Jean Louis Agassiz, a Swiss-American naturalist, was an outstanding comparative anatomist. When he was only 21 years old, he published the work that launched him on his long and distinguished scientific career. It was titled ‘The Fishes of Brazil’ and it was the most important account of a local fish fauna published till that time.
Later, Agassiz worked under Georges Cuvier, another brilliant comparative anatomist. Agassiz made extensive contributions to ichthyological classification, including of extinct species.
Ichthyology is the branch of biology devoted to the study of fish. Agassiz also played an important role in the study of geological history including the founding of glaciology. He was a person with many interests- a biologist, physician, geologist, teacher, and most importantly, a prominent innovator in the field of the study of natural sciences.