Adriano Balbi (April 25, 1782 – March 14, 1848), Italian geographer, was born at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. The publication of his ''Prospetto politico-geografico dello stato attuale del globo'' (

, 1808) obtained his election to the chair of professor of geography at the college of San Michele at Murano; in 1811–1813 he was professor of physics at the

Lyceum of Fermo The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

, and afterwards became attached to the customs office at his native city. In 1820 he visited

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, and there collected materials for his ''Essai statistique sur le royaume de Portugal et d’Algarve'', published in 1822 at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, where the author resided from 1821 until 1832. This was followed by ''Variétés politiques et statistiques de la monarchie portugaise'', which contains some observations respecting that country under the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

sway. In 1826 he published the first volume of his ''Atlas ethnographique du globe, ou classification des peuples anciens et modernes d’après leurs langues'', a work of great erudition. In 1829 he published, with Andre-Michel Guerry, ''Statistique comparée de l'état de l'instruction et du nombre des crimes dans les divers arrondissements des Académies et des Cours Royales de France'', the first comparative

choropleth map A choropleth map () is a type of statistical thematic map that uses pseudocolor, i.e., color corresponding with an aggregate summary of a geographic characteristic within spatial enumeration units, such as population density or per-capita inco ...

showing crime in relation to level of instruction. In 1832 appeared the ''Abrégé de Geographie'', which, in an enlarged form, was translated. into the principal languages of Europe. Balbi retired to

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

and there died in 1848. His son, Eugenio Balbi (1812–1884), followed a similar career, being professor of geography at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

, and publishing his father's ''Scritti Geografici'' (

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

, 1841), and original works in ''Gea, ossia la terra'' (

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

, 1854–1867) and ''Saggio di geografia'' (

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, 1868).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbi, Adrian 1782 births 1848 deaths Scientists from Venice Italian geographers 19th-century geographers 19th-century Italian scientists