Skip to main content

Primary sourcePhotograph1865

William James in Brazil after the Attack of Small-Pox

Photographer unidentified · 1865

A photograph of William James taken in 1865 in Brazil, after he suffered smallpox during Louis Agassiz's Amazon expedition.

This photograph shows James in Brazil after smallpox, an episode that turned him away from field natural history.

Ask William James about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Sepia-toned full-length studio portrait of a man standing with his hands in his pockets, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, dark-rimmed round spectacles, a dark jacket, waistcoat, tie, and light trousers, beside a draped table against a painted backdrop.
Unidentified photographer, William James in Brazil after the attack of small-pox, 1865. Houghton Library, Harvard University.

About this source

What it is

This 1865 photograph, by an unidentified photographer, shows William James standing in a studio setting. It is held as part of the Houghton Library manuscript collection at Harvard University, catalogued as MS Am 1092 (1185).

Why it matters

James took part in naturalist Louis Agassiz's expedition to the Amazon, during which he caught smallpox. The experience is described as turning him away from a career in field natural history. The photograph, taken soon after his illness, documents a turning point in James's life before he moved toward psychology and philosophy.

Look closer

  • What does James's expression and pose suggest about how he wanted to be seen after his illness?
  • Why might this photograph have been kept and catalogued as part of his personal papers?
  • How might this experience on Agassiz's expedition have shaped James's later interest in the workings of the mind and body?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William James on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More William James sources

Meet the AI William James →
Title page of The Principles of Psychology, Vol. I, by William James, Professor of Psychology in Harvard University. Published by Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1890. Includes an owl-and-book vignette near the bottom.Book

Primary source

The Principles of Psychology

William James · 1890

Title page of the 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, by William James, LL.D. Text reads Being the Gifford Lectures delivered at Edinburgh 1901-1902, published by Longmans, Green, and Co., New York, London and Bombay. Small printer's ornament below the subtitle.Book

Primary source

The Varieties of Religious Experience

William James · 1901-1902

Book

Primary source

Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking

William James · 1907

Speech

Primary source

The Will to Believe

William James · 1896

Oil painting of a young man in profile facing left, with short brown hair, wearing a dark vest, white shirt, and red tie, holding a palette with his right hand against a grey-green background.Painting

Primary source

William James

John La Farge · 1859

Ready when you are

Start chatting with William James now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions