Laura Bassi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Bassi
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| Born | 29 October 1711 |
| Died | 20 February 1778 (aged 66) Bologna, Papal States
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| Nationality | Italian |
| Alma mater | University of Bologna |
| Known for |
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| Spouse(s) |
Giuseppe Veratti
(m. 1738) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
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| Institutions | University of Bologna |
| Patrons | Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini (Pope Benedict XIV) |
| Notable students | Lazzaro Spallanzani |
| Influences | Isaac Newton |
Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti (born October 29, 1711 – died February 20, 1778) was an amazing Italian scientist and teacher. People often called her "Minerva", after the Roman goddess of wisdom.
Laura Bassi was the first woman in the world to get a science doctorate degree. She was also the second woman ever to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree. She worked at the University of Bologna and was the first woman to be paid as a university teacher. At one point, she was even the highest-paid person at the university!
Laura Bassi did not go to a regular school. She was taught at home from age five until she was twenty. By then, she knew a lot about science and math. A powerful church leader, Prospero Lambertini, noticed how smart she was. He later became Pope Benedict XIV and helped her a lot.
With his help, Laura publicly defended her ideas in front of university professors in 1732. She earned her doctorate degree soon after. The university then hired her as their first female teacher. However, she was not allowed to teach classes with only male students. Later, the Pope helped her get permission to teach private classes and do experiments at her home.
Laura Bassi became very important for spreading Newton's ideas about physics in Italy. In 1745, the Pope made her a special member of a scientific group called the Benedettini. In 1776, she became the head of Experimental Physics. She held this important job until she passed away.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Laura Bassi was born in 1711 in Bologna, Italy. Her father, Giuseppe Bassi, was a successful lawyer.
Laura was taught at home by private tutors. From age five, her cousin, Father Lorenzo Stegani, taught her Latin, French, and mathematics. When she was thirteen, Gaetano Tacconi, a family doctor and university professor, began teaching her. He taught her philosophy, logic, and natural philosophy.
Laura became very interested in Newtonian science. This was different from what her teacher, Tacconi, preferred.
A Public Scholar
Laura's intelligence was noticed by Prospero Lorenzini Lambertini. He was the Archbishop of Bologna and later became Pope Benedict XIV. He became her main supporter.
In 1732, Lambertini arranged a public debate for Laura. She discussed her ideas with four professors from the University of Bologna. Laura, who was twenty years old, publicly defended 49 of her ideas. This happened at a public palace in Bologna.
On May 12, 1732, the University of Bologna gave her a doctorate degree. She was the first woman to get a science doctorate. She was also the second woman in the world to earn a philosophy doctorate. The first was Elena Cornaro Piscopia in 1678. People in Bologna started calling her "Bolognese Minerva" because of her wisdom.
Laura Bassi also became the first woman to be chosen for the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna. This happened on March 20, 1732.
Marriage and Family
On February 7, 1738, Laura Bassi married Giuseppe Veratti. He was also a doctor and taught anatomy at the University of Bologna. They worked together and supported each other's scientific studies. It is believed that her marriage encouraged her to study experimental physics.
Laura and Giuseppe had eight children who were recorded. Five of them lived past infancy. Their children included Giovanni, Ciro, Caterina, Giacomo, and Paolo. Paolo later became a doctor and a professor of experimental physics.
Career at the University
On June 27, 1732, Laura Bassi presented 12 more ideas at the main building of the University of Bologna. This was her request for a teaching job. Her ideas covered many topics like chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
On October 29, 1732, the university hired her as a professor of natural philosophy. This was like an honorary position today. She became the first woman in the world to be paid as a university lecturer.
Her first lecture was about "Water as a natural element of all other bodies." However, the university still believed women should live private lives. So, Laura was not allowed to give as many public lectures as male teachers. She tried to get equal teaching rights, but it didn't work.
From 1746 to 1777, she gave only one official lecture each year. These lectures covered topics from gravity to electricity. She gave at least 31 lectures to the university in total. In 1739, her request for normal teaching duties was supported by Pope Lambertini. She was still denied, but she was allowed to teach private lessons and get money for experiments at her home starting in 1759. This helped her explore new ideas more freely.
The university wanted Laura to attend important public events. One such event was the Carnival Anatomy, where public dissections happened. She started attending this event every year in 1734.
In 1772, the professor of experimental physics, Paolo Balbi, passed away. Laura believed she could take his place. In 1776, at age 65, she was made the head of Experimental Physics at the Bologna Institute of Sciences. Her husband worked as her teaching assistant. She passed away two years later. Laura Bassi spent her life in science and helped improve the standing of women in academics.
Scientific Work
After she married, Laura Bassi could teach regularly from her home. In the 1760s, she and her husband worked together on experiments with electricity. This work attracted other scientists to Bologna to study electricity.
Laura was very interested in Newtonian physics. She taught classes on this subject for 28 years. She was one of the most important people who brought Newton's ideas to Italy. She also did her own experiments in many areas of physics.
Since Newtonian physics and electricity were not part of the university's regular classes, Laura taught them in private lessons. She wrote 28 papers during her lifetime, mostly about physics and hydraulics. However, she did not publish any books, and only four of her papers were printed.
Laura sometimes struggled to get enough money for her experiments. In a letter from 1755, she wrote about needing help to continue her work. However, she and another scientist, Domenico Galeazzi, were paid the highest salaries at the university.
Important Connections
Laura Bassi's degree defense and first lecture in 1732 were very important. They took place in a major government building in Bologna. Many important people attended, including university staff, students, and city leaders.
Cardinal Prospero Lambertini was one of her most important supporters. He encouraged her scientific work. He also helped her when other members of the university tried to keep her separate from the male professors.
In 1745, Lambertini, who was now Pope Benedict XIV, created a special group of 25 scholars called the Benedettini. Laura worked hard to be part of this group. Some other academics had mixed feelings, but the Pope did make her an additional member. She was the only woman in the group, but she did not have voting rights like the men.
Many famous scientists and thinkers wrote letters to Laura Bassi. These included Voltaire, Cesare Beccaria, and Alessandro Volta. Voltaire once wrote to her saying he would rather be part of her Academy in Bologna than the English one, even though it had produced Newton.
Death and Legacy
Laura Bassi passed away on February 20, 1778, at age 66. She had health issues, including what was called an "attack in the chest," likely a heart attack. Her funeral was held at the Church of Corpus Domini, Bologna. She was buried in the church, near the tomb of another scientist, Luigi Galvani.
Honors and Awards
A bronze medal was made for Laura Bassi to celebrate her first series of classes. One side of the medal showed her image. The other side had a phrase that means, "Only you can see Minerva".
After she died, a marble statue was made in her honor. It was placed in the institute where she worked.
Laura Bassi was a member of many different academic groups. She also wrote many letters to important people across Europe. She knew a lot about old classical writings, as well as French and Italian literature.
Lasting Impact
Laura Bassi's name lives on in many ways. A 31-kilometer wide crater on Venus is named after her. There is also a high school and a street in Bologna called Via Laura Bassi Veratti.
Since 2018, a scholarship called the Laura Bassi Scholarship is offered three times a year to young academics.
In 2019, a research ship was bought by an Italian institute and renamed Laura Bassi. This ship is an icebreaker and helps with scientific research.
On April 17, 2021, Google honored Laura Bassi with a special Doodle celebrating her many achievements.
Published Works
Laura Bassi had many duties, family responsibilities, and health issues. Because of this, she published only a few works. These works show only a small part of her contributions to the University of Bologna.
Her published works include:
- De aqua corpore naturali elemento aliorum corporum parte universi (Concerning bodies of water as natural elements of other parts of the universe). This was a collection of ideas for her university job, published in 1732.
- Four works that appeared in De Bononiensi Scientiarum et Artium Instituto atque Academia Commentarii (Commentaries of the Bologna Institute and the Academy of Arts and Sciences):
- De aeris compressione (Concerning air pressure, 1745)
- De problemate quodam hydrometrico (Concerning certain problems in hydrometrics, 1757)
- De problemate quodam mechanico (Concerning certain problems in mechanics, 1757)
- De immixto fluidis aere (Concerning intermixed gaseous fluid, published after her death in 1792)
See also
In Spanish: Laura Bassi para niños
