Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti came into the world in Bologna in 1711 and spent her entire life there as a science pioneer. She became the first woman with a doctorate in natural sciences and the first paid female lecturer in university history. For decades she conducted research on Newtonian mechanics and electricity, despite numerous limitations imposed by academic structures.
Home Education and Early Studies
From her fifth year, the girl studied under her cousin, Father Lorenzo Stegani, who introduced her to Latin, French, and mathematics. She mastered not only reading classical texts but also speaking and writing in the language of ancient Romans. This skill proved crucial for her later academic career requiring communication in Latin.
Between her thirteenth and twentieth year, she studied under Gaetano Taccini, a physician teaching medicine at the university. The curriculum included philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and natural philosophy, which provided a solid foundation for further studies. Taccini recognized his student’s exceptional talent and introduced her to the world of academic discourse.
Her abilities were noticed by Prospero Lambertini, the Bologna archbishop who later sat on the papal throne as Benedict XIV. The clergyman took the girl under his patronage and supported her scientific pursuits in a conservative environment. Thanks to his protection, she could seek formal recognition of her competencies.
Defense of Theses and Doctorate
In April 1732, the twenty-year-old Bassi stood before university professors at Palazzo Pubblico to publicly defend forty-nine philosophical theses. The disputation took place in Sala degli Anziani in the presence of city notables and academics. Her argumentation convinced listeners of her deep understanding of the subject and logical precision of reasoning.
A month later she received her doctoral degree, becoming the second woman with this degree after Elena Cornaro Piscopia from the previous century. As the first woman, however, she earned a doctorate in natural sciences, not humanities. Bologna’s intellectual world proclaimed her Minerva, referencing the Roman goddess of wisdom.
March brought another distinction – membership in the Academy of Sciences of the Bologna Institute. No woman had previously joined such a scientific institution. This unprecedented step opened the path to further career, though full equality remained distant.
Marriage and Family Life
In February 1738, she married Giuseppe Veratti, a physician conducting anatomy classes at the university. The marriage proved to be a partnership of two scientists collaborating in research. Her husband supported her experiments and helped run their home laboratory.
The couple had eight children, of whom five survived early years – Giovanni, Ciro, Caterina, Giacomo, and Paolo. The youngest son followed in his parents’ footsteps, becoming a physician and professor of experimental physics. Combining maternal duties with intensive scientific work required extraordinary determination.
Professorial Position and Limitations
June 1732 brought another defense of theses, this time twelve, as part of efforts to obtain a teaching position. The university Senate accepted her candidacy, and December’s appointment made her the first paid woman teaching in higher education history. Her inaugural lecture on water as an element of natural bodies demonstrated the scope of her competencies.
The possibilities for conducting classes were, however, severely limited – she could not teach students of both sexes simultaneously. University authorities treated her more as a prestigious ornament of the institution than a full-fledged lecturer. The representative role outweighed actual access to students.
From 1734, she participated annually in Carnival Anatomy, public anatomical sections attracting diplomats and aristocracy. Despite support from the Pope and Flaminio Scarselli, the embassy secretary, an attempt to obtain full teaching rights in 1739 ended in failure. Only two decades later did she receive permission for private lessons at home along with funds for experiments.
Research on Electricity and Mechanics
The 1760s she devoted with her husband to electrical experiments, which interested researchers such as Abbé Nollet. The home laboratory allowed freer conduct of experiments than strictly controlled university spaces. Marital collaboration resulted in several publications in scientific journals.
For twenty-eight years she lectured on Newton’s mechanics and electricity described by Franklin, though these topics were not part of the official curriculum. She became the main popularizer of Newtonian physics on the Apennine Peninsula. Her private classes attracted listeners interested in modern natural theories.
In 1745, Pope Benedict XIV appointed a group of twenty-five scholars called the Benedettini. Bassi was among them as the only woman, but without voting rights in discussions. A letter to Scarselli from July 1755 revealed financial difficulties limiting the scope of experiments.
Chair of Experimental Physics
After Paolo Balbi’s death in 1776, she assumed the position of professor of experimental physics at the Institute of Sciences. Her husband became her assistant in conducting demonstrations and experiments. This position finally gave full legitimacy to her research work after four decades of career.
She published articles in the university journal Commentarii, addressing issues of air compression, hydrometric and mechanical problems. In total, she wrote twenty-eight works, though only four appeared in print during her lifetime. One treatise on air in fluids was published posthumously in 1792.
Death and Burial
She died in February 1778 in Bologna at the age of sixty-six from heart disease. Complications from numerous childbirths additionally weakened her body in recent years. She spent six decades in her native city, never leaving it for long.
She rests in the church of Corpus Domini opposite the grave of Luigi Galvani, a pioneer of bioelectrical research. Burial in a prestigious location confirmed recognition of her contribution to the development of science. The memory of the first paid female lecturer survived in university annals and the history of physics.