Alexander Agassiz

Alexander Emanuel Agassiz (December 17, 1835 – March 27, 1910), son of Louis Agassiz, was an American scientist and engineer. Download high resolution version (700x1061, 156 KB) Alexander Agassiz Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce [1] Source http://www. ... Download high resolution version (700x1061, 156 KB) Alexander Agassiz Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce [1] Source http://www. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in Leap years). ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (May 28, 1807-December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-American zoologist and geologist, the husband of educator Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, and one of the first world-class American scientists. ...

He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland and emigrated to the United States with his father in 1849. He graduated at Harvard 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. Neuchâtel ( German: Neuenburg) is a city in Switzerland which is the capital of the Canton of Neuchâtel. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Harvard, see Harvard (disambiguation) Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Engineering is the application of science to the needs of humanity. ... Chemistry (in Greek: χημεία) is the science of matter and its interactions with energy and itself (see physics, biology). ... A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was established by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast. ...

Thenceforward he became a specialist in marine ichthyology, but devoted much time to the investigation, superintendence and exploitation of mines. 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. He persuaded them, along with a group of friends, to purchase a controlling interest in the mines, which later became known as the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company based in Calumet, Michigan. 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. Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... The Keweenaw Peninsula is the most northern part of Michigans Upper Peninsula. ... The Great Lakes from space; Lake Superior is on the upper left Lake Superior is the largest of North Americas Great Lakes. ... State nickname: Wolverine State or Great Lakes State Other U.S. States Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm Official languages English Area 250,941 km² (11th)  - Land 147,255 km²  - Water 103,687 km² (41. ... Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigans Upper Peninsula. ... 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

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, Keweenaw Peninsula 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. 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Agassiz continued to live at Calumet, making gradual progess in stablizing 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. 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The mines continued to prosper and in May, 1871, several mines were consolidated to form the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company with Shaw as its first president. In August, 1871, Shaw "retired" to the board of directors and Agassiz became president, a position he held until his death. 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Agassiz was a major factor in the mines 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 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 $500,000 to Harvard for the museum of comparative zoology and other purposes. Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ...

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. He assisted Sir Wyville Thomson in the examination and classification of the collections of the Challenger exploring expedition, and wrote the Review of the Echini (2 vols., 1872–1874) in the reports. 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Lake Titicaca (Spanish: Lago Titicaca) is South Americas largest freshwater lake. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 , 4, d Density, Hardness 8920 kg/m3, 3. ... A curator of a cultural heritage institution (e. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Shuttle Orbiter Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-99) was a Space Shuttle orbiter. ...

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). 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Dredging Dredging is the process by which, either new water channels/waterways are created or existing water channels/waterways are deepened. ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

Of his 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 step-mother) Seaside Studies in Natural History, a work at once exact and stimulating, and in 1871 Marine Animals of Massachusetts Bay. 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz (nee Cary) (1822 - 1907) was a U.S. educator. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ...

He served as a president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the United States is a government-established corporation supporting scientific research. ...

He died in 1910 onboard the SS Adriatic. 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Several notable steamships have been named SS Adriatic, after the Adriatic Sea. ...

Works

• (with Elizabeth Cary Agassiz) Seaside Studies in Natural History (1865)
• Marine Animals of Massachusetts Bay (1871)
• Revision of the Echini (2 vols., 1872–1874)
• Explorations of Lake Titicaca
• List of the Echinoderms
• Three Cruises of the Blake (1888)
• Pacific Coral Reefs
• Coral Reefs of the Maldives
• Panamic Deep Sea Echini