Antonio Maria Lorgna (1735-1796) or Antonio Mario Lorgna (as he signed his works) was a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

from Italy in the 18th century, founder of the Accademia nazionale delle scienze.

Life and work

Lorgna - Opuscula mathematica et physica, 1770 - 1399875

Little is known about the first twenty years of Lorgna's life. He was the son of a cavalry officer of the Venetian army and in 1757 he was in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

probably following his father in his military duties (Dalmatia was at this time under Venetian rule). The general governor of Dalmatia, Alvise Contarini, knowing his abilities and versatility, appointed him as his secretary and interpreter. Returned to

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 ...

in 1759, Lorgna became a student at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

; he didn't graduate, but learned physics, astronomy and mathematics under

Giovanni Poleni Giovanni Poleni (b. Venice, around 1683; d. Padua, Nov., 1761) was a Marquess, physicist, mathematician and antiquarian. Early life He was the son of Marquess Jacopo Poleni and studied the classics, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics ...

and Giovanni Alberto Colombo. In 1762 he enrolled in the Venetian army and went to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

for some time, then was appointed professor of mathematics in the military academy for engineers in Castelvecchio in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

. Lorgna worked at the Military College of Castelvecchio for the rest of his career, teaching courses on trigonometry, mechanics, statics for construction, ballistics and hydraulics. From 1784 he was also the general governor of the college, attaining the military rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. Lorgna never married. He died while the French army was occupying Verona. He is best known as the founder in 1782 of the ''Societá Italiana delle Scienze detta dei XL'', now the '' Accademia nazionale delle scienze'', a leading research Italian institution.

Works

Of 80 works, the following are major ones:, MacTutor History of Mathematics. *
Della graduazione de'termometri a mercurio e della rettificazione de'barometri semplici
' (1765) * *
De quibusdam maximis, & minimis: dissertatio statico-geometrica
' (1766) *
Dissertazione sopra il quesito: essendo le pressioni dell'acqua stagnante in ragione delle altezze...
' (1769) *
Opuscula mathematica et physica
' (1770) * *
Dissertazione sopra il questio rinvenire il fondamento...
' (1771) *
Specimen de seriebus convergentibus
' (1775) *
De casu irreductibili tertii gradus et seriebus infinitis
' (1776) *
Saggi di statica e meccanica applicate alle arti
' (1782) *
Principi di geografia astronomico-geometrica
' (1789) * *

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* *
Web page of Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorgna, Antonio Maria 1735 births 1796 deaths 18th-century Italian people 18th-century Italian mathematicians