Spallanzani, LAZARO

Spallanzani, LAZARO, naturalist and traveller, was born at Scandiano, in the duchy of Modena, Italy, on 12th January 1729. After studying, at Reggio di Modena and Bologna, natural science, mathematics, the classical tongues, law, and other subjects, he was in 1754 appointed to the chair of Logic, Metaphysics, and Greek at Reggio, and soon afterwards was transferred to Modena. But he took the greatest interest in natural history and physiological questions. Amongst other things his attention was directed to the doctrine of spontaneous generation propounded by Needham and Buffon, which after careful study and experiment he overturned. On the re-establishment of the university of Pavia Spallanzani was appointed (1768) professor of Natural History and keeper of the museum, which he greatly enriched with fishes, crustacea, and testacea, the fruits of his numerous excursions. In 1785-86 he spent nearly a twelvemonth in Turkey engaged in scientific observation, and during the year 1788 visited Naples whilst Vesuvius was in eruption, the Lipari Isles, and Sicily, and wrote an account of his inquiries, Viaggi alle due Sicilie (6 vols. 1792). He died of apoplexy, 11th February 1799. In Dissertationi de Fisica Animale e Vegetale (2 vols. 1780) he clearly demonstrated the true physiological nature of digestion, and established, on the basis of experiment, the respective functions of the spermatozoa and the ovum in reproduction.