Domenico Guglielmini


Domenico Guglielmini was an Italian mathematician, chemist and physician.
He lived and worked with success in Bologna and Padua rising to a notable level of prominence.

Life

Born in Bologna within a well-off family, he graduated in medicine in 1678 with Marcello Malpighi at the University of Bologna, at the same time he studied mathematics with Geminiano Montanari and became a member of the Academia della Traccia o dei Filosofi.
His first mathematical writings topic was astronomy, but later he focused his studies on hydraulics. In 1686 he was named "Bologna General Water Administrator", an important role due to the large number of watercourses existing in the area and the frequent flooding that required surveillance.
The experience gave inspiration for his well known work "Della natura dei fiumi" which is considered a masterpiece of modern river hydraulics.
He married Constantine Gioannetti and had three daughters and a son, Giuseppe Ferdinando, who became his biographer. In 1690 he was appointed professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna and in 1694 professor of Hydrometry.
In 1698 he was invited by the prestigious University of Padua to teach mathematics, astronomy and medicine and to collaborate in the restoration of the fortifications of Kotor in Dalmatia.
He died in 1709 after eight months of agony for a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried in the church of St. Massimo in Padua and a sumptuous monument was erected in the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.

Works