Laura Bassi

Biography

She was born the 31 of October in 1711 in Bolonia, Italy. She was a prodigy girl, she received classes of maths, philosophy, anatomy, natural history and idiom from Gaetano Tacconi, teacher of the Bolonia University. She got interested in science, and her family and friends encouraged her.

She got graduated in 1732. She get the workplace of teacher. In 1738 her husband, who was the doctor Giuseppe Veratti, help her with her career. Because she was a women, she had some problems. For example, when she want to give a talk, she had to ask permision to the senate.in 1732, at the age of 20, she publicly defended her thesis in the Palazzo Pubblico, thus beginning her academic career. In 1749 she create a private lab, that get famouse in Europe,she made it for stop the difficulties. In 1776 the senate gave her, the a work in the Institute of Science. Bassi died on February 20, 1778 at the age of 67.

Honors and awards

A bronze medal was awarded to Bassi by painter Domenico Maria Fratta and engraver Antonio Lazzari, to celebrate her first series of classes titled “Pubblica Docente e Collegiata”. The medal displayed Bassi’s image on one side, and on the other, the phrase “Soli cui fas vidisse Minerva”. The phrase can roughly be translated to, “Only you can see Minerva”.

After her death, a marble statue was made in her memory and placed above the Nautical room in the institute.

She was elected member of many literary societies and carried on an extensive correspondence with the most eminent European men of letters. She was well acquainted with classical literature, as well as with that of France and Italy.

A crater in Venus had her name in her honor.

Published works

Bassi only published four works in her lifetime, which reflect small fraction of her contributions to the University of Bologna. Her correspondence with notable figures show the true mark she left on the scientific community of Italy.


  • Miscellanea (1732) [digital edition (2003): The International Center for the History of Universities and Science (CIS), University of Bologna]
  • de aeris compression (1745)
  • de problemate quodam hydrometrico and de problemate quodam mechanico (1757)
  • de immixto fluidis aere (1792)