Cesare Beccaria

15 March 1738 – 28 November 1794

Cesare Beccaria was an Italian Enlightenment philosopher, jurist, and economist from Milan. His treatise On Crimes and Punishments (1764) condemned torture and the death penalty and became a founding text of modern criminology and penal reform, influencing legal systems across Europe and America.

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Life events

Born in Milan
15 March 1738

Cesare Bonesana di Beccaria was born into an aristocratic family of moderate means in Milan, then under Austrian Habsburg rule.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Educated at the Jesuit college in Parma
c. 1746

He received his early education at the Jesuit college in Parma, an experience he later described as stifling.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Graduated in law from the University of Pavia
1758

Beccaria completed a degree in law at the University of Pavia in 1758.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Teresa Blasco against his father's wishes
1761

His marriage to Teresa Blasco caused a temporary break with his father; their daughter Giulia later became the mother of novelist Alessandro Manzoni.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Joined the intellectual circle of the Verri brothers
c. 1761

With Pietro and Alessandro Verri he took part in the Milanese Enlightenment society known as the Academy of Fists and contributed to the journal Il Caffe.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published On Crimes and Punishments
1764

His treatise Dei delitti e delle pene, published anonymously at first, argued against torture and capital punishment and quickly became famous throughout Europe.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Visited Paris at the invitation of the philosophes
1766

Beccaria traveled to Paris to meet the French Enlightenment thinkers, but felt out of place and returned to Milan after a few weeks.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed to the chair of political economy in Milan
1768

He was appointed professor of political economy at the Palatine School in Milan, where he lectured on economics.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Served as a public official in the Austrian administration of Lombardy
1771

From 1771 he served on the Supreme Economic Council of Milan and later worked on judicial and administrative reform for the Habsburg government.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Milan
28 November 1794

Beccaria died of a stroke in Milan at the age of 56.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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