Agassiz, Jean Louis 1807-1873.
Swiss naturalist who emigrated to the US and
became one of the foremost scientists of the
19th century. He established his name through
work on the classification of the fossil
fishes. Unlike Darwin, he did not believe
that individual species themselves changed,
but that new species were created from time
to time. He is now criticized for holding
racist views concerning the position of
blacks in American society.