The Makers of Science

The Makers of Science By Franklin S. Harris, Ph. D., Professor of Agronomy, Utah Agricultural College

I —Agassiz Those who knew Agassiz best, say that he would have been a great man no matter what field of work he engaged in. That he was a scientist was merely an incident to his greatness and not necessarily the cause of it. Probably this is true of most great men. The qualities that make up greatness contribute to suc- cess in any line. Industry, honesty, devotion to his work, hu- mility, and high mindedness, all of which were so characteristic of Agassiz, would have made him an eminent citizen regardless of his vocation. Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was born May 28, 1807, in the village of Motier on the Lake of Morat, Switzerland. His father Louis Rudolph Agassiz was a clrgyman and his mother, Rose Mayer, was the daughter of a physician. The picturesque loca- tion of his home in the Bernese Alps early turned his attention to the beauties of his surroundings. This, taken with the wise teachings of his mother, gave him an exceptional knowledge of nature and filled him with a desire amounting almost to a pas- sion to study the laws of the natural world. Until he was ten years old his parents were his only teachers. During his vouth and young manhood he studied at Bienne, Zurich, Heidelberg, and Munich; his interest in science growing from year to year. Although he studied medicine his greatest interest was in natural science; and while at Munich he decided not to engage in the practice of medicine but to become a pro- fessor of natural history. All during his school days he carried on research in science, so that by the time he received his Ph. D. degree in 1829 and his M. D. in 1830, he was well known as a scientific worker through- out Europe. During these early years it took all the money he could earn to publish his scientific writings, the most notable of which were his books on fossil fishes. In his struggle he re- ceived much encouragement and some financial help from the scientists Cuvier and von Humboldt. In those days there were not the facilities for scientific work that are found today. Now there are many public agencies for helping to carry on investi- gations and publishing results of researches. For these Agassiz

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had to pay out of his scant savings, but he continued to work undaunted, sometimes almost in the face of starvation. In 1832 he was made Professor of Natural History at Neuchatel near his old home; and was later offered a professor- ship at Heidelberg, which he rejected. Fourteen years later he came to America on what he thought was only a visit; but as a result of a number of circumstances he never returned to Europe. About this time the Lawrence Scientific School was established at Harvard University and Agassiz was induced to accept the chair of Natural History. He was connected with Harvard from this time till his death which occurred in 1873, although during the period he was engaged in many other scientific enterprises. He directed a number of scientific expeditions to collect material for his great museum of comparative zoology which was established at Har- vard under the joint patronage of the University and the State of Massachusetts. He also became a non-resident professor at Cornell University when that institution was established in 1865. The summer before his death he conducted a school on the island of Penikese. The methods of instruction that were used in this school have now become famous. Important as are the actual scientific discoveries made by Agassiz, these are insignificant when compared with his ac- complishments in enthusing young men with a desire to devote themselves to science. His worshipful attitude toward nature and his absolute sincerity deeply impressed all who had the opportunity of working with him. He entered his laboratory with the same attitude that he would enter a church. He felt that his chief mission in life was to trace the work of God through nature and he never allowed the opportunity for social advantage or personal ease to interfere with his purpose. Like Nehemiah of old he felt that he had a great work to do and he would not be turned from it. He was a constant inspiration to his students. He did not follow the ordinary methods of teach- ing but placed the students on their own resources. He gave direction and furnished objects of study, and the students were left to make their own observations. While he had no sympathy with many wild scientific the- believer in ories that ran rampant in his day, he was a firm to all and freedom for workers in science. He was charitable expected the same tolerance for his own work. He was severa

offered rather large sums of money to go into commercial times work and lecturing but he alwavs said that he did not have time to make monev. The works of God were so many and so won- derful and those studying his works so few that he must not leave his post even for a short time. a fellow Dr. Burt G. Wilder, who was a student and later

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teacher of Agassiz, said of him: "Agassiz was at once fascinat- ing, persuasive, powerful, active and uplifting. Under my per- sonal observation have come but two other comparable with him in this most potent combination of great qualities: viz., Henry Ward Beecher and Phillips Brooks. They were preach- ers; so was he. They based their ministrations upon what they regarded as the Word of God; he drew his texts from what, with equal faith, he held to be the Works of a Divine Creator. They were also alike in this never was voice or hand raised otherwise :

than for the betterment of mankind." Agassiz's philosophy of the world is summed up in the fol- lowing taken from his essay on classification "All the facts pro- :

claim aloud the one God whom we know, adore, and love; and Natural History must in good time become the analysis of the thoughts of the Creator of the universe as manifested in the animal and plant kingdom." Is it any wonder that this man was able to discover so many of nature's secrets and that he exercised such a powerful in- fluence over the hearts of men? Logan, Utah

Photo by Dr. John H. Taylor J$* THE TEMPLE IN CANADA At present two temples are being built by the Latter-day Saints— one in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, and one, now nearly finished, in Laie, Oahu, H. T. Temples are used for sacred religious ordinances, for the living and the dead. The cut shows the Canadian temple as it appeared under con- struction in August, 1917.