Woods Hole

The Marine Biological Labratory at Woods Hole, Mass., celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation by Jean Louis Rudolphe Agassiz, famed Swiss-American naturalist (1807-1873), who became Professor of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. The first laboratory was on Penikese Island in Buzzards Bay, which was given for the purpose by the philanthropist, John Anderson, with an endowment of $50,000. Later it re- moved to the village of Woods Hole on the mainland. This was the first biological institution established on the edge of the sea for studying marine flora and fauna. But many have followed its lead, notably that of Prof. Yves Delage, in France. Dr. Agassiz's program was revolutionary, one of his rules being the complete prohibition of textbooks in favor of first-hand contact with living material. A sort of scientific communism formed the atmosphere of the school and made possible its; great contributions to our knowledge of the ocean's life.

This summer the institute has 146 students, 168 investigators, 25 instructors.