Barnaba Tortolini
Encyclopedia
Barnaba Tortolini was a 19th-century Italian
priest and mathematician
who played an early active role in advancing the scientific unification of the Italian states. He founded the first Italian scientific journal with an international presence and was a distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Rome for 30 years. As a mathematics researcher, he had more than one hundred mathematical papers to his credit in Italian, French, and German journals.
and studied literature and philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University
, especially under Don Andrea Caraffa (1789–1845) who was a mathematical physicist. He continued his mathematical and philosophic studies at the Archiginnasio Romano della Sapienza in Roma where he obtained the degree of laurea ad honorem in 1829. Subsequently he attended the course for engineers before studying theology at the Pontifical Roman Seminary
and took holy orders
in 1832. Don Tortolini, along with Don Michele Ambrosini, was put in charge of the Basilica
of Santa Maria dei Martiri
(Our Lady of the Martyrs) from 1860, and then alone after the latter’s death in 1866. Edoardo Borromeo Arese, the Papal majordomo
, enabled Tortolini to join the “Camerieri d’onore in abito paonazzo (Chamberlains of Honor of the Purple)" in 1861; this was a former honorary office of the Papal Court.
As his biography shows, Tortolini had a foot in both the religious and scientific worlds. As a priest and noted academic at major universities of the city, he was an official figure with stature in the Papal States
. Yet his own correspondences with Enrico Betti
show his concern as an editor and mathematician with careful attention to detail, concern for content and awareness of the latest foreign developments.
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
(long called the "Propaganda"), directed to the promotion of the worldwide Catholic overseas missions. The College was founded by Pope Urban VIII in 1627. It came under the authority of the Congregation in 1641, and received the title "Pontifical" from Pope John XXIII in 1962.
A year later, in 1836, Tortolini was appointed to the chair of mechanics and hydraulics at the University of Rome where, in 1837, he obtained by competition the professorship of introductory higher calculus. Following in the same year, he was also appointed professor of differential and integral calculus. At the Pontifical Roman Seminary, his alma mater, he assumed the professorship of mathematical physics in 1846 and began directing the publication of Propaganda Fide, founded in 1626. This editorship he pursued from 1846 to 1865.
Professionally, his interests in research ranged from definite and elliptic integrals, calculus of residues, and applications of various differential equations. He was quoted in the works of Augustin Louis Cauchy
, George Boole
, Joseph Liouville
, and Betti. He was honored with membership in the most eminent Italian societies and became a foreign minister of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in Uppsala
. As a teacher, he was applauded for over 30 years at the University of Rome. He devoted his life to raising the standards of scientific education on the peninsula at a time when Italy as a newly formed European power in 1860 needed a cultural presence on par with France, Germany, and England.
By publishing his own research abroad, he underscored his belief in the importance of the internationalization of mathematical results and made contact with differing cultures reflecting the views and standards of rigor promoted by foreign editors. During his tenure, the journal’s content skewed progressively more towards pure mathematics and away from application and topics in other sciences. Among the foreign authors who published in his journal were Arthur Cayley
, Carl Gustav Jakob Jacobi
, J. J. Sylvester and the Irishman William Roberts. Betti pioneered work in Galois theory of irreducible equations of prime degree at the encouragement of Tortolini.
In 1858, the journal was restructured to include an editorial board composed of Tortolini, Betti, Luigi Cremona
, Francesco Brioschi
and Angelo Genocchi
. This was the last year of the Annali’s publication as broader geopolitical trends called for a more focused new journal of pure mathematics to witness the opening stages of what would become the unification of Italy by 1861. This was one of the reasons why Brioschi and Cremona later moved the Annali to Milan
in 1867. The journal which replaced the former Annali became the Annali di matematica pura ed applicata and its first series reigned from 1858 to 1865 but published in Roma. The numerical parity between foreign and Italian contributors became equal. The Editorial Board members contributed their own papers vigorously. Betti even started the publication of a translation of Riemann’s inaugural dissertation
.
, Elwin Christoffel, Paul Gordan, Camille Jordan
, Cayley, Charles Hermite
, Rudolf Sturm, Carl Neumann
, Hermann Schwarz
and Georg Friedrich Bernard Riemann
. Pari pasu, Tortolini’s influence over the content of the second series ebbed. At the end of the century, the new journal had become one of Europe’s premiere mathematical journals. This new Annali enjoys continuity into the present day.
, Joseph Louis Lagrange
, Cauchy, Riemann, Luigi Bianchi
, Tullio Levi-Civita
, Charles Hermite
, Niels Abel, Lejeune Dirichlet, Sir William Thomson, Augustus De Morgan
, J. J. Sylvester, Gabriel Lamé
, and Eugenio Beltrami
. His contributions to mathematical research — over one hundred papers — have yet to be assessed on their own merits.
On 20 September 1870, after refusing to sign a loyalty oath to the King of Italy upon invasion and occupation of Roma by the Italian troops led by Raffaele Cadorna, Tortolini lost the chair of calculus at Roma. A year earlier he had become paralyzed and was ultimately forced to retire his various positions. He died in Ariccia
, Rome
, on 24 August 1874.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
priest and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
who played an early active role in advancing the scientific unification of the Italian states. He founded the first Italian scientific journal with an international presence and was a distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Rome for 30 years. As a mathematics researcher, he had more than one hundred mathematical papers to his credit in Italian, French, and German journals.
Early years
Tortolini was born on 19 November 1808, in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and studied literature and philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
, especially under Don Andrea Caraffa (1789–1845) who was a mathematical physicist. He continued his mathematical and philosophic studies at the Archiginnasio Romano della Sapienza in Roma where he obtained the degree of laurea ad honorem in 1829. Subsequently he attended the course for engineers before studying theology at the Pontifical Roman Seminary
Pontifical Roman Seminary
The Pontifical Roman Seminary is a seminary in Rome, Italy located at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.Its teachings are based on the Roman Pontifical.-History:...
and took holy orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
in 1832. Don Tortolini, along with Don Michele Ambrosini, was put in charge of the Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of Santa Maria dei Martiri
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
(Our Lady of the Martyrs) from 1860, and then alone after the latter’s death in 1866. Edoardo Borromeo Arese, the Papal majordomo
Papal majordomo
The papal majordomo or chief steward of the household of the pope is one of the three palatine prelates , concerning whom particulars have been given in the article maestro di camera....
, enabled Tortolini to join the “Camerieri d’onore in abito paonazzo (Chamberlains of Honor of the Purple)" in 1861; this was a former honorary office of the Papal Court.
As his biography shows, Tortolini had a foot in both the religious and scientific worlds. As a priest and noted academic at major universities of the city, he was an official figure with stature in the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. Yet his own correspondences with Enrico Betti
Enrico Betti
-External links:...
show his concern as an editor and mathematician with careful attention to detail, concern for content and awareness of the latest foreign developments.
Teaching career
In February 1835, Tortolini began his career as professor of mathematical physics at the Pontifical Urban University, an institution run by the PontificalPontifical
Pontifical may refer to the Roman Pontifical, a Roman Catholic liturgical book used by a bishop.When used as an adjective, Pontifical may be used to describe things related to the office of a bishop, such as the following:*Solemn Pontifical Mass...
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...
(long called the "Propaganda"), directed to the promotion of the worldwide Catholic overseas missions. The College was founded by Pope Urban VIII in 1627. It came under the authority of the Congregation in 1641, and received the title "Pontifical" from Pope John XXIII in 1962.
A year later, in 1836, Tortolini was appointed to the chair of mechanics and hydraulics at the University of Rome where, in 1837, he obtained by competition the professorship of introductory higher calculus. Following in the same year, he was also appointed professor of differential and integral calculus. At the Pontifical Roman Seminary, his alma mater, he assumed the professorship of mathematical physics in 1846 and began directing the publication of Propaganda Fide, founded in 1626. This editorship he pursued from 1846 to 1865.
Professionally, his interests in research ranged from definite and elliptic integrals, calculus of residues, and applications of various differential equations. He was quoted in the works of Augustin Louis Cauchy
Augustin Louis Cauchy
Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy was a French mathematician who was an early pioneer of analysis. He started the project of formulating and proving the theorems of infinitesimal calculus in a rigorous manner, rejecting the heuristic principle of the generality of algebra exploited by earlier authors...
, George Boole
George Boole
George Boole was an English mathematician and philosopher.As the inventor of Boolean logic—the basis of modern digital computer logic—Boole is regarded in hindsight as a founder of the field of computer science. Boole said,...
, Joseph Liouville
Joseph Liouville
- Life and work :Liouville graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1827. After some years as an assistant at various institutions including the Ecole Centrale Paris, he was appointed as professor at the École Polytechnique in 1838...
, and Betti. He was honored with membership in the most eminent Italian societies and became a foreign minister of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
. As a teacher, he was applauded for over 30 years at the University of Rome. He devoted his life to raising the standards of scientific education on the peninsula at a time when Italy as a newly formed European power in 1860 needed a cultural presence on par with France, Germany, and England.
Founding of the Annali
Although he was a productive mathematician and devoted teacher, Tortolini is mainly remembered for his role in founding and publishing the first Italian international scientific journal, the Annali di scienze matematiche e fisiche, from 1850 to 1857. These periodicals gathered and diffused the work of the most notable and productive scholars of the exact sciences in order to revive a love for higher studies in Italy and to represent with dignity the scientific activity of the peninsula before other nations.By publishing his own research abroad, he underscored his belief in the importance of the internationalization of mathematical results and made contact with differing cultures reflecting the views and standards of rigor promoted by foreign editors. During his tenure, the journal’s content skewed progressively more towards pure mathematics and away from application and topics in other sciences. Among the foreign authors who published in his journal were Arthur Cayley
Arthur Cayley
Arthur Cayley F.R.S. was a British mathematician. He helped found the modern British school of pure mathematics....
, Carl Gustav Jakob Jacobi
Carl Gustav Jakob Jacobi
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi was a German mathematician, widely considered to be the most inspiring teacher of his time and is considered one of the greatest mathematicians of his generation.-Biography:...
, J. J. Sylvester and the Irishman William Roberts. Betti pioneered work in Galois theory of irreducible equations of prime degree at the encouragement of Tortolini.
In 1858, the journal was restructured to include an editorial board composed of Tortolini, Betti, Luigi Cremona
Luigi Cremona
Luigi Cremona was an Italian mathematician. His life was devoted to the study of geometry and reforming advanced mathematical teaching in Italy. His reputation mainly rests on his Introduzione ad una teoria geometrica delle curve piane...
, Francesco Brioschi
Francesco Brioschi
Francesco Brioschi was an Italian mathematician.Brioschi was born in Milan in 1824. From 1850 he taught analytical mechanics in the University of Pavia. After the Italian unification in 1861, he was elected depute in the Parliament of Italy and then appointed twice secretary of the Education...
and Angelo Genocchi
Angelo Genocchi
Angelo Genocchi was an Italian mathematician who specialized in number theory. He worked with Giuseppe Peano. The Genocchi numbers are named after him.-References:...
. This was the last year of the Annali’s publication as broader geopolitical trends called for a more focused new journal of pure mathematics to witness the opening stages of what would become the unification of Italy by 1861. This was one of the reasons why Brioschi and Cremona later moved the Annali to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1867. The journal which replaced the former Annali became the Annali di matematica pura ed applicata and its first series reigned from 1858 to 1865 but published in Roma. The numerical parity between foreign and Italian contributors became equal. The Editorial Board members contributed their own papers vigorously. Betti even started the publication of a translation of Riemann’s inaugural dissertation
Inaugural dissertation
An inaugural dissertation is a presentation of major work by a new professor or doctor, in writing and/or in public speech, to inaugurate their professorship or doctorship. This academic ritual is traditional in much of Europe , although it is becoming less common in some countries and institutions...
.
Reformation of the Annali
After a hiatus in 1866, Cremona and Brioschi proposed to stop publication of the journal due to Tortolini’s "mishandling" — according to their opinion. The political process of unification was very long and painful and the role played by the Church was not exactly pointing toward unification. The Annali finally moved to Milan in 1867 to distance itself from the Papal State. Cremona and Brioschi called for another new journal series enlisting the collaboration of Europe’s leading mathematicians. Tortolini once again graciously went along. The second series ran from July 1867 to May 1868 but that was only the first volume. The second series lasted way longer. The new Annali saw contributions from Alfred ClebschAlfred Clebsch
Rudolf Friedrich Alfred Clebsch was a German mathematician who made important contributions to algebraic geometry and invariant theory. He attended the University of Königsberg and was habilitated at Berlin. He subsequently taught in Berlin and Karlsruhe...
, Elwin Christoffel, Paul Gordan, Camille Jordan
Camille Jordan
Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential Cours d'analyse. He was born in Lyon and educated at the École polytechnique...
, Cayley, Charles Hermite
Charles Hermite
Charles Hermite was a French mathematician who did research on number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra....
, Rudolf Sturm, Carl Neumann
Carl Neumann
Carl Gottfried Neumann was a German mathematician.Neumann was born in Königsberg, Prussia, as the son of the mineralogist, physicist and mathematician Franz Ernst Neumann , who was professor of mineralogy and physics at Königsberg University...
, Hermann Schwarz
Hermann Schwarz
Karl Hermann Amandus Schwarz was a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. He was born in Hermsdorf, Silesia and died in Berlin...
and Georg Friedrich Bernard Riemann
Bernhard Riemann
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was an influential German mathematician who made lasting contributions to analysis and differential geometry, some of them enabling the later development of general relativity....
. Pari pasu, Tortolini’s influence over the content of the second series ebbed. At the end of the century, the new journal had become one of Europe’s premiere mathematical journals. This new Annali enjoys continuity into the present day.
L'envoi
In the early years, in his role as sole editor of the Annali, Tortolini corresponded with all the major scientists of his day. Aside from Betti, Tortolini was one of the few Italian contemporaries to tap into foreign journals and by doing so established a rapport with the finest minds of his time including Carl Friedrich GaussCarl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics.Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum...
, Joseph Louis Lagrange
Joseph Louis Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange , born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, was a mathematician and astronomer, who was born in Turin, Piedmont, lived part of his life in Prussia and part in France, making significant contributions to all fields of analysis, to number theory, and to classical and celestial mechanics...
, Cauchy, Riemann, Luigi Bianchi
Luigi Bianchi
- External links :* offers translations of some of Bianchi's papers, plus a biography of Bianchi.* PDF copy at * * * *...
, Tullio Levi-Civita
Tullio Levi-Civita
Tullio Levi-Civita, FRS was an Italian mathematician, most famous for his work on absolute differential calculus and its applications to the theory of relativity, but who also made significant contributions in other areas. He was a pupil of Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, the inventor of tensor calculus...
, Charles Hermite
Charles Hermite
Charles Hermite was a French mathematician who did research on number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra....
, Niels Abel, Lejeune Dirichlet, Sir William Thomson, Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan was a British mathematician and logician. He formulated De Morgan's laws and introduced the term mathematical induction, making its idea rigorous. The crater De Morgan on the Moon is named after him....
, J. J. Sylvester, Gabriel Lamé
Gabriel Lamé
Gabriel Léon Jean Baptiste Lamé was a French mathematician.-Biography:Lamé was born in Tours, in today's département of Indre-et-Loire....
, and Eugenio Beltrami
Eugenio Beltrami
Eugenio Beltrami was an Italian mathematician notable for his work concerning differential geometry and mathematical physics...
. His contributions to mathematical research — over one hundred papers — have yet to be assessed on their own merits.
On 20 September 1870, after refusing to sign a loyalty oath to the King of Italy upon invasion and occupation of Roma by the Italian troops led by Raffaele Cadorna, Tortolini lost the chair of calculus at Roma. A year earlier he had become paralyzed and was ultimately forced to retire his various positions. He died in Ariccia
Ariccia
Ariccia is a town and comune in the Province of Rome, central Italy. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs...
, Rome
Province of Rome
The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...
, on 24 August 1874.
Footnotes
- For a list of Tortolini’s mathematical works, see Vincenzo Diorio, “Interno alla vita e ai lavori di Monsignore D. Barnaba Tortolini,” Atti della Accademia Pontificia dei Nuovi Lincei, 28 (1874), pp. 93–106 on pp. 100–106.