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Michelangelo Ricci

Michelangelo Ricci (1619–1682) was an Italian mathematician and a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.


Michelangelo Ricci
Michelangelo Ricci
DioceseDiocese of Rome
Appointed1 September 1681
Term ended12 May 1682
Orders
Created cardinal1 September 1681
by Pope Innocent XI
RankCardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born30 January 1619
Died12 May 1682(1682-05-12) (aged 63)
Rome
NationalityItalian
DenominationRoman Catholic

Biography

Michelangelo Ricci was born on 30 January 1619 in Rome, then capital of the Papal States, to a family of low social standing that originated in Bergamo.

He studied theology and law in Rome, where he was a contemporary of René-François de Sluse. He also studied mathematics under Benedetto Castelli who himself had been a student of Galileo Galilei. He was a friend of Evangelista Torricelli, kept close links with contemporary scientific culture, and played an important role in the development of the Galilean school.

Like de Sluze, he spent his entire career in the Roman Catholic Church and served the pope in various roles on several occasions. A trained theologian, he acted as consultant to various Congregations of the Roman Curia. Having suffered from epilepsy since his birth, he was (according to canon law of the time) disqualified from ordination. Nonetheless, he was created a Cardinal-Deacon in the Consistory of 1 September 1681 by Pope Innocent XI, with the title 'Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Aquiro'. His position in the church was very useful for protecting his friends and fellow scientists in their controversies with the opposing scholastic school.

He played a significant part in the theoretical debates and experiments that led up to Torricelli's discovery of atmospheric pressure and invention of the mercury barometer. In particular he followed the experiments in this field by Gasparo Berti, in Rome.

There is an unpublished manuscript by Ricci, devoted to algebra, in the library of the Mathematical Institute of Genoa. It shows that by 1640 he was familiar with the 'New Algebra' of François Viète. In this book he provides a critique of the solutions given by the geometer Marino Ghetaldi of Ragusa in his De Resolutione et Compositione Matematica to the problems posed by Apollonius of Perga.[1]

His published mathematical work is summarised in a treatise of nineteen pages, Exercitatio geometrica, de maximis et minimis (1666) in which he studies the maxima of functions of the form   and tangents to curves with equation  , using methods that are an early form of induction. This treatise was much admired by his contemporaries and has recently been republished as an appendix to Mercator's 'Logarithmo-Technia' (1688). He also studied spirals (1644) and cycloids (1674) and recognised that the study of tangents and the calculation of areas are reciprocal operations.

Ricci is also known for his correspondence with Torricelli, Vincenzo Viviani, René de Sluze and Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici, founder of the Accademia del Cimento. These letters give his thoughts on paraboloids and hyperboloids when cut by parallel planes, on the surface of a ring, and on the properties of the vacuum. It was Ricci who welcomed Marin Mersenne, when he came to Italy to present the work of René Descartes. In optics he studied the magnifying effect of lenses. With Giovanni Battista Baliani he discussed the Galilean revolution. Ricci was also a close associate of Antonio Nardi, another mathematician in Rome. He collaborated with Nardi on his Scene, an unpublished manuscript that circulated among Torricelli and others, in which Ricci included some of the material that would later appear in his 1666 Geometrica Exercitatio.

Following the death of Torricelli and the disappearance of Bonaventura Cavalieri, he was requested to collate and publish his correspondence with these two men. However he declined the invitation, leading to Torricelli's work being forgotten for some time.

He endeavoured to defend Francesco Redi against Cardinal Leopold when Redi published his Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degl'Insetti, arguing against the spontaneous generation of insects.

Ricci was also the backer of Abbot Francisco Nazzari in the publication of the first review of Italian literature, the Giornale de' Letterati (1668-1683).

He died in Rome, age 63, on 12 May 1682.

Works

 
Geometrica exercitatio, 1666
  • Michaelis Angeli Riccii Geometrica exercitatio, Romae: apud Nicolaum Angelum Tinassium, 1666
  • Decretum sacrae Congregationis indulgentijs, sacrisque reliquijs praepositae, Romae et Pataui: typis reuerendae Camerae Apostolicae, 1678
  • Decretum Aloysius card. Homodeus, Romae, et Pataui, Romae et Pataui: typis reuerendae Camerae Apostolicae, 1678
  • Decretum sacrae Congregationis Indulgentiarum, Romae: typis reuerendae Camerae Apostolicae, 1679
  • Logarithmotechnia Nicolaus Mercator. Beigebunden Exercitatio geometrica, Hildesheim; New York: Olms, 1975

References

  1. ^ Ronald Calinger : Vita mathematica: historical research and integration with teaching

Sources

  • «RICCI MICHELANGELO, Cardinale». In: Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, Vol. LVII, Venezia: Tipografia Emiliana, 1852, p. 177
  • Vitarum Italorum doctrina excellentium qui saeculo XVIII floruerunt decas I-VI. Auctore Angelo Fabronio, Romae: typis S. Michaelis apud Junchium: prostant venales apud Natalem Barbiellini in foro Pasquini, 1769, Vol. II, p. 200

External links

  • (in English) Biography on the University of Saint-Andrews site
  • (in English) Biography on the History of Science Museum, Florence, site
  • (in Italian) Biography on a site devoted to Francesco Redi
  • (in English) The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Biography

michelangelo, ricci, 1619, 1682, italian, mathematician, cardinal, roman, catholic, church, eminencediocesediocese, romeappointed1, september, 1681term, ended12, 1682orderscreated, cardinal1, september, 1681by, pope, innocent, xirankcardinal, deaconpersonal, d. Michelangelo Ricci 1619 1682 was an Italian mathematician and a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church His EminenceMichelangelo RicciMichelangelo RicciDioceseDiocese of RomeAppointed1 September 1681Term ended12 May 1682OrdersCreated cardinal1 September 1681by Pope Innocent XIRankCardinal DeaconPersonal detailsBorn30 January 1619Rome Papal StatesDied12 May 1682 1682 05 12 aged 63 RomeNationalityItalianDenominationRoman Catholic Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksBiography EditMichelangelo Ricci was born on 30 January 1619 in Rome then capital of the Papal States to a family of low social standing that originated in Bergamo He studied theology and law in Rome where he was a contemporary of Rene Francois de Sluse He also studied mathematics under Benedetto Castelli who himself had been a student of Galileo Galilei He was a friend of Evangelista Torricelli kept close links with contemporary scientific culture and played an important role in the development of the Galilean school Like de Sluze he spent his entire career in the Roman Catholic Church and served the pope in various roles on several occasions A trained theologian he acted as consultant to various Congregations of the Roman Curia Having suffered from epilepsy since his birth he was according to canon law of the time disqualified from ordination Nonetheless he was created a Cardinal Deacon in the Consistory of 1 September 1681 by Pope Innocent XI with the title Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Aquiro His position in the church was very useful for protecting his friends and fellow scientists in their controversies with the opposing scholastic school He played a significant part in the theoretical debates and experiments that led up to Torricelli s discovery of atmospheric pressure and invention of the mercury barometer In particular he followed the experiments in this field by Gasparo Berti in Rome There is an unpublished manuscript by Ricci devoted to algebra in the library of the Mathematical Institute of Genoa It shows that by 1640 he was familiar with the New Algebra of Francois Viete In this book he provides a critique of the solutions given by the geometer Marino Ghetaldi of Ragusa in his De Resolutione et Compositione Matematica to the problems posed by Apollonius of Perga 1 His published mathematical work is summarised in a treatise of nineteen pages Exercitatio geometrica de maximis et minimis 1666 in which he studies the maxima of functions of the form x m a x n displaystyle x m a x n and tangents to curves with equation y m k x n displaystyle y m kx n using methods that are an early form of induction This treatise was much admired by his contemporaries and has recently been republished as an appendix to Mercator s Logarithmo Technia 1688 He also studied spirals 1644 and cycloids 1674 and recognised that the study of tangents and the calculation of areas are reciprocal operations Ricci is also known for his correspondence with Torricelli Vincenzo Viviani Rene de Sluze and Cardinal Leopoldo de Medici founder of the Accademia del Cimento These letters give his thoughts on paraboloids and hyperboloids when cut by parallel planes on the surface of a ring and on the properties of the vacuum It was Ricci who welcomed Marin Mersenne when he came to Italy to present the work of Rene Descartes In optics he studied the magnifying effect of lenses With Giovanni Battista Baliani he discussed the Galilean revolution Ricci was also a close associate of Antonio Nardi another mathematician in Rome He collaborated with Nardi on his Scene an unpublished manuscript that circulated among Torricelli and others in which Ricci included some of the material that would later appear in his 1666 Geometrica Exercitatio Following the death of Torricelli and the disappearance of Bonaventura Cavalieri he was requested to collate and publish his correspondence with these two men However he declined the invitation leading to Torricelli s work being forgotten for some time He endeavoured to defend Francesco Redi against Cardinal Leopold when Redi published his Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degl Insetti arguing against the spontaneous generation of insects Ricci was also the backer of Abbot Francisco Nazzari in the publication of the first review of Italian literature the Giornale de Letterati 1668 1683 He died in Rome age 63 on 12 May 1682 Works Edit Geometrica exercitatio 1666 Michaelis Angeli Riccii Geometrica exercitatio Romae apud Nicolaum Angelum Tinassium 1666 Decretum sacrae Congregationis indulgentijs sacrisque reliquijs praepositae Romae et Pataui typis reuerendae Camerae Apostolicae 1678 Decretum Aloysius card Homodeus Romae et Pataui Romae et Pataui typis reuerendae Camerae Apostolicae 1678 Decretum sacrae Congregationis Indulgentiarum Romae typis reuerendae Camerae Apostolicae 1679 Logarithmotechnia Nicolaus Mercator Beigebunden Exercitatio geometrica Hildesheim New York Olms 1975References Edit Ronald Calinger Vita mathematica historical research and integration with teachingSources Edit RICCI MICHELANGELO Cardinale In Gaetano Moroni Dizionario di erudizione storico ecclesiastica Vol LVII Venezia Tipografia Emiliana 1852 p 177 Vitarum Italorum doctrina excellentium qui saeculo XVIII floruerunt decas I VI Auctore Angelo Fabronio Romae typis S Michaelis apud Junchium prostant venales apud Natalem Barbiellini in foro Pasquini 1769 Vol II p 200External links Edit in English Biography on the University of Saint Andrews site in English Biography on the History of Science Museum Florence site in Italian Biography on a site devoted to Francesco Redi in English The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church Biography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michelangelo Ricci amp oldid 1152690269, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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