Giuseppe Mercalli (born May 21, 1850) was an Italian volcanologist. May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological phenomena. ...

Biography

Born in Milan, Mercalli was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and soon became a professor of the Natural Sciences at the seminary of Milan. He was removed from the professorship when he was suspected of liberalism for openly supporting a national monument to honor the great philosopher-priest Antonio Rosmini-Serbati. Milano redirects here. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Antonio Rosmini-Serbati (March 25, 1797 _ July 1, 1855), Italian philosopher, was born at Rovereto in Italian Tirol. ...

He was not out of a post for long, however, because the Italian government appointed him a professor at Domodossola, followed by a post at Reggio di Calabria and finally a post at the Naples University. He was also director of the Vesuvius Observatory until the time of his death. Domodossola is a city in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, Italy, earlier known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo dOssola (because its in the Ossola valley). ... Categories: Italy-related stubs | Coastal cities | Towns in Calabria ... The University of Naples is the third Italian university and was initiated in 1224 by Emperor Frederick II. It is known as one of the first universities to be founded by a secular ruler. ... The Vesuvius Observatory is the surveillance centre for monitoring the three volcanoes which threaten the Campanian region of Italy, Mount Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia. ...

Despite the fact that he wrote 150 books on seismology, which have been translated into 28 languages, he is best remembered today for his Mercalli scale for measuring earthquakes which is still used today. The Mercalli scale, unlike the more famous Richter scale, doesn't measure the actual energy released by an earthquake but how much effect an earthquake had on a given area, making it poorly suited for measuring earthquakes in sparsely populated areas, but ideal for comparing damage done by various tremors. The Mercalli scale gives a rating from I to XII, where I is felt only by a very few and XII has near total damage, few or no masonry structures remain standing, and objects are thrown into the air. Seismology (from the Greek seismos = earthquake and logos = word) is the scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth. ... The Mercalli Intensity Scale is a scale used to classify the intensity of an earthquake by examining its effects on people and structures at the Earths surface. ... This article is about the natural seismic phenomenon. ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ... Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar. ...

Mercalli died on the morning of March 19, 1914. He was burned to death under suspicious circumstances, allegedly knocking over a paraffin lamp in his bedroom. He is thought to have been working through the night, as he often did (he once was found working at 11 o'clock AM when he had set an examination, upon hearing which he replied, “It surely can't be daylight yet!”), when the fatal accident occurred. His body was found, carbonized, by his bed, holding a blanket which he attempted to use to fend off the flames. The authorities, however, stated a few days later that the professor was quite possibly murdered by strangling and soaked in petrol and burned to conceal the crime, because they determined that money worth about $1,400 at the time was missing from the professor's apartment. March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Giuseppe Mercalli also witnessed the eruptions at the Eolian Isles of Stromboli and Vulcano. It is his description of these two volcanic eruptions which is used by volcanologists the world over.