TADINI

ITALY (see also List of Individuals)

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31.1.1754 Romano/I - 14.7.1830 Romano-Lomb./I

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Antonio Tadini was born close to Bergamo where he gained repute as the author of influential essays in mathematics and hydraulics. He was in 1798 appointed Minister of the Interior of the Cisalpine Republic, but was compelled to resign forty days later after having criticized the moderate positions of the Parisian Directory. Later, he became a Member of the management commission for hydraulic readjustment of the Republic's territory. Following proclamation of the Italian Kingdom, Tadini was appointed inspector general of the Corps of Waters and Roads and dedicated himself for years to land reclamation projects in the lagoon of Venice. He resigned in 1812 because of interferences with French hydraulic engineers into Italian water management policies, particularly as concerned the construction of a canal linking Pavia to Milan, and the diversion of the River Reno into Po River. After 1815, the restoration government also claimed to Tadini's expertise.

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Tadini was a prominent figure of the scientific and technological world around 1800. He entertained a constant though sometimes controversial dialogue with the Italian and French specialists. As an enthusiastic follower of the revolutionary cause, he was engaged in the young Cisalpine Republic. He never ceased to contribute to the debate on water management issues, because he investigated the theoretical and practical outcomes of hydraulics. In 1816, following Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813), Tadini devised a system allowing for measurement of discharge in rivers. The 1816 paper traces the significant events in Tadini's professional life and underlines the lien between his scientific interests and his engagement in public administration.

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_{Bravi, G. (1835). Analisi delle opere di Antonio Tadini. Bergamo. Marchetti, R. (2004). Antonio Tadini. Museo Storico: Bergamo. P}

_{Poggendorff, J.C. (1863). Tadini, Antonio. Biographisch-Literarisches Handwörterbuch 2: 1065. Barth: Leipzig, with bibliography.}

_{Tadini, A. (1824). Del movimento e delle misura delle acque correnti. Nuova raccolta de autori che trattano del moto dell'acque 2. Sonzogno: Milano.}

_{Tadini, A. (1825). Tavole idrometriche per la dispensa delle acque correnti per uso delle regia città di Bergamo. Bergamo.}

_{Tadini, A. (1830). Di varie cose alla idraulica scienza appartenenti, posthumously published by G. Bravi. Bergamo. http://www.comune.alessandria.it/napoleon/inglese/Fiocc_en.pdf}