Annibale de Gasparis

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Annibale de Gasparis (9 November 1819 – 21 March 1892) was an Italian astronomer known for discovering asteroids and for his work in celestial mechanics. He was born in Bugnara, in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and educated largely on his own, showing a strong interest in mathematics. He moved to Naples in 1838 to study engineering and soon joined the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte under director Ernesto Capocci. He published his first paper in 1845 on the orbit of the asteroid Vesta and received an honorary mathematics degree from the University of Naples in 1846.

In 1849 de Gasparis discovered the asteroid Hygiea, naming it Igea Borbonica in honor of the Bourbon rulers. When Capocci was dismissed in 1850, de Gasparis declined to become director out of loyalty to his mentor. He became a professor of astronomy at Naples University in 1858, and after Capocci’s death in 1864 he led the Capodimonte Observatory. Ill health forced him to leave the observatory in 1889, and he died in Naples in 1892. He married Giuseppina Russo in 1848, and they had nine children. He published more than 200 scientific works on mathematics, celestial mechanics, astronomy, and meteorology. De Gasparis visually discovered nine asteroids and independently discovered 14 Irene, though the latter’s discovery is credited to John Hind. He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1851 and the Lalande Prize (1849–53); he was named a Senator of Italy in 1861. The asteroid 4279 De Gasparis, the lunar crater de Gasparis, and the Rimae de Gasparis are named in his honor. He was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle and the Order of the Rose.