Giovanni Domenico Maraldi was named an adjoint of the Academy of Sciences in 1731, he was promoted to an associate in 1733, to a pensioner in 1758, and finally to a veteran pensioner in 1772.
Giovanni Domenico Maraldi was named an adjoint of the Academy of Sciences in 1731, he was promoted to an associate in 1733, to a pensioner in 1758, and finally to a veteran pensioner in 1772.
Giovanni Domenico Maraldi was an Italian-French astronomer. He is known for his observations and improvements to the theory of Jovian satellite motions.
Background
Giovanni Domenico Maraldi was born on April 17, 1709, in Perinaldo, Liguria, Italy to the family of Gian Domenico Maraldi and Angela Francesca Mavena. He was a nephew of Giacomo Filippo Maraldi (Maraldi I), who was, in turn, a nephew of Giovanni Domenico Cassini.
Education
There is no information on what kind of education did Giovanni Domenico Maraldi receive except that he studied in San Remo and Pisa, but based on his social status it can be guessed that it was a good one for his time and that he was partially taught by his paternal uncle Giacomo Filippo Maraldi.
Career
In 1726 Giacomo Filippo Maraldi brought his nephew Giovanni Domenico (Maraldi II) to Paris. Maraldi II worked first under Cassini II and then under Cassini de Thury (Cassini III), until 1771, when he returned to Italy. He carried out regular astronomical and meteorological observations until 1787 and published many notes drawn from them in the Histoire de l’Académie. He likewise participated in various geodesic operations directed by Cassini II and Cassini III: the triangulation of the west perpendicular to the meridian of Paris (1733); the partial survey of the Atlantic coast (1735); the verification of the Paris meridian in 1739-1740; and also an experiment designed to measure the speed of sound in the air (1738). Lastly, he shared in the fundamental work carried out to establish the map of France. The greater part of Maraldi II’s activity, however, was concerned with positional astronomy. Although he published no books of his own, he edited the Connaissance des temps from 1735 to 1759 and also the posthumous work of his friend Lacaille: Coelum australe stelliferum (Paris, 1763). Among the numerous memoirs which he published, the most important were devoted to the observation and theory of the movements of the satellites of Jupiter, in which he made many improvements. In August and September 1746, he observed Comet De Chéseaux of that year with Jacques Cassini. While doing so, he discovered two "nebulous stars" which are actually globular clusters: M15 in Pegasus on September 7, 1746, and M2 in Aquarius on September 11, 1746 (Maraldi 1746). He continued to trace the comet until the evening of December 5.
It appears that Maraldi enjoyed working not only with his uncle, Cassini II but also with Nicolas Louis de La Caille, who arrived in 1737. The following year Maraldi and La Caille were commissioned by Cassini II to survey the coast from Nantes to Bayonne, his work continuing on a number of projects. In 1744 survey work was published under Maraldi’s name, much of the work having been carried out with the assistance of La Caille, which Maraldi acknowledged. La Caille continued working until his death in 1762 at the age of 49, leaving all his notes to his great friend, Giovanni Maraldi.
Giovanni Domenico Maraldi’s previously robust health began to deteriorate in 1763 and, on April 1770, with his health worsening, he requested and obtained permission to return to Perinaldo, Italy. He took with him optical instruments and continued to carry out observations based on his previous interests, particularly Jupiter’s satellites, in the clearer air of Perinaldo until around 1785. He died in Perinaldo on the 14th November 1788 where he is buried.
In 1740 Giovanni Domenico Maraldi finally accepted Römer’s theory of a finite value of the speed of light.
Membership
Giovanni Domenico Maraldi was named an adjoint of the Academy of Sciences in 1731, he was promoted to an associate in 1733, to a pensioner in 1758, and finally to a veteran pensioner in 1772.
Academy of Sciences
,
France
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
“An industrious and worthy astronomer, an assiduous observer of all the phenomena, he was not content to calculate them; he sought to make them serve the development of his theories.” - Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre.
Connections
There is no information on whether Giovanni Domenico Maraldi was ever married or had any children.