Anthony Panizzi
| Anthony Panizzi | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi 16 September 1797 Brescello |
| Died | 8 April 1879 (aged 81) London |
| Nationality | naturalised British of Italian descent |
| Fields | Library science |
| Institutions | British Museum Library |
| Alma mater | University of Parma |
Sir Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi (16 September 1797 – 8 April 1879), better known as Anthony Panizzi, was a naturalised British librarian of Italian birth and an Italian patriot. He was the Principal Librarian (i.e. head) of the British Museum from 1856 to 1866.
Panizzi was born at Brescello in the Duchy of Modena (now province of Reggio Emilia), Italy, on 16 September 1797. He studied at the Lyceum of Reggio, then obtained a degree in law from the University of Parma in 1818. He was appointed as Inspector of Public Schools at Brescello. It was during this time that a charge was brought against Panizzi that he was a Carbonaro, that is, a member of a secret society that opposed the current political regime. The evidence would suggest that the accusation was true.
In October 1822, amid political upheaval in Italy, Panizzi was slated for arrest, as were many Carbonari. He was tipped off that he faced arrest and trial as a subversive, and made his way across Italy, eventually arriving in Switzerland. In 1823, he wrote and published a book decrying the repressive regime and trials against citizens of the Duchy of Modena, Dei Processi e delle Sentenze contra gli imputati di LesarMaesta e di aderenza alle Sette proscritte negli Stati di Modena. Following the book's publication, he was indicted, tried, and condemned to death in absentia in Modena, and pressure was brought to have him expelled from Switzerland.
In May 1823, Panizzi moved to England, becoming a British subject in 1832. Upon his arrival in London, Italian poet in exile Ugo Foscolo gave him a letter of introduction to Liverpool banker William Roscoe and he moved to that city, where he made a meager living teaching Italian. In 1826 Panizzi met lawyer and political figure Henry Brougham and helped him in a difficult abduction case; when Brougham became Lord Chancellor of England, he obtained for Panizzi the Professorship of Italian at the newly founded London University (now University College London), and later a post of "Extra-Assistant-Keeper" at the British Museum Library Panizzi held a string of posts there: first Assistant Librarian (1831–37), then Keeper of Printed Books (1837–56) and finally Principal Librarian (1856–66). For his extraordinary services as a librarian, in 1869 he was knighted by Queen Victoria.
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