Eustachio Manfredi

Eustachio Manfredi (20 September 1674 – 15 February 1739) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer and poet. Manfredi discovered, ten years earlier than James Bradley, the phenomenon of aberration.

Biography

Eustachio Manfredi was born in Bologna on 20 September 1674. He attended Jesuit school, then studied at the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in law in 1691. At the same time, he devoted himself to scientific studies in mathematics and astronomy, and to literature.

Manfredi founded the Accademia degli Inquieti (Academy of Restless) in Bologna around 1690 as a place where scientific topics could be discussed. At first, the Academy held its meetings in Manfredi's house. After four years, it moved to Jacopo Sandri's house, which had more space, and in 1705 moved again to the palazzo of Conte Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli. The Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna was formally inaugurated in 1714, and the Accademia degli Inquieti merged into it.

In 1698, Manfredi obtained the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna. In 1704, he was named "Superintendent of the waters of Bologna", and was also made head of the college of Montalto, which educated young men destined for a clerical career. In 1711, he became director of the Astronomical Observatory of Bologna, a position he held until his death. He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris from 1726 and of the Royal Society of London from 1729. He died in Bologna on 15 February 1739.

Scientific work Manfredi's scientific work was impressive. On 29 November 1707 Manfredi and Vittorio Francesco Stancari discovered the comet C/1707 W1. Among his scientific works are Ephemerides motuum coelestium (1715–1725), which he completed with the help of his sisters Maddalena and Teresa; De transitu Mercurii per solem anno 1723 (1724), De gnomone meridiano bononiensi (1736) and Instituzioni astronomiche (1749), a posthumous work.

The asteroid 13225 Manfredi was named in honour of Eustachio Manfredi and his two brothers Gabriele Manfredi and Eraclito Manfredi. In 1719 Manfredi discovered, ten years earlier than James Bradley, the phenomenon of aberration. "The phenomenon is still known as the annual aberration of fixed stars, the name Manfredi gave it in the title of De annuis inerrantium stellarum aberrationibus (1729)."

The discovery provided "the first demonstration, though unsought, of the revolution of the Earth around the Sun, and thus the reality of a heliocentric system". As a result of this discovery, the Church admitted the scientific nature of the Copernican system and removed from the index many works of Galileo Galilei.

Literary work

Manfredi was also a well-known poet in his day. He was a member of the Academy of Arcadia with the name of "Aci Delpusiano". The Rime of Manfredi was issued in 1713 and then published in the final edition posthumously in 1748 by his friend Giampietro Zanotti. It is generally about events of the period (births, marriages, deaths, etc.), according to the peculiar character of the Arcadian poetry, and is often weighed down by emphasis and intellectualism. His poetic vein shows itself in a group of poems called "for a nun," inspired by the closure of the convent of Giulia Caterina Vandi, a girl of Bologna with whom Manfredi had fallen in love. This group includes the song "Woman, they are your eyes", considered his masterpiece, and numerous sonnets in the style of Petrarch.

Works

Notes and references