Master Surname Index



Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz

Ancestry of
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz

1st President of Radcliff College

    Elizabeth Cabot Cary

    View famous kin of Elizabeth Cabot Cary

    • 1st Generation
    • Ahnentafel No:
    • 1 
    • Birth Date:
    • 5 Dec 1822 
    • Birth Location:
    • Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts 
    • Christening Date:
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    • Christening Location:
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    • Death Date:
    • 27 Jun 1907 
    • Death Location:
    • Arlington, Middlesex, Massachusetts 
    • Burial Date:
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    • Burial Location:
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    • Notes: 

    • Author and 1st President of Radcliffe College

      Who was Elizabeth Cabot (Cary) Agassiz?

      Elizabeth Cabot (Cary) Agassiz was a trailblazing educator, author, and the first president of Radcliffe College, which evolved from Harvard’s “Annex” program for women into a respected institution of higher learning. A member of Boston’s elite Cabot and Cary families, she was also the wife of Swiss-born naturalist Louis Agassiz, one of the 19th century’s foremost scientists.

      Elizabeth co-founded the Harvard Annex in 1879, which offered Harvard-level instruction to women at a time when they were barred from formal enrollment. Through her strong administrative leadership and fundraising abilities, she was instrumental in transforming the Annex into Radcliffe College, where she served as president from 1894 until her retirement in 1903. Her diplomatic leadership helped forge a working relationship between Radcliffe and Harvard that would eventually lead to the integration of women into the university.

      In addition to her educational work, Agassiz assisted her husband with scientific expeditions and edited many of his writings. After his death, she continued to publish scientific and autobiographical works, including A First Lesson in Natural History and A Journey in Brazil.

      A respected intellectual and advocate for women’s education, Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz left an enduring legacy in American academia. Her contributions helped lay the groundwork for the full inclusion of women in elite higher education.

  • Marriages for Elizabeth Cabot Cary

    • Spouse:
    • Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz
    • Marriage Date:
    • 25 Apr 1850
    • Marriage Location:
    • Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts

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