Adriano Balbi (April 25, 1782 – March 14, 1848), Italian geographer, was born at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. The publication of his ''Prospetto politico-geografico dello stato attuale del globo'' (

, 1808) obtained his election to the chair of professor of geography at the college of San Michele at Murano; in 1811–1813 he was professor of physics at the Lyceum of Fermo, and afterwards became attached to the customs office at his native city. In 1820 he visited

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and there collected materials for his ''Essai statistique sur le royaume de Portugal et d’Algarve'', published in 1822 at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where the author resided from 1821 until 1832. This was followed by ''Variétés politiques et statistiques de la monarchie portugaise'', which contains some observations respecting that country under the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

sway. In 1826 he published the first volume of his ''Atlas ethnographique du globe, ou classification des peuples anciens et modernes d’après leurs langues'', a work of great erudition. In 1829 he published, with Andre-Michel Guerry, ''Statistique comparée de l'état de l'instruction et du nombre des crimes dans les divers arrondissements des Académies et des Cours Royales de France'', the first comparative

choropleth map A choropleth map () is a type of statistical thematic map that uses pseudocolor, i.e., color corresponding with an aggregate summary of a geographic characteristic within spatial enumeration units, such as population density or per-capita incom ...

showing crime in relation to level of instruction. In 1832 appeared the ''Abrégé de Geographie'', which, in an enlarged form, was translated. into the principal languages of Europe. Balbi retired to

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

and there died in 1848. His son,

Eugenio Balbi Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar de ...

(1812–1884), followed a similar career, being professor of geography at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

, and publishing his father's ''Scritti Geografici'' (

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, 1841), and original works in ''Gea, ossia la terra'' (

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, 1854–1867) and ''Saggio di geografia'' (

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, 1868).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbi, Adrian 1782 births 1848 deaths Scientists from Venice Italian geographers 19th-century geographers 19th-century Italian scientists