Vincenzo Botta (November 11, 1818

Cavallermaggiore Cavallermaggiore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Cavallermaggiore borders the following municipalities: Bra, Cavallerleone, Cheras ...

- October 5, 1894

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) 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 ...

-born politician and professor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and later, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, of

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 m ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Biography

Botta was educated at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

, and became professor of philosophy there. In 1849 he was elected to the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n parliament, and in 1850 commissioned, in association with Dr. Parola, another deputy, to examine the educational system of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Their report on the German universities and schools was published at the expense of the government. In 1853, he met Anne Lynch, a writer from the

then traveling in Europe. Also in 1853, Botta was sent to the United States for the purpose of investigating the public school system. He found

to his liking, settled there, and became naturalized. He taught philosophy and Italian at the

University of the City of New York New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

where for many years he was chair of the department of Italian language and literature. Botta and Anne Lynch were married in 1855. Their brownstone home at 25 West 37th Street became a meeting place for literary people and artists.

Works

* ''Pubblico insegnamento in Germania'' (c. 1850) * ''La questiona Americana'' (1861) * ''Discourse on the Life, Character, and Policy of

Count Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement towa ...

'' (1862) * ''

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, as Philosopher, Patriot, and Statesman'', with an analysis of the ''

Divina Commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' (1865) * ''Account of the System of Education in Piedmont'' * ''An Historical Account of Modern Philosophy in Italy'' in Ueberweg's ''History of Philosophy from Thales to the Present Time'' (1872)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Botta, Vincenzo 1818 births 1894 deaths University of Turin alumni University of Turin faculty New York University faculty Italian emigrants to the United States Historians of philosophy