Giovanni Valentino Mattia Fabbroni

Place: Florence

Born: 1752

Death: 1822

Biography:

Giovanni Valentino Mattia Fabbroni was an Italian naturalist, economist, agronomist and chemist. He was born in Florence, Italy, the son of Horace and Rosalinda Werner. His mother originated in Heidelberg. In 1775 he collaborated with Felice Fontana in setting up the natural history museum in Florence (Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale di Firenze). From 1777 to 1778 he wrote Reflexions sur l'état actuel de l'agricolture, a work which had a considerable impact on farming in Tuscany. He became a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili in 1783. Fabbroni took on an increasing role in Florentine society as a proponent of economic liberalism and agrarian reform, and was a supporter of Leopold II. He continued to write scholarly works such as Dell'Antracite o carbone di cava detto volgarmente carbone fossile (1790). During the Napoleonic era, Fabbroni was influential in the development of the metric system and in its introduction to Italy. He also carried out research into electrochemistry, particularly into Volta's pile. He died in Pisa, aged 70.