Lazzaro Spallanzani

Lore & Background

His father, a lawyer, was not impressed with young Spallanzani's interest in small animals. His famous kinswoman, Laura Bassi, a professor of physics, influenced his scientific impulse. He studied natural philosophy and mathematics, and also gave attention to languages, but soon abandoned them. convinced his father to let him pursue academics instead of law. Carlo. His return was triumphal; at Vienna he was received by Joseph II, and at Pavia students met him with acclamations. During the following year, his students exceeded five hundred. While traveling in the Balkans and Constantinople, his integrity in managing the museum was questioned, with accusations of theft of specimens. A judicial investigation cleared his honor to the satisfaction of some accusers. His bladder was removed for study and placed on public display in a museum in Pavia, where it remains.

Reader's Guide

Spallanzani's significance lies in his experimental approach to fundamental biological questions. In digestion, Spallanzani was the first to explain the process as chemical solution by gastric juice, not mere mechanical grinding. In reproduction, he demonstrated that fertilisation requires both spermatozoa and an ovum, performed the first in vitro fertilisation with frogs, and the first artificial insemination using a dog. He also showed that some animals, like newts, can regenerate body parts. Despite these advances, he endorsed preformationism, believing that animal form was already developed in eggs and that semen only activated growth. His legacy includes contributions to volcanology, meteorology, and even clarifying the mechanics of stone skipping.

Did You Know?

• Spallanzani performed the first in vitro fertilisation using frogs and the first artificial insemination using a dog.
• He was the first to explain digestion as a chemical process involving gastric juice, not just mechanical grinding.
• Spallanzani's bladder was removed after his death from bladder cancer and placed on public display in a museum in Pavia, where it remains.
• He took revenge on his accuser Giovanni Antonio Scopoli by preparing a fake specimen of a new species; when Scopoli published it, Spallanzani revealed the joke, causing wide ridicule.