Pc
dro Of Brazil, under Martius, Spix,
Nattersr, and Pohl. Prot. Spix, who
had charge Of the geological depart
meut Of the work, died before complet.
Ing his treatise, and young Agassiz was
selected by Martius to elaborate the
ARCHAEOLOGICAL portion. The publica-
ton Of this work at once placed him In
the front rank OF naturalists. Hissecond
great work was the Natural Histo-
~ Of the fresh water fishes Of Europe"
This was completed In 1874. During
the progress Of this work Prof. Agassiz
spent seven years In tue study Of fossil
fishes. This work Is In five volumes
with a folio atlas. containing about 400
plates. The publication Of this work
was followed by the Nomenclator. Zoo
~iogicus. aud the Bi6l,otheca, ZoologiG
e. Geologic. In 1916 Prof. Agassiz
turned his attention to the glaciers and
the geological phenomena Of the Alps,
aud first announced Ills glacial theory
In a discourse delivered before the
Hslvetlc society In 1887. In 1910 he
published the first Of two great works
on this subject entitled Esudes u les
Glaciers, and In 1S47 the second enti-
tied lSysteme Giacidire. In the Autumn
OF Isi8 Prof. Agassiz arrived In Boston
from Paris, and from that time his BIZ
ography belongs to the United States.
He lectured extensively during the
Winter OF 1861, and spent a part OF
the following Summer, on the coast Of
Nantucket and Marthas' Vineyard.
visiting also Niagara Falls and the
White Mountains. During the next
three years he lectured In various cities
of the Union upon comparative EN-.
bryology (" and the successive devel-
opment Of the animal kingdom "
When In the Winter OF 1s47-s the sci
entifs school at Cambridge, Mass,
was founded by Hon. Abbott Lawrence.
Prof. Agsssiz took the professorship Of
zoology and geology, and Afterwards
In 1852, that Of comparative anatomy
in the medical college at Charleston,
S. C. or late years he has been en-.
gagged in collecting and arranging his
vast collections In the animal, vegeta-
BILE and mineral kingdoms, and his
name and later labors have become IA
mlllar to almost every household.
Professor Agassiz has been so busy In
this country that he eve found time
to pay a visit to his valley home,
nestled among the Alps In Switzer.
land. His mother, we believe, Is still
living, to whom he often longed to
return, but which he tailed to accom-
pllsh. We cannot better close this
sketch than in quoting these lines, OF
the poet Longfellow, on this absence
absence Of Prof. Agassiz from his old
home and his mother. They were
written OH the anniversary Of his fifth
eth birthday:
"And the mother at home says bark!
For bis voice l listen and yearn,
1t 10 growing late and dark
And my boy does not roturn."-