Michele Lessona (20 September 1823,
Venaria Reale
Venaria Reale ( pms, La Venerìa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin.
Venaria Reale borders the municipalities of Robassomero, Caselle Torinese, Druent ...
,
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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– 20 July 1894,
Turin
Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...
) was an Italian
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
.
Michele Lessona became a specialist in
amphibians. His accomplishments include the translation of certain works of
Darwin, for example, ''
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex''.
Biography
Lessona studied medicine in
Turin
Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...
, afterwards relocating to Egypt, where he worked in a hospital outside of Cairo as hospital director at Karnak.
From 1850 he studied
natural sciences at Turin, and in the meantime found employment as a secondary school teacher. In 1854 he attained the chair of
mineralogy and
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
at the
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...
.
In 1862, with
Filippo de Filippi, he took part in a scientific and diplomatic mission to Persia, and after his return to Italy, he was named chair of zoology 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 continu ...
in 1863.
In 1867 he became chair of zoology and
comparative anatomy at the
University of Turin
The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...
. He was the first to translate Darwin's ''The Descent of Man'' into Italian, in 1871. He was also a Senator of the Kingdom from 1877 to 1894.
Eponyms
Lessona has several
herpetological species named after him, such as ''
Pelophylax lessonae
The pool frog (''Pelophylax lessonae'') is a European frog in the family Ranidae. Its specific name (zoology), specific name was chosen by the Italian Herpetology, herpetologist Lorenzo Camerano in 1882, in order to honour his master Michele Less ...
'',
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2013). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians''. Exeter, England: Pelagic Publishing Ltd. xiii + 262 pp. . ("Lessona", p. 124).] ''
Diploglossus lessonae'',
and ''
Trapelus lessonae''.
[Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Lessona", p. 156).]
Works
Partial list
* ', 1869. Florence.
* ''Carlo Darwin''. 1883. Reissued by Kessinger, 2009, .
* ''Venti anni fa'' 1884. Reissued by Kessinger, 2009, .
* ''Le cacce in Persia''. 1884. Rome. Reissued by Kessinger, 2010, .
References
External links
*
*
Google BooksThe Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson.
torinoscienzaIn Italian
WorldCat Identities(list of published works)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessona, Michele
1823 births
1894 deaths
People from Venaria Reale
Italian zoologists
University of Bologna faculty
University of Turin faculty
University of Genoa faculty
Italian herpetologists