THE INCORPORATORS 107 
Previous to the accomplishment of this work, Agassiz had 
taken the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of 
Erlangen in 1829, and Doctor of Medicine at Munich in 1830. 
While continuing his preparations for the publication of a 
natural history of the fresh-water fishes of Europe and a treatise 
on fossil fishes, Agassiz visited Vienna and Paris, where he 
examined the collections in the museums, and received help from 
various sources, as well as offers of attractive positions. He 
became acquainted with Fitzinger in Vienna and in Paris 
Humboldt introduced him to Cuvier, who generously placed in 
his hands the whole of the material which he himself had in- 
tended to use as the basis of a work on fossil fishes. By the advice 
of Humboldt, Agassiz refused the various offers of positions 
that were made to him, but at last in the autumn of 1832 was 
appointed to the recently-established chair of natural history 
in the College of Neuchatel, where for 14 years he labored 
assiduously and published extensively. His ‘“ Recherches sur 
les Poissons Fossiles,”’ and his ‘‘ Systeme Glaciaire,” “ those of 
his works which have made the deepest impress on progressing 
science,” were written during this period. Always enthusiastic, 
he carried out his ideals in the publication of his books, and 
though often in pecuniary difficulties, aid came to him from 
many sources on account of his reputation for accurate scholar- 
ship and faithful devotion to research. 
Other important works published by Agassiz while at Neu- 
chatel were a prodromus of the echinoderms and a treatise on the 
fossil echinoderms of Switzerland, Critical studies of fossil 
Mollusks, “ Iconography of the tertiary shells believed to be 
identical with living ones,” the “‘ Nomenclator Zodlogicus,” and 
the “ Bibliotheca Zodlogica et Geologica.” 
In 1836 Agassiz’s attention was directed to the subject of 
glaciers by his friend Jean de Charpentier, and he spent some 
months with him at Bex, near the mouth of the Rhone. As a 
result of his studies and reflections, he conceived the idea of an 
universal glacial epoch at the end of the Tertiary Age. He pre- 
sented this before the Helvetic Society of Natural Science at 
