Beccari'a, CESARE, MARCHESE DE BECCARIA-BONESANA, a political and philanthropic writer, was born at Milan, March 15, 1735 (or in 1738). His opinions were formed by study of the French encyclopaedists and Montesquieu. His chief work was his Dei Delitti e delle Pene ('On Crimes and Punishments'), first published anonymously at Monaco in 1764, in which he argues against the severities and abuses of criminal law, especially capital punishment and torture. The work became extremely popular, and was translated into all the European languages. It was hailed with enthusiasm by the French school, and commentaries were published by Voltaire and Diderot. A translation of it, with a life of Beccaria, was published by J. A. Farren in 1880. It is marked by eloquence, sensibility, and lively power of imagination. Kant unfairly accuses the author of an affected humanity, though it must be admitted that the German philosopher has exposed the invalidity of some of the arguments brought forward. On the whole, however, the work of Beccaria is acknowledged to have done great good, and the subsequent reforms in the penal code of European nations have generally taken the direction he has pointed out. He was among the first to advocate the beneficial influence of education in lessening crime. Both his arguments and his popularity made him many enemies, but their malice was frustrated by the efforts of Count Firmian, the Austrian governor of Lombardy, a man of liberal and enlightened sentiments. In 1768 Beccaria was appointed professor of Political
Philosophy at Milan, and achieved great success as a lecturer. In 1791 he was made a member of the board for the reform of the judicial code, and had the triumph of seeing several of his abused suggestions adopted. He died of apoplexy, November 28, 1794.—GIACOMO BATTISTA BECCARIA (1716-81) from 1748 was professor of Physics at Turin, and did much to forward the science of electricity, though himself he made no important discovery.