Cosimo Alessandro Collini (

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, 14 October 1727-

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, 21 March 1806) was an Italian historian and

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

's secretary from 1752 to 1756.

Life

Collini was born into a noble family and studied law. He met Voltaire in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

in 1750 and was taken on as his secretary, alongside Joseph Du Fresne de Francheville (son of another ), in April 1752. When Voltaire left the service of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

in 1753 Collini accompanied him, and was confined with him and

Madame Denis Marie Louise Mignot (February 12, 1712 – August 10, 1790) was a French literary figure. She was the daughter of Voltaire's sister, Catherine Arouet (1686–1726) and her husband Pierre-François Mignot (d. 1737). After the death of her widowed ...

on Frederick's orders for three weeks in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. In 1755 the young

Jean-Louis Wagnière Jean-Louis Wagnière (15 October 1739, Rueyres, Vaud, Switzerland7 April 1802, Ferney-Voltaire) was Voltaire's secretary from 1756 to 1778, when Voltaire died. In Voltaire’s Service Wagnière entered Voltaire’s service as his valet de cham ...

was made his assistant and, just over a year later, took his place when Collini was dismissed from Voltaire's service for insulting Madame Denis.Ian Davidson, Voltaire – A Life, Profile Books 2010 p.272 Collini then entered the service of

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Charles Theodore (german: link=no, Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as Prince-elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777 to h ...

as his private secretary and historiographer. He staged Voltaire's ''Olympie'' at the

Schlosstheater Schwetzingen Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (Schwetzingen palace theater) is a court theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of Schloss Schwetzingen and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzing ...

in 1762. In 1763 he became a member of the Palatine Academy of Sciences and director of the

Cabinet of Natural History. In 1784 he was the first person to describe the

pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 ...

that

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in na ...

went on the identify, seventeen years later, as a flying reptile. In his later years, he denounced the fanaticism of the French revolutionary wars and in 1799 he defended the collections in his cabinet from destruction, and managed to have them transferred, four years later, to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

. A street in Mannheim is named after him, as is the Collini-Center development in the city.

Publications

* ''Discours sur l’histoire d’Allemagne'' (Frankfurt, Koch und Esslinger, 1761). * ''Précis de l’histoire du Palatinat du Rhin'' (Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1763). * ''Éloge de Charles-Théodore, Électeur Palatin'' (1764). * Description physique et économique de la ville de Mannheim (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 1, 1766, p. 440). * ''Dissertation historique et critique sur le prétendu cartel, ou lettre de défi envoyée par Charles-Louis Électeur au Vicomte de Turenne'' (Mannheim, 1767). * Sur l'incertitude de l'histoire naturelle (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 2, 1770, p. 497). * ''Solution du problème du cavalier au jeu des échecs'' (Mannheim, Loeffler, 1773). * Description de quelques encrinités de cabinet d'histoire naturelle de S.A.S. Mgr. l'électeur palatin (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 3 Phys., 1775, p. 69). * ''Journal d'un voyage qui contient différentes observations minéralogiques, particulièrement sur les agates et le basalte. Avec un détail sur la manière de travailler les agates'' (Mannheim, Schwann, 1776). * ''Considérations sur les montagnes volcaniques'' (Mannheim, 1781). * Sur quelques zoolithes du cabinet d'histoire naturelle de S.A.S.E. palatine et de Bavière, à Mannheim (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 5 Phys., 1784, p. 58). * Pensées sur la transmutation des substances du règne minéral (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 5 Phys., 1784, p. 104). * Sur le tarentisme (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 5 Phys., 1784, p. 364). * Description de deux jumelles adhérentes l'une à l'autre, venues au monde dans le Palatinat du Rhin (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 5 Phys., 1784, p. 389). * Remarques adressées aux auteurs de ce Journal sur un ouvrage publié l'année dernière (''Journal encyclopédique'', 15 March 1785, ), letter dated 15 December 1784. * ''Voyage en Allemagne, dans une suite de lettres, par M. le Baron de Riesbeck; traduites de l'Anglais; avec portraits, plans & cartes en taille-douce'' (Paris, Buisson, 1788).
''Lettres sur les Allemands''
(Hamburg, 1790). * Coup d'œil sur la chaine graduelle des êtres naturels (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 6 Phys., 1790, p. 267). * Sur les inondations du Necker près de Mannheim, avec preuves et éclaircissements (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 6 Phys., 1790, p. 282). * Relation d'un effet causé par le grand froid de l'année 1789 (''Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae'', vol. 6 Phys., 1790, p. 304). * ''Discours, lu dans une séance de cet institut littéraire le 16 avril 1799 à l'occasion de la mort de Charles Théodore, Électeur palatin'' (Mannheim, 1799). * ''Remarques sur la pierre élastique du Brésil'' (Mannheim, 1805).
''Mon séjour auprès de Voltaire et lettres inédites''
(Paris, 1807).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collini, Cosimo Alessandro 18th-century Italian writers 18th-century Italian male writers 1727 births 1806 deaths Voltaire History of Mannheim