765 



STROZZI. 



STROZZI. 



706 



diligence the geology of the Cotswold Hills, and of the great valley of 

 the Severn. Although distinguished as a naturalist, one of his earliest 

 literary productions discovered a taste similar to that of his maternal 

 grandfather. This contribution consisted of the description of a new 

 wind-gauge in the ' Mechanic's Magazine, for 1825.' His papers on the 

 geology of his native district were mostly published iu the Proceed- 

 ings and Transactions of the Geological Society, of which he was an 

 early and active member. The following are the titles of some of 

 these papers, ' Description of a Series of coloured Sections of the 

 Cuttings on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway.' ' On the Occur- 

 rence of the Bristol bone bed in the Lower Lias near Tewkesbury.' 

 'On certain Impressions on the Surface of the Lias bone bed in 

 Gloucestershire.' ' Notes of a Section of Leckhampton Hill.' ' On 

 the Elevatory Forces which raised the Malvern Hills.' ' Memoir of the 

 Geology of the Vale of Evesham.' In conjunction with Sir Roderick 

 Murchison he also worked at the geology of the district in which he 

 lived. Thus in the fifth volume of the ' Geological Transactions ' a 

 conjoint paper appeared ' On the New Red Sandstone System in 

 Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire.' They also pub- 

 lished a separate work, entitled ' Outline of the Geology of the neigh- 

 bourhood of Cheltenham.' 



In 1835, in company with Mr. Hamilton, he made a journey to Asia 

 Minor. During his travels he made notes, generally on natural 

 history, but more especially on the geology of the districts through 

 which he passed. In the ' Geological Transactions ' he published the 

 following papers, ' On the Geology of the Thracian Bosphorus.' ' On 

 the Geology of the neighbourhood of Smyrna.' 'On the Geology of 

 the Island of Zante.' ' On Currents of Sea- Water running into the 

 Laud in Cephalonia.' 'A general Sketch of the Geology of the 

 Western Part of Asia Minor.' 



On the failure of the health of Dr. Buckland, Mr. Strickland was 

 appointed reader in geology in the University of Oxford. This post 

 he held at the time of his death in 1853. As a zoologist Mr. Strickland 

 was best known as an ornithologist. He was thoroughly acquainted 

 with the birds inhabiting Great Britain, and gradually extended his 

 knowledge of the forms of these animals. His papers on the classi- 

 fication and description of birds are very numerous. Amongst these 

 the following were published in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological 

 Society : ' ' Descriptions of New Species of Birds from West Africa. 

 ' Notes on certain Species of Birds from Malacca.' Many other papers 

 on birds were published by him in the ' Annals and Magazine of 

 Natural History,' in Jardine's ' Contributions to Ornithology ' and in 

 other work?. 



Whilst at Oxford his attention had often been directed to the head 

 and foot of the Dodo, the only existing remains of a bird that had 

 ceased to exist within a comparatively recent period. These remains 

 had occupied the attention of naturalists, and many conjectures had 

 been made as to the exact nature of this bird. Mr. Strickland 

 expended a large amount of time and labour in getting together all 

 the facts that existed with regard to the history and disappearance of 

 this bird [Dor>o in NATURAL HIST. Div.] and published a volume on 

 the subject, entitled ' The Dodo and its Kindred, or the History and 

 Affinities of the Dodo, Solitaire, and other extinct Birds,' London, 4to, 

 1848. This work contained copies from drawings of this bird, and a 

 discussion on its zoological affinities, and the conclusion of the author 

 that it belonged to the family of Columbidce or Doves. In the sound- 

 ness of this conclusion most naturalists now agree. During his life 

 Mr. Strickland was engaged in preparing a large work on the synonymy 

 of the family of birds, one volume of which has been published since 

 his death. 



Mr. Strickland, during his geological studies, had his attention 

 necessarily drawn to the family of Molusca, and numerous papers on 

 the recent and extinct forms of the Molusca attest his knowledge of 

 this department of natural history. With his great knowledge of the 

 detailed facts of the natural history sciences it is not matter of surprise 

 that he took a deep interest in classification. He proposed at one of 

 the meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 

 the appointment of a committee for the purpose of reforming the 

 nomenclature of natural history. He was the author of the report 

 issued by this committee, and which has been extremely useful in 

 establishing clear rules for the nomenclature of zoology. 



He was one of the original founders and a member of the council 

 of the Ray Society. He was mainly instrumental in inducing tais 

 society to undertake the publication of Professor Agassiz's ' Bibliogra- 

 phia Zoologise et Geologise.' This work he undertook to edit and see 

 through the press, and had completed the third volume at the time of 

 his decease. The original list of works in this book was increased by 

 Mr. Strickland at least one third. His own publications, the list of which 

 was published in the fourth volume and after his death, amounted to 

 eighty-six. He was cut off in the midst of his labours and usefulness. 

 He had been attending the meeting of the British Association for the 

 Advancement of Science held in the year 1853 at Hull. He wished 

 to inspect the cuttings of the Gainsborough and Retford Railway, and 

 whilst thus engaged, note-book in hand, at the Clarborough Tunnel, 

 on that line, he was run over by a passenger train, and killed on the 

 spot, September 14, 1853. He was married in 1845 to the second 

 daughter of Sir William. Jardine, Bart., but left no children. 



STROZZI, an historical family of Florence, of the period of the 



republic, which produced many distinguished men both in learning 

 and politics. The Strozzi are mentioned in the beginning of the 14th 

 century by the chronicler Dino Compagni as belonging to the Guelph 

 and Neri party, of which they became one of the leading families. 

 After the revolt of the lower orders, in 1378, was suppressed, Tommaso 

 Strozzi joined Salvestro de' Medici, Benedetto Alberti, and Giorgio 

 Scali in supporting the popular government against the burgher aris- 

 tocracy, at the head of which were the Albizzi and some of the Stroz/.i 

 themselves, who, on suspicion of a conspiracy against the existing 

 government, were seized in 1379, and summarily put to death. A 

 fresh insurrection in 1381 upset Tommaso Strozzi and Giorgio Scali : 

 Strozzi escaped, but Scali wag beheaded. Tommaao Strozzi retired 

 to Mantua, whither a branch of the Strozzi was thus transplanted. 



In the following century the most conspicuous of the family wan 

 PALLA STROZZI, who filled several high offices : he was at the siege and 

 surrender of Pisa in 1406. He was afterwards employed on several 

 missions ; he was sent, together with Cosmo de' Medici, to the con- 

 gress of Ferrara in 1432, when peace was concluded between the Duke 

 of Milan on one side, and Florence and Venice on the other, through 

 the mediation of Duke Nicholas of Este. Shortly after this a civil 

 strife broke out between the rival families of the Medici and the 

 Albizzi, and Palla Strozzi joined the party of the latter. The Medici, 

 from the time of Giovanni, father of Cosmo, had taken the popular 

 side, especially in the business of the catasto or census, by which taxa- 

 tion upon property was fixed in proportion to the value of each citizen's 

 property. This measure had been strenuously opposed by the graudi, 

 or older wealthy families, who, having had hitherto the government in 

 their hands, had never paid their proper share of the public burdens, 

 which fell chiefly on the inferior citizens. The Albizzi, who were at 

 the head of this burgher aristocracy, became jealous of the popularity 

 of the Medici. In 1434 they contrived by means of money to have 

 the Gonfaloniere, and the majority of the signori or executive, elected 

 from among their friends. Cosmo de' Medici was then first thrown 

 into prison, and subsequently banished. [MEDICI, voL iv., col. 175.] 

 After a twelvemonth a re-action took place in favour of the Medici : 

 an executive was chosen from among their friends. Riualdo degli 

 Albizzi now proposed to his friends to resort to arms to prevent the 

 new executive from taking their seats of office, and to oblige the 

 signoria that was going out to appoint a balia which would appoint an 

 executive favourable to them. Palla Strozzi, too honest or too we;ik 

 for a partisan, opposed the proposal of Rinaldo as too violent and 

 illegal, and advised to wait and watch the acts of the new executive. 

 This was the ruin of the Albizzi ; for the new governors began by 

 imprisoning the late Gonfaloniere, and he summoned the Albizzi to 

 appear at the town palace. Upon this Rinaldo summoned his friends 

 to arms, but many of them declined to obey his call ; and Palla Strozzi, 

 after several messages, came out with two armed followers; at which 

 Rinaldo broke out in bitter words of reproach, and Strozzi, after a 

 brief retort turned his horse's head, and went home. Rinaldo remained 

 in uncertainty : he parleyed with his enemies, whilst the signoria had 

 time to send for troops from the country, which occupied all the 

 strong posts in the city. The usual parliament was then assembled, 

 and a balia was appointed, which condemned the Albizzi, Strozzi, and 

 many others to exile in 1435. Palla Strozzi went to Padua, where he 

 spent the remainder of his life in studious retirement. " On arriving 

 at Padua he devoted himself entirely to study, and found in it a 

 harbour from past storms. He took into his house John Argyropulos 

 and another learned Greek, and allowed them a good salary to read to 

 him Greek works. Argyropulos read to him. Aristotle on natural 

 philosophy, and the other read to him other works. Palla Strozzi was 

 himself well acquainted with Greek, and he translated into Latin the 

 works of John Chrysostomus." (Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, in Mehus's 

 ' Life of Ambrosius Traversal!.') He died at Padua in 1462, at ninety 

 years of age. 



Before his exile Palla Strozzi had exerted himself to encourage 

 learning in his native city of Florence. Together with Coluccio Salu- 

 tati and Niccolo Nicoli, he engaged Manuel Chrysoloras to come from 

 Greece to Italy about 1396 ; and Strozzi defrayed in great part his 

 expenses, and caused him to be retained at Florence as professor of 

 Greek. Books however were still wanted ; and Strozzi sent to Greece 

 for them, and obtained many volumes at his own expense. Among 

 other books he got the ' Politics ' of Aristotle, the ' Cosmography ' of 

 Ptolemy, with the maps, the ' Lives ' of Plutarch, and the works of 

 Plato. About the year 1428 Palla Strozzi was chosen, with Giannotti 

 Mannetti, to reform the university of Florence, and they established 

 new chairs, and gave a fresh vigour to that institution. It was by 

 Palla Strozzi's advice that Filelfo was engaged as professor, with the 

 stipend of 300 crowns, and the new professor soon after had nearly 

 400 pupils. Strozzi was about to form a public library at Santa 

 Triuita, in the centre of Florence ; he had purchased many books, and 

 had engaged amanuenses to transcribe others for the purpose, when 

 the unfortunate civil factions of 1434-35, and his own exile, prevented 

 the execution of his plan. But yet Palla Strozzi, with Salutati, 

 Mannetti, and others, must be considered as having greatly contributed 

 to the revival of classical studies in Italy, before the brilliant era of 

 the Medici, to whom the whole merit has been commonly attributed. 

 Timoteo Maffei of Verona, Paolo Corteae, Ercole Strozzi, and others, 

 wrote eulogies of Palla Strozzi. 



