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LUIGI CREMONA. 18301903, 



Luigi Cremona, whose death occurred on June 10, 1903, was born 

 at Pa via on December 7, 1830. At the age of 18 he served as a 

 volunteer in the War of Liberation, and shared in the defence of 

 Venice up to its capitulation Returning to Pavia, he entered the 

 University, where he studied mathematics under Bordoni and Brioschi, 

 in company with Beltrami, Casorati and others. After holding minor 

 appointments at Pavia, Cremona, and Milan successively, he became in 

 1860 Professor of Higher Geometry at Bologna. In 1866 he returned 

 to Milan as Professor of Geometry and Graphical Statics in the 

 University, and remained there until he was called to Rome in 1873, 

 as University Professor of Higher Mathematics, and Director of the 

 Engineering School, which was re-organised under his supervision. 

 These posts he held until the time of his death. As Senator and 

 Member of the Higher Council of Public Instruction (of which he was 

 several times the head) he was able to influence the development of the 

 national education of Italy ; and it was he who secured the introduction 

 of projective geometry and graphical statics into the official programme 

 of studies. His official duties at Rome engrossed his time, and after 

 1879 he published only a few mathematical papers : three of these 

 were contributed in 1884 to the London Mathematical Society, 

 the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Irish Academy, 

 respectively. It was in 1884 that he paid a visit to this country, on 

 the occasion of the centenary celebration of the University of 

 Edinburgh. 



Cremona's natural genius for geometry was happily stimulated in 

 various ways ; primarily, according to his own statement, by the 

 Aperqu Historique and Gttomttrie Superieure of Chasles. When he had 

 mastered the method of projective geometry, he was exceptionally 

 qualified to show the power of analysis and pure geometry in com- 

 bination ; for his early training in analysis under Brioschi must have 

 been thorough, and his own sympathies became more and more 

 attracted by pure geometry. In this respect it is interesting to 

 compare him with Salmon, who maintained the balance between the 

 two methods with remarkable steadiness. Cremona, about 1860, was 

 about equally interested in both : he remained, perhaps, equally 

 capable, but not equally interested. Thus we find that, in later years, 

 he recognized Staudt as the true founder of pure geometry, whereas 

 at an earlier date Staudt's purism had somewhat repelled^ him. 



The change in attitude is already marked in the celebrated memoir 

 on cubic surfaces which in 1866 secured half the Steiner prize offered 

 by the Academy of Berlin, the other half being awarded to Sturm. 



