Laura Bassi
| Laura Bassi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 20-29 October 1711 Bologna, Papal States |
| Died | February 20, 1778 (aged 66) Bologna, Papal States |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Fields |
Physics Anatomy Biology History Medicine |
| Institutions | University of Bologna |
| Alma mater | University of Bologna |
| Known for | First female university professor of Europe |
| Influenced | Marie François Xavier Bichat |
Laura Maria Caterina Bassi (October 1711 – 20 February 1778) was an Italian physicist and academic. She received a doctoral degree from the University of Bologna in May 1732,[1] the second degree ever bestowed on a woman by a university. She was the first woman to earn a professorship in physics at a university in Europe.[3] She is recognized as the first woman in the world to earn a university chair in a scientific field of studies. Bassi contributed immensely to the field of science while also helping to spread the field of Newtonianism through Italy.
She was born in Bologna into the wealthy family of a lawyer. The date of her birth is contested in various different sources ranging between October 20 and October 29, 1711.
She was privately educated, beginning at the age of 13 and continuing for seven years, by Gaetano Tacconi. The two began to drift apart after Bassi discovered her intrigue for Newtonian science despite Tacconi’s wish for her focus on the less controversial Cartesian beliefs. Her cousin, Father Lorenzo Stegani tutored her in Latin, French and arithmetic.
After much practice privately, in 1732, at the age of 20, she publicly defended her thesis in the Palazzo Pubblico, thus beginning her academic career.
On February 7, 1738, she married Giuseppe Veratti, a doctor of philosophy and medicine, and a fellow lecturer in physics at the University of Bologna. They shared a sophisticated working relationship; it is argued that through their marriage Bassi was inspired to begin studying experimental physics. They parented twelve children of whom five survived.
Bassi died on February 20, 1778 at the age of 67.
After publicly defending forty nine theses in the Pallazo Publicco, she was awarded a doctorate of Philosophy on May 12, 1732. Thus, Bassi became the second woman in the world to earn a philosophy doctorate after Elena Cornaro Piscopia in 1678, fifty-four years prior.[4]
The next month, she defended twelve additional theses at the Archiginnasio, the main building of the University of Bologna which allowed her to petition for a teaching position at the university. On October 29, 1732, the University of Bologna granted Bassi’s professorship in philosophy at the University of Bologna thus also making her a member of the Academy of the Sciences.
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