Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 9 April 1643), born Antonio Castelli, was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

mathematician. Benedetto was his name in religion on entering the

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

in 1595.

Life

Born in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

, Castelli studied 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 ...

and later became an abbot at the

Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. He was a long-time friend and supporter of his teacher,

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

, and in turn teacher to Galileo's son. He assisted Galileo's study of sunspots and participated in the examination of the theories of

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...

. Castelli was interested in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

hydraulics Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

. He was appointed as a mathematician to the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

, replacing Galileo, and later at the

University of Rome La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

. Castelli introduced

Bonaventura Cavalieri Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri ( la, Bonaventura Cavalerius; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of infi ...

to Galileo, leading to an extensive correspondence between the latter; Galileo was instrumental in procuring a position for Cavalieri at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

in 1629. Castelli was involved in the discovery of the

phases of Venus The phases of Venus are the variations of lighting seen on the planet's surface, similar to lunar phases. The first recorded observations of them are thought to have been telescopic observations by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Although the extreme cr ...

: In December 1610, Galileo received a letter from Castelli, asking if the phases of Venus were observable through Galileo's new telescope. Days later, Galileo wrote in a letter to

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws ...

saying that he'd observed Venus going through phases, but took complete credit for himself. It is unclear, lacking copies of any earlier correspondence, whether Castelli was telling Galileo of it for the first time, or responding to Galileo having previously informed him of it.The Phases of Venus and Heliocentricity: A Rough Guide
/ref> Castelli died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. His students included

Giovanni Alfonso Borelli Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (; 28 January 1608 – 31 December 1679) was a Renaissance Italian physiologist, physicist, and mathematician. He contributed to the modern principle of scientific investigation by continuing Galileo's practice of testin ...

Raffaello Magiotti Raffaello Magiotti (1597–1656) was an Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist. Born at Montevarchi, he studied at Florence, and, having taken his vows, moved to Rome, following Cardinal Sacchetti. In 1636, he began to work at the Vatic ...

, Antonio Nardi, and

Evangelista Torricelli Evangelista Torricelli ( , also , ; 15 October 160825 October 1647) was an Italian physicist and mathematician, and a student of Galileo. He is best known for his invention of the barometer, but is also known for his advances in optics and work o ...

, the inventor of the

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

and an early proponent of the

air pump An air pump is a pump for pushing air. Examples include a bicycle pump, pumps that are used to aerate an aquarium or a pond via an airstone; a gas compressor used to power a pneumatic tool, air horn or pipe organ; a bellows used to encourage ...

. He recommended

Gasparo Berti Gasparo Berti ( 1600–1643) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer and physicist. He was probably born in Mantua and spent most of his life in Rome. He is most famous today for his experiment in which he unknowingly created the first working ba ...

for a chair of mathematics at Sapienza. Berti was to be his successor at the university, but he died before he could take the post.

Works

Castelli - Risposta alle opposizioni del signor Lodovico delle Colombe e del signor Vincenzio di Grazia

He published ''Mensuration of Running Water'', an important work on fluids in motion, and then his ''Geometrical Demonstrations of the Measure of Running Waters'' in which the publishing notes described him as Abbot of San Benedetto Aloysio and Mathematician to

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

, once a supporter of his mentor, Galileo. He dedicated both publications to ''"the most Illustrious, and most Excellent Prince"'',

Taddeo Barberini Taddeo Barberini (1603–1647) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina and Gonfalonier of the Church; commander of the Papal Army. He was a nephew of Pope Urban VIII and brother of Cardinals Frances ...

, a nephew of Pope Urban VIII. * * * * Benedetto Castelli,

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...

Vincenzo Viviani Vincenzo Viviani (April 5, 1622 – September 22, 1703) was an Italian mathematician and scientist. He was a pupil of Torricelli and a disciple of Galileo.Opuscoli idraulici
Bologna, Tipografia Marsigli, 1822. *

References

External links

* *
Galileo Galilei, Letter to Benedetto Castelli (1613)
, ''Religion and Science''.

)
The Galileo Correspondence Project at Stanford University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castelli 1578 births 1643 deaths Scientists from Brescia 16th-century Italian mathematicians 17th-century Italian mathematicians Italian Benedictines Sapienza University of Rome faculty University of Padua alumni University of Pisa alumni Catholic clergy scientists

Life

Works

See also

References

External links