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Fortunio Liceti (1577-1657), also known as Fortunius Licetus, was an Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 scientist
Scientist

A scientist, in the broadest sense, refers to any person that engages in a system activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and traditions that are linked to schools of thought or philosophy....
.

He was born in Rapallo
Rapallo

Rapallo is a commune in the province of Genoa, in Liguria, northern Italy. As of 2007 it counts approximately 34,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Tigullio Gulf and is located in between Portofino and Chiavari....
, and studied at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna

The University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world:, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation....
, graduating with doctorates in philosophy and medicine. He then took a position of chair at the University of Pisa
University of Pisa

The University of Pisa is one of the most renowned Italian universities. It is located in Pisa, Tuscany. It was formally founded on the September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century....
. He later returned to Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
 and then to Padova. He was noted for his expertise on Aristotle
Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
.

In 1616 he published De Monstruorum Natura which marked the beginning of studies into malformations of the embryo
Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular organism ploidy eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, Egg , or germination....
.






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Fortunio Liceti (1577-1657), also known as Fortunius Licetus, was an Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 scientist
Scientist

A scientist, in the broadest sense, refers to any person that engages in a system activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and traditions that are linked to schools of thought or philosophy....
.

He was born in Rapallo
Rapallo

Rapallo is a commune in the province of Genoa, in Liguria, northern Italy. As of 2007 it counts approximately 34,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Tigullio Gulf and is located in between Portofino and Chiavari....
, and studied at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna

The University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world:, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation....
, graduating with doctorates in philosophy and medicine. He then took a position of chair at the University of Pisa
University of Pisa

The University of Pisa is one of the most renowned Italian universities. It is located in Pisa, Tuscany. It was formally founded on the September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century....
. He later returned to Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
 and then to Padova. He was noted for his expertise on Aristotle
Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
.

In 1616 he published De Monstruorum Natura which marked the beginning of studies into malformations of the embryo
Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular organism ploidy eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, Egg , or germination....
. He described various monsters, both real and imaginary, and looks for reasons to explain their appearance. His approach differed from the common European viewpoint of the time, as he regarded monsters not as a divine punishment but rather a fantastical rarity. He also supported the idea of transmission of characteristics from father to son.

Liceti's work De spontaneo Viventium Ortu, published in 1618, supported the hypothesis of spontaneous generation of small animals, or abiogenesis
Abiogenesis

In the natural sciences, abiogenesis, or origin of life, is the study of how life on Earth could have arisen from inanimate matter. It should not be confused with evolution, which is the study of how living things change over time....
. (This was later refuted by the work of Francesco Redi
Francesco Redi

Francesco Redi was an Italy physician.He is most well-known for his experiment in 1668 which is regarded as one of the first steps in refuting "spontaneous generation" - a theory also known as Aristotelian abiogenesis....
.) Liceti also wrote De feriis altricis animae which dealt with the spirits of animals.

He was also known for other unusual proposals and investigations, including topics in astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
, phosphorescence
Phosphorescence

File:Phosphorescence.jpgFile:Phosphorescent.jpgPhosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescent. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs....
, gem
Gemstone

A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive mineral, which — when cut and polished — is used to make jewellery or other adornments....
s, and mysticism. He died in Padova. The crater Licetus
Licetus (crater)

Licetus is a Moon impact crater on the near side of the Moon, in the rugged southern highland region. It lies to the south of the walled plain St?fler , and is attached to the northern rim of the sub-divided crater Heraclitus ....
 on the Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
 is named after him.

Bibliography

  • De monstrorum natura, caussis, et differentiis libri duo, (On the nature, causes and differences of monsters), 1616.
  • De spontaneo Viventium Ortu, 1618.
  • De feriis altricis animae nemeseticae disputationes, 1631.
  • Allegoria peripatetica de generatione, amicitia, et privatione in aristotelicum aenigma elia lelia crispis, 1630.
  • Litheosphorus, sive de lapide Bononiensi lucem, 1640.
  • De Lunae Subobscura Luce prope coniunctiones, 1641.
  • Hydrologiae peripateticae, 1655.