biography
| name: |
Beccaria, Cesare, Bonesana, marchese de (Marquess of)
|
pronunciation:
[bekahria]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1738–94)
|
| biography:
| Jurist, economist, and philosopher, born in Milan, N Italy. The grandfather of novelist Alessandro Manzoni, he was one of the contributors to the review Il Caffè. In 1764 he published anonymously Dei delitti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishments), considered to be the most important work on criminal justice ever written. The book denounced capital punishment and torture, and advocated the prevention of crime by education. The work had a widespread influence on the punishment and prevention of crime and on the reform of criminal law in W Europe. In 1768 he was made professor of public economy and commerce at the Palatine School in Milan, and in 1771 was appointed to the Supreme Economic Council of Milan. He also wrote Ricerche intorno alla natura dello stile (1770), which contributed to the revival of Italian literature. |
|
|
