Giambattista della Porta (1538-1615). Scholar and polymath who lived in Naples, Italy. A child prodigy, Della Porta was educated at home where scientific discussions occurred. The wealth acquired from the ownership of several estates ensured that he could devote his life to his studies. His most famous work first published in 1558 entitled Natural Magic was expanded into 20 books in 1584 and translated from Latin into several European languages. Events Treaty of Nagyvarad. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Leonardo da Vinci A polymath (also known as a polyhistor) is a person who excels in multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. ... Jump to: navigation, search Location within Italy Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region. ... A child prodigy, or simply prodigy, is someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age. ... Events January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ... Magiae Naturalis (in English, Natural Magic) is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. ... 1584 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ...

Della Porta founded the Ostiosi (Men of Leisure) an early scientific society, a condition of membership being to demonstrate a new discovery in the natural sciences. The Academia Secretorum Naturae was suspected of dabbling in the Occult and Della Porta was summoned to Rome by Pope Paul V. The Society was closed down by the Inquisition but Della Porta defended and justified his search for truth in nature. He was cautioned and allowed to continue his studies of investigating nature's properties. The lunar farside as seen from Apollo 11 Natural science is the study of the physical, nonhuman aspects of the Earth and the universe around us. ... One of the earliest scientific societies, the Academia Secretorum Naturae was founded in Naples 1560 by Giambattista della Porta, a physician. ... The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the knowledge of the secret or knowledge of the hidden and often meaning knowledge of the supernatural, as opposed to knowledge of the visible or knowledge of the measurable, usually referred to as science. ... Jump to: navigation, search City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost... Paul V, né Camillo Borghese (Rome, September 17, 1550 – January 28, 1621) was Pope from May 16, 1605 until his death. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pedro Berruguete. ...

In 1586 Della Porta published a work on Physiognomy which later influenced the Swiss Pastor Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801). Della Porta wrote extensively upon a wide spectrum of subjects throughout his life - including an agricultural encyclopædia entitled Villa, as well as works on meteorology optics and astronomy. 1586 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... Physiognomy (Gk. ... Johann Kaspar Lavater (November 15, 1741 - January 2, 1801), was a poet and physiognomist. ... Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. ... Optics (appearance or look in ancient Greek) is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light and the interaction of light with matter. ... Astrometry: the study of the position of objects in the sky and their changes of position. ...

His work Phytognomica lists plants according to their geographical location. In a later edition of his Natural Magic, Della Porta described a Camera obscura with a convex lens; though he was not the inventor of this technical refinement, the popularity of his work helped spread knowledge of the device. Magiae Naturalis (in English, Natural Magic) is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. ... For other uses see Camera obscura (disambiguation) The camera obscura (Lat. ... Convex lens converging light rays A convex lens is a lens that is curved outward (convex): the ends are narrow and the middle is wide. ...

In later life Della Porta collected rare specimens from the natural world and grew exotic plants. His private museum was visited by travellers and was one the earliest examples of Natural History museuems. It inspired the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher to begin a similar collection in Rome. Della Porta also wrote fourteen prose comedies and two dramatic tragedies which became source material for several 17th century dramatists. Della Porta's works are well-represented in the Library of Sir Thomas Browne by no less than six titles. Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Athanasius Kircher (sometimes spelt Kirchner) (May 2, 1601?–27 November 1680) was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. ... Jump to: navigation, search Comedy is the use of humor in the performing arts. ... Jump to: navigation, search A tragedy may be defined loosely as any work of fiction in which the protagonist suffers a fall in his or her fortunes, and ends in a worse state than that in which they began. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... No single document gives better evidence of the erudition of Sir Thomas Browne, physician, philosopher and encyclopedist than the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of the Library of Sir Thomas Browne . ...

Cryptography

In 1563, he published De Furtivis Literarum Notis, a work in cryptography, which described the first known polygraphic substitution cipher, and made advances towards the concept of polyalphabetic substitution. Charles J. Mendelsohn commented, "He was, in my opinion, the outstanding cryptographer of the Renaissance. Some unknown who worked in a hidden room behind closed doors may possibly have surpassed him in general grasp of the subject, but among those whose work can be studied he towers like a giant." Events February 1 - Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... Cryptography has had a long and colourful history. ... A polyalphabetic cipher is any cipher based on substitution, using multiple substitution alphabets. ...

Works

Natural Magic 1558 expanded to 20 books 1589. English translation 1658 Available online at [[1]] Magiae Naturalis (in English, Natural Magic) is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. ...

De furtivis Literarum Notis (1563) On secret codes and Cryptography Cryptography has had a long and colourful history. ...

Villa (1583-92) An agricultural encyclopaedia

De humana physiognomia (1586) On Physiognomy Physiognomy (Gk. ...

De refractione optices (1589) On Optics Optics (appearance or look in ancient Greek) is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light and the interaction of light with matter. ...

Elementorum curvilineorum libri duo (1601)

De aeris transmutanionbus (1609) On Meteorology Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. ...

De distillatione (1610) Della Porta's chemical experiments and observations.