Person: Ceva (2), Tommaso
Tommaso Ceva was an Italian Jesuit who worked in geometry, gravity and arithmetic.
Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):
- Tomasso Ceva's cousin, also named Carlo Francesco Ceva, was the Bishop of Tortona.
- Tommaso Ceva became professor of mathematics and rhetoric at the Jesuit College of Brera in Milan and taught rhetoric, moral theology and mathematics there for more than forty years.
- During most of this time the city was under Spanish rule and Ceva made sure of their support by writing pieces to celebrate civic events and dedicating works to Guzman, the Spanish governor of Milan.
- Many would suggest that Ceva's success in persuading Saccheri to undertake research in mathematics was his greatest contribution to the subject.
- the primary subject of an extensive correspondence between Ceva and Guido Grandi.
- Ceva proposed the problem; Grandi reported that such curves had well-defined properties.
- Grandi replied to Ceva's questions not only in letters, but also in a work on the logarithmic curve published in 1701 with an appended letter by Ceva.
- Ceva was a close friend of the mathematician Pietro Paolo Caravaggio (1617-1688).
- Like Ceva, he published both mathematics (his most famous work is In Geometria Male Retaurata (1650)) and poetry.
- However, in many ways Tommaso Ceva was more of a Jesuit humanist than a mathematician, spending more time producing Latin prose than he did mathematics.
- It return, Joseph named Ceva 'Caesarian Theologian'.
- Ceva immediately recognised the new rulers and transferred his allegiance to them.
- We have mentioned some of Ceva's friends above, but there is another friend who we should mention since she played an important role in Ceva's career.
- Clelia Borromeo founded the Academy for Natural Science in Milan (the Accademia dei Vigilanti) and both Tommaso Ceva and his student Giovanni Saccheri were members of this Academy.
- Ceva gained much from his frequent visits to the Academy and it was through his friendship with Clelia Borromeo that he made contact with both Vicenzo Viviani and Guido Grandi, corresponding with them on mathematical matters.
- In addition to this scientific academy, Tommaso Ceva was also a fellow of the literary Academy of Arcadia from 1718.
- In particular the academy promoted poetry written in the classical Greek or Roman style, so Ceva's poetic style fitted extremely well and his poetry was rated very highly by the Academy.
Born 20 December 1648, Milan, Hapsburg Empire (now Italy). Died 3 February 1737, Milan, Hapsburg Empire (now Italy).
View full biography at MacTutor
Tags relevant for this person:
Origin Italy
Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0! 
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- non-Github:
- @J-J-O'Connor
- @E-F-Robertson
References
Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:
- O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
