Andrea Crestadoro

Andrea Crestadoro
Sketch from 1879
Born	1808 Genoa
Died	1879
Occupation	Librarian and curator
Spouse(s)	Margaret Elizabeth Chittleburgh
Children	none
Parent(s)	John Baptista Crestadoro

Dr. Andrea Crestadoro (1808–1879) was a bibliographer who became Chief Librarian of Manchester Free Library, 1864–1879. He is credited with being the first person to propose that books could be catalogued by using keywords that did not occur in the title of the book. His ideas also included a metallic balloon, reform of the tax system, and improvements to a railway locomotive – the Impulsoria – that was powered by four horses on a treadmill.

Andrea Crestadoro was born in Genoa in 1808 and was educated there before he studied for his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Turin. He came to notice in 1849 when he left his position as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Turin to come to England to further his interest in mechanical devices. In England he took out a number of patents including improvements to the Impulsoria.

Crestadoro improved the design of an unusual device called the Impulsoria, which was a mobile treadmill-powered locomotive. The invention was made by Clemente Masserano, who was from Pignerol in Italy. Following his improvements Crestadoro exhibited the Impulsoria at The Great Exhibition held in the Crystal Palace in 1851. The power was transferred to the wheels using chains and a gearbox that allowed it to climb. It was said to be able to pull 30 wagons up an incline and could be used with two or four horses.

Another suggestion from Crestadoro was to replace the paddle wheels or propellors on steamships with a smooth cylinder. He argued that the paddles or propellor blades were unnecessary, proposing smooth cylinders instead, which he suggested would gain traction by being immersed in the water.

Crestadoro was given the task of creating a catalogue for the Manchester Library. He is credited with being the first person to propose that books could be catalogued by using keywords that did not occur in the title of the book. The system was called keyword in titles, which was first proposed for Manchester libraries in 1864. This system was developed many years later as Key Word in Context (KWIC) by Hans Peter Luhn and was used in early computer based indexing.