Giuseppe Toaldo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Giuseppe Toaldo
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Portrait of Giuseppe Toaldo
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| Born | 11 July 1719 |
| Died | 11 November 1797 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | University of Padua; Astronomical Observatory of Padua |
Giuseppe Toaldo (born in Pianezze on July 11, 1719 – died in Padua on November 11, 1797) was an Italian Catholic priest and a scientist who studied physics. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very important group of scientists in London.
Contents
About Giuseppe Toaldo
Giuseppe Toaldo was born in 1719 in a town called Pianezza, near Vicenza, Italy.
When he was 14, he went to a special school in Padua to study to become a priest. Later, he taught math and Italian literature at the same school.
Toaldo and Galileo
While teaching, Toaldo helped publish the works of Galileo Galilei in 1744. Galileo was a famous scientist whose ideas about the Earth moving around the Sun were once not allowed by the church. Toaldo's edition was important because it was the first time Galileo's book, "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems," was published with the church's approval after Galileo's earlier troubles.
Studying Lightning
In 1754, Toaldo became a priest in Montegalda. Eight years later, he became a professor of astronomy at the University of Padua.
Toaldo was very interested in atmospheric electricity, which is the electricity in the air, like during a thunderstorm. He also studied how to protect buildings from lightning.
He strongly believed in using lightning rods, which are metal rods placed on buildings to safely guide lightning into the ground. He agreed with the ideas of Benjamin Franklin, a famous American inventor, about how lightning rods work.
Protecting Buildings
Toaldo wrote books like "Della maniera di difendere gli edificii dal fulmine" (1772) and "Dei conduttori metallici a preservazione degli edifici dal fulmine" (1774). These books helped people understand and accept lightning rods.
Thanks to his efforts, lightning rods were put on important buildings. These included the Siena Cathedral, the tall tower of St. Mark's, Venice, and even on places where gunpowder was stored and on ships of the Venetian navy. This helped keep many people and buildings safe from lightning strikes.
Toaldo was a member of many important science groups across Europe, including the Royal Society in London. There's even an asteroid named after him, called 23685 Toaldo!
Images for kids
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Schediasmata astronomica, 1791
See also
- List of Roman Catholic cleric–scientists
