- Giovanni Poleni
Giovanni Poleni (b. Venice, around 1683; d.
Padua , Nov., 1761) was aMarquess , physicist, and antiquarian; the son of Marquess Jacopo Poleni. He studied the classics, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics. He was appointed, at the age of twenty-five, professor of astronomy at Padua. In 1715 he was assigned to the chair of physics, and in 1719 he succeededNicholas II Bernoulli as professor of mathematics. As an expert inhydraulic engineering he was charged by the Venetian Senate with the care of the waters of lowerLombardy and with the constructions necessary to prevent floods. He was also repeatedly called in to decide cases between sovereigns whose states were bordered by waterways.His knowledge of architecture caused
Benedict XIV to call him to Rome in 1748 to examine thecupola of St. Peter's, which was rapidly disintegrating. He promptly indicated the repairs necessary. He also wrote a number ofantiquarian dissertations. In 1739 theFrench Academy of Sciences made him a member, and later the societies of London, Berlin, and St. Petersburg did the same. The city of Padua elected him as magistrate, and after his death erected his statue byCanova . Venice also honoured him by striking a medal.Principal works
*"Miscellanea" (dissertations on physics), Venice, 1709;
*"De vorticibus coelestibus", Padua, 1712;
*"De motu acquæ mixto", Padua, 1717;
*"De castellis per quæ derivantur fluviorum latera convergentia", Padua, 1720;
*"Exercitationes Vitruvianæ" Venice, 1739;
*"Il tiempo di Diana di Efeso" (The Temple of Diana atEphesus ); Venice, 1742.ources
*ANON, "Memorie per la vita del Signor G. P." (Padua, 1762);
*FOUCHY, "Eloge, Mém. de l'ac. des Sc. hist." (Paris, 1763).
*Catholic|Giovanni PoleniExternal links
[http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Poleni.html Biography from MacTutor]
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