(Bassano, 22.11.1803 – Tezze, 6.11.1880)

In 1845, he became professor of descriptive geometry at the University of Padua, where he graduated in philosophy and mathematics “examination-free” the following year.

He taught several other subjects at the university, including physics, and became director of the same department between 1863 and 1867.
In 1872, he was ordinary professor of complementary algebra and analytical geometry and, from 1866 to 1867, rector of the University, first of the Kingdom of Italy.
Bellavitis made numerous contributions, including in writing, to the different areas of mathematics, from equipollent calculus, which paved the way to William Rowan Hamilton’s theory of quaternions, to studies in the scope of infinitesimal analysis and descriptive geometry, to research in algebra and much more besides. He also dedicated himself to physics, publishing texts dedicated above all to optics and electricity.

During his lifetime, Bellavitis also covered numerous roles and positions: he was senator of the Kingdom in 1866, but also president of the Venetian Institute of Sciences, Humanities and Arts, of the Paduan Academy and of the Lincean Academy.