Giuseppe Colombo (politician)

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Giuseppe Colombo

Giuseppe Colombo (born December 18, 1836 in Milan , † January 16, 1921 there ) was an Italian statesman and electrical engineer.

Life

Giuseppe Colombo came from a middle-class family. His father was a goldsmith and his mother a former seamstress. Giuseppe attended the State Lyceum S. Andrea in Milan and enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy and Mathematics of the University of Pavia in 1853 , where he attended the lectures of Francesco Brioschi and Giovanni Codazza , among others . The latter appointed him his assistant in 1857 before he graduated in mathematics.

From December 1857 he taught at the SIAM (short for Società di incoraggiamento d'arti e mestieri ) in Milan. There he came into contact with the Lombard aristocracy and entrepreneurship. In Milan he also visited the salon of Countess Clara Maffei , wife of the poet Andrea Maffei, frequented by artists, writers and followers of the Risorgimento . There he met the naturalist Emilio Cornalia , whose niece, Carolina de Luigi, he married in 1868.

Giuseppe Colombo became an engineer and professor of mechanical engineering at the Istituto tecnico superiore in Milan and distinguished himself in the field of electrical engineering . In 1866 he fought in the Third Italian War of Independence as a corporal in the ranks of the Guicciardis friars .

On his initiative, the Santa Radegonda power plant in Milan, the first thermal power plant in continental Europe, was built in 1883 . It was used to illuminate the Scala in Milan and the streets of the city. The company Edison emerged from the operating company of the power plant, the Comitato per l'Applicazione dell'Elettricità "Sistema Edison" in Italia .

In 1886 he was sent to the Chamber of Deputies to represent his hometown , where he sided with the right-wing parties. A clear mind and lively advocacy for general national interests, but especially his fight against excessive government spending and against Crispi's foreign and domestic policy, made him an important member of the right since January 1889. He played a major role in the fall of Crispis. In order to win the rights, he was then appointed by Rudinì in the newly formed cabinet on February 7, 1891 as Minister of Finance . When differences of opinion within the ministry about how to cover next year's deficit caused the cabinet to resign on April 14, 1892, the government crisis ended on April 22, 1892 with Colombo, who was against the planned collection of new taxes, resigned. In the cabinet newly formed by Rudini on March 7, 1896, Colombo took over the treasury, but resigned with several of his colleagues in July when the government was reshuffled. In 1899 he was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies, in 1900 he vigorously opposed the obstruction in the Chamber and thus incurred the hatred of the radicals so much that he lost his mandate in the new elections held in June 1900. In December 1900 he was appointed senator .

The Accademia dei Lincei he belonged since 1888 as corresponding member, in 1899 he became a full member ( socio nazionale ). He belonged to the Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere since 1862, and was its president in 1892/1893, 1896/97 and 1920. He was one of those who campaigned for an organization of the electricity supply in Italy and from 1884 to 1891 he was the first chairman of the board of directors ( amministratore delegato ) of the Società generale italiana "Edison" di elettricità .

literature

Web links

Commons : Giuseppe Colombo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rita Cambria:  Giuseppe Colombo. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).
  2. ↑ La nostra storia. In: Edison. Retrieved December 7, 2019 (Italian).


personal data
SURNAME Colombo, Giuseppe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian statesman and electrical engineer
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 1921
Place of death Milan