biography
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Pliny (the Elder)
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in full Gaius Plinius Secundus
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| biography:
| Roman scholar, born in Novum Comum (now Como), Gaul. He studied at Rome, served in the army in Germany, and later settled in Como, where he devoted himself to study and writing. Nero appointed him procurator in Spain, and through his brother-in-law's death (71) he became guardian of his nephew Pliny (the Younger), whom he adopted. He continued his studies, and wrote a 37-volume encyclopedia, the Historia naturalis (77, Natural History), his only work to survive. In 79 he was in command of the Roman fleet when the great eruption of Vesuvius was at its height. He landed at Stabiae (Castellamare), to observe more closely, and was killed by volcanic fumes. |
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