Statue of Louis Agassiz
The statue on the exterior of Jordan Hall, 2019
Map
MediumMarble sculpture
SubjectLouis Agassiz
LocationStanford, California, United States
Coordinates37°25′44″N 122°10′15″W / 37.428787°N 122.170758°W / 37.428787; -122.170758

A statue of the 19th-century biologist and geologist Louis Agassiz was previously installed on the exterior of Building 420 (formerly Jordan Hall), in the Main Quad of Stanford University, in the U.S. state of California. It has since been removed.[1][2]

History

After the 1906 San Francisco earth­quake toppled the statue from the façade of Stanford's zoology building, Stanford President David Starr Jordan wrote that "Somebody‍—‌Dr. Angell, perhaps‍—‌remarked that 'Agassiz was great in the abstract but not in the concrete.'"[3]

During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the statue, made of marble, fell from the second floor of the zoology building.[4][5] The New York Times' Rebecca Stott writes, "The great scientist, with his head buried in concrete, his upturned body sticking up into air, became an iconic image of the earthquake."[6] The statue was not damaged.[7]

In 2020, the Stanford Department of Psychology requested to remove the statue from the front façade of its building due to his support of polygenism.[8] The statue was removed in October 2020.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Joncas, Richard; Neuman, David J.; Turner, Paul Venable (2006). Stanford University. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 29. ISBN 9781568986647. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Casper, Gerhard (February 25, 2014). The Winds of Freedom: Addressing Challenges to the University. Yale University Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780300196917. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Earthquake impacts on prestige". Stanford University and the 1906 earthquake. Stanford University. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  4. ^ The Stanford Quad, Volume 14. Associated Students of Stanford University. 1908. p. 24. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Irmscher, Christoph (February 5, 2013). Louis Agassiz: Creator of American Science. HMH. p. 343. ISBN 9780547568928. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  6. ^ Stott, Rebecca (January 31, 2013). "Under the Microscope". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Gardanier, Sutter (November 7, 1958). "David Starr Jordan, Biology Dept. Cited for Contribution to Ichthyology". The Stanford Daily. Vol. 134, no. 31. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "Stanford to review requests for Jordan Hall renaming and statue removal". Stanford News. April 20, 2020. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "Photos: Jordan signage, Agassiz statue removed from Building 420". The Stanford Daily. October 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2022.

External links

Stanford University
Categories