Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz (pseudonym, Actaea; née Cary; December 5, 1822 – June 27, 1907) was an American educator, naturalist, writer, and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College.

[1] Agassiz traveled to Brazil with her husband from 1865 to 1866, and on the Hassler expedition from 1871 to 1872; of the second, she wrote an account for the Atlantic Monthly.

[2] Elizabeth Cabot Cary was born on December 5, 1822, into a Boston Brahmin family of New England ancestry.

[3] Because of her fragile health, she was tutored at home in Temple Place, Boston, which included the study of languages, drawing, music, and reading.

In 1879, Agassiz was one of seven female managing directors of the Society for the Private Collegiate Instruction for Women (Harvard Annex).

This provided qualified women who intended to pursue an advancement in their education in Cambridge with the opportunity to have private tuition from professors at Harvard College.

[1] Agassiz's research can be studied through her published books in addition to her series of diary entries depicting her global ventures.

A biography of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz was later written by her sister, Emma F. Cary, and Lucy Allen Paton, published in the spring of 1917 with the assistance of the Council of Radcliffe College.

In December 1849 — when it became more socially acceptable for the couple to wed — Lizzie's father gave his blessing in support of their marriage.

She continued to enjoy traveling, and in 1892, Agassiz ventured with family to the Pacific Coast, specifically California, for three months.