| Authorised form of name | Bianchini; Francesco (1662 - 1729) |
| Dates | 1662 - 1729 |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Place of birth | Verona, Italy |
| Date of birth | 13 December 1662 |
| Date of death | 02 March 1729 |
| Occupation | Roman Catholic Priest |
| Research field | Astronomy |
| Antiquities |
| Activity | Education:
Jesuit College of S Luigi, Bologna (1673-1680); Padua (1680-1684); Rome
Career:
Went to Rome under the patronage of Cardinal Ottoboni (1684); employed in the Curia (1688); Custodian of the Ottobonian Library; Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the Pope (Albani) (1699); Secretary of the Congregation for the Reform of the Calendar (1701); President of the Antiquities of Rome (1703); carried out the first systematic excavations on the Palatine Hill; Canon of Sta Maria Maggiore (1710); travelled to France to present Cardinal de Rohan with his cardinal's hat (1712); also travelled to Alsace, the Rhineland, the Netherlands and England (1713); inspired by the work of the Cassinis in France he began to calculate a meridian for Italy; died of dropsy, when he was found to be wearing a hair shirt
Memberships:
Academie Royale des Sciences (Corresponding 1699), (Foreign Associate 1706)
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 29/01/1713 |
| Proposer | Sir Isaac Newton |
| Relationships | Son of Giuseppe Bianchini and his wife, Cornelia Vailetti |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DBI; Jocher
References:
Marta Cavazza, 'The Institute of Science of Bologna and the Royal Society in the eighteenth century' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 3-25, plate
Sir Alan Cook, 'Our Foreign Correspondence' in NR 1999 vol 53 pp 179-182
A Rupert Hall, 'Further Newton Correspondence' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 7-34
A Cook, 'A Roman tercentenary' by A Cook in NR 2002 vol 56 p273
A Cook, 'The end of the affair. The correspondence of John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, vol 3 (1703-1719) by E G Forbes, L Murdin and F Willmoth' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 113-116
A Cook, 'Rome and the Royal Society, 1660-1740' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 3-19
Heilbron, J.L. (2022) 'The incomparable monsignor: Francesco Bianchini's world of science, history and court intrigue' (Oxford U.P.) |
| Code | NA7802 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| CLP/8i/74 | Paper, regarding F Bianchini's observations of the comet of November 1723 by J [Joanne] Baptista Carbone | 1724 |
| CLP/22ii/34 | Paper, Account of Francis Bianchinus' 'Hesperi et Phosphori Nova Phaenomena... [New phenomena of Hesperus and Phosporus (Venus)] ' by John Hadley | 1730 |
| CLP/4i/81 | Paper, regarding an aurora borealis observed by Signor Bianchini by unknown author | 25 January 1727 |
| CLP/8ii/10 | Paper, 'Observations of the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites' by [Francesco] Bianchini | 1728 |
| RBO/14/68 | Observations by Monsignor Bianchini in a letter of William Derham to Sir Thomas Dereham | 1729 |