Agostino Bassi
Italian entomologist (1773-1856)
Agostino Bassi, sometimes called de Lodi (25 September 1773 – 8 February 1856), was an Italian entomologist. He preceded Louis Pasteur in the discovery that microorganisms can be the cause of disease (the germ theory of disease). He discovered that the muscardine disease of silkworms was caused by a living, very small, parasitic organism, a fungus that would be named eventually Beauveria bassiana in his honor. In 1844, he stated the idea that not only animal (insect), but also human diseases are caused by other living microorganisms; for example, measles, syphilis, and the plague.
Early life
Agostino Bassi, was born in Mairago, Lombardy on 25 September 1773. He was the son of a wealthy farmer and a lawyer who also had a passion for biology. However, his father did not want him to take up biology, but wanted him instead to look after the family's property, to become a civil servant and to join the Imperial administration.
After high school, he entered the University of Pavia, where he studied law but also followed the lessons of Alessandro Volta, Lazzaro Spallanzani, and Antonio Scarpa. He established close ties with the physician Giovanni Rasori.
Career
His studies of 1807 concerned mal de segno (also known as muscardine, after a French candy), a lethal disease of domestic silkworms (Bombyx mori).
“Agostino Bassi” enters the record as italian entomologist (1773-1856). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Agostino, Bassi and Italian can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q395590. VIAF identifies the subject as 59073085. The Library of Congress control number is n85158848. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1773, 1856, 1844 and 1807.
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