Maria Luisa Righini-Bonelli

Maria Luisa Righini-Bonelli (born November 11, 1917 in Pesaro , † December 18, 1981 in Florence ) was an Italian historian of science and editor . She was director of the Institute and Museum for the History of Science (Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza) and professor at the University of Florence .

Life and career

Righini-Bonelli has been director of the Institute and Museum for the History of Science since 1961

The scientist was born on November 11, 1917 in the middle town of Pesaro on the Italian Adriatic coast as the daughter of General Luigi Bonelli and Adele Giamperoli. After the family moved to Florence , she studied Spanish language and literature there . She taught both disciplines between 1948 and 1968 as a professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Florence. In 1965 Maria Luisa Bonelli married the astronomer Guglielmo Righini , director of the Arcetri Observatory (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri) .

A decisive factor in Righini-Bonelli's academic career was her encounter with Andrea Corsini , director of the Institute and Museum for the History of Science (IMSS) founded in 1927 by the University of Florence . Corsini aroused her interest in the history of science and in the work of the museum, which focused on the collection, cataloging and restoration of works of art and writings of the Medici . From 1942 she supported Corsini in restoring and redesigning the collections. After Corsini's death in 1961, she succeeded him as museum director. Under her leadership, the IMSS transformed into a modern museum and research center of international repute, hosting events such as Galileo in the history and philosophy of science ( Galileo nella storia e nella filosofia della scienza , 1964) or Science and Technology at Leonardo da Vinci ( Scienza e tecnica in Leonardo da Vinci , 1969).

Maria Luisa Righini-Bonelli died after a long illness on December 18, 1981 in Florence.

Publications and honors

In addition to her teaching and museum work, Maria Luisa Righini-Bonelli wrote numerous specialist papers and was involved in the publication of scientific journals. Between 1943 and 1956 she wrote around one hundred articles for the journal for the history of medicine and natural sciences (Rivista di storia delle scienze mediche e naturali) . In 1959 she founded the journal Physis for the history of science with Vasco Ronchi (Physis: rivista di storia della scienza) and in 1976 she became the first director of the international journal Nuncius - Annals of the History of Science of the institute and museum, which she founded in the same year the history of science (Annali dell'istituto e museo di storia della scienza) ; on June 11, 2010 the institute was renamed Museo Galileo .

The Italian Who's Who listed one hundred and seventeen publications by the scientist as early as 1971. One of her most important works is a work on Galileo's life (Vita di Galileo) from 1974. Righini-Bonelli was also a member of various professional associations such as the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS). In 1967 she received the Medaglia d'oro per la scuola la cultura e l'arte della Repubblica Italiana for her achievements . In 1979 she became the first Italian to the George Sarton Medal Award, the highest prestigious award for the History of Science that of George Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson founded History of Science Society (HSS).

Works

• Di una bellissima edizione di Fabrizio Mordente salernitano "mathematico della sacra Ces.a M.ta dell'imperatore Rudolfo II" . In: Physis 1,2 (1959), pp. 128-148
• Vita di Galileo . Nardini, Firenze 1974 ISBN 8840442014 .
• Catalog raisonné at Scienza a Due Voci, see Scritti .

literature

• Silvio A. Bedini: Maria Luisa Righini Bonelli (1917-1981) . In: Technology and Culture , Vol. 23, No. 3, July 1982, pp. 531-533: Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Society for the History of Technology Page 1 at JSTOR, English .

Web links

• Scienza a Due Voci Bonelli Righini Maria Luisa, biografico (Italian, with picture, writings and further literature)
• Museo Galileo - Institute and Museum of the History of Science Homepage Institute and Museum for the History of Science (Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza / since 2010: Museo Galileo) , Florence (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Scienza a Due Voci Bonelli Righini Maria Luisa, biografico (Italian)
2. ↑ Arcetri.Astro ( Memento of the original from June 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Inquadramento storico: Alberto Righini (Italian) 
3. ^ ^{A b c} Silvio A. Bedini: Maria Luisa Righini Bonelli (1917–1981) . In: Technology…, see literature
4. ↑ Institute and Museum of the History of Science Nuncius - Annals of the History of Science (English)