LOUIS JOHN RUDOLPH AGASSIZ. 99 



About this time he presented himself as a candidate 

 for the degree of doctor of philosophy, which lie took 

 at Erlangen, after passing a very severe examination 

 with distinction. In the same year he took al Munich 

 the degree of doctor of medicine, on which occasion 

 he maintained the superiority of woman in a Latin 

 dissertation upon the thesis, Femina humana superior 

 mart. 



It was at this time that he began his investigations 

 on fossil fishes. The immediate occasion of this step 

 was a short notice by Professor Rudolph Wagner on 

 the fossils of the Munich Museum, in which he 

 praised the number and beauty of the unnoticed 

 fossil fishes. Agassiz immediately applied to Professor 

 Fuchs, who had the care of the paheontological 

 collection, for permission to investigate the ichthy- 

 olites in detail. Professors AVagler and Schubert 

 placed freely at his disposal the collection of recent 

 fishes and their skeletons, and Dollinger, Oken, and 

 Martius in various ways encouraged him in this difficult 

 undertaking. To this great work he devoted seven 

 years of study before beginning the publication. 

 This was continued through ten years, and was 

 brought to a close in 1844. 



In the course of his preparation for this work 

 Agassiz visited the principal museums of Europe, 

 accompanied by a skilful artist ; and so great was the 

 interest felt universally in these researches, and the 

 confidence which the author inspired, that he w;is allowed 

 to take with him for examination and comparison 

 the most valuable specimens of more than eighty public 



