19 Facts About Anthony Panizzi

Sir Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi, better known as Anthony Panizzi, was a naturalised British citizen of Italian birth, and an Italian patriot.

Anthony Panizzi studied at the Lyceum of Reggio, then obtained a degree in law from the University of Parma in 1818.

Anthony Panizzi was appointed as Inspector of Public Schools at Brescello.

In October 1822, amid political upheaval in Italy, Anthony Panizzi was tipped off that he faced arrest and trial as a subversive.

In May 1823, Anthony Panizzi moved to England, becoming a British subject in 1832.

In 1826 Anthony Panizzi met lawyer and political figure Henry Brougham and helped him in a difficult abduction case; when Brougham became Lord Chancellor of England, he obtained for Anthony Panizzi the Professorship of Italian at the newly founded London University.

Anthony Panizzi then held the post of "Extra-Assistant-Keeper" at the British Museum Library.

Anthony Panizzi held a string of posts there: first Assistant Librarian, then Keeper of Printed Books and finally Principal Librarian.

Anthony Panizzi never forgot the slight and when Carlyle, now working on the biography of Cromwell, requested the use of a private room at the library for his researches, the request was denied.

Anthony Panizzi had to give up his concept of "corporate main entry" to have his 91 Rules code approved.

Anthony Panizzi was influential in enforcing the Copyright Act of 1842, which required British publishers to deposit with the library a copy of every book printed in Britain.

Anthony Panizzi was a strong advocate of free and equal access to learning, evident in the quote below:.

Anthony Panizzi is credited with the invention of the "Anthony Panizzi pin", a shelf-support pin which prevents wooden shelves from "wobbling".

Anthony Panizzi was a personal friend of British Prime ministers Lord Palmerston and William Ewart Gladstone, conducted an active correspondence with Sardinian, and later Italian Prime Minister Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, and through French archaeologist and writer Prosper Merimee, was well acquainted with French Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie.

In 1844, Anthony Panizzi assisted Giuseppe Mazzini, then in exile in London, by publishing an influential article denouncing the practice ordered by the Home Secretary of ordering Mazzini's private letters opened by the Post Office and giving copies of their contents to the Austrian Embassy.

Anthony Panizzi orchestrated a visit of Giuseppe Garibaldi to England, and convinced Gladstone to travel to Naples to view personally the inhumane conditions in which political prisoners were kept.

Anthony Panizzi helped to ensure that the ship made port in England instead, where the former prisoners received asylum and were assured support.

Anthony Panizzi prepared and published editions of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato and Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.

The Anthony Panizzi Lectures are an annual series of bibliography lectures, hosted by the British Library since 1985.