Maria Ardinghelli

Maria Angela Ardinghelli (Naples 1730 – 1825) was an Italian translator, mathematician, physicist and noble.

Maria Angela Ardinghelli was born a noble family of Florentine origin. She studied philosophy and physical-mathematical sciences under the physicist and mathematician Pietro Della Torre and Vito Caravelli.

As was obligatory for the aristocratic women of the time, Maria Angela was a literate poet and Latinist, as well as expert of mathematical physics. She belonged to the circle of the prince of Tarsia, founded in 1747, which, in intellectual circles in Naples, had the strongest association to Newton, experimental physics and electricity. The library and the laboratory of Tarsia was to be of much use to her.

Expert in mathematical physics, Ardinghelli's fame is mainly due to the translation of key works of the English physicist Stephen Hales Statical essays: containing haemastatics; or, an account of some hydraulic and hydrostatical experiments made on the blood and blood-vessels of animals, del 1750-52, e Statical essay: containing vegetable statiks; or, an account of some statical experiments on the sap in vegetables (1738-1740), in 1756. She also performed scientific experiments inspired by the translations.

She corresponded with leading scientists of the time, including, to name a few, the mathematician and astronomer and physicist Alexis Claude Clairaut and Jean-Antoine Nollet.

Maria Angela Ardinghelli died in 1825.

References

• http://scienzaa2voci.unibo.it/biografie/67-ardinghelli-maria-angela

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Name	Ardinghelli, Maria
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Date of birth	1730
Place of birth
Date of death	1825
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