Stjepan Gradić
Croatian philosopher and scientist (1613–1683)
Stjepan Gradić, also known as Stefano Gradi (Latin: Stephanus Gradius; 6 March 1613 – 2 May 1683) was a polymath, philosopher, scientist and a patrician of the Republic of Ragusa.
Biography
Stijepo's parents were Miho Gradi (Gradić) and Marija Benessa (Beneša). He was born in Ragusa (Dubrovnik), Republic of Ragusa, where he was first schooled. He moved to Rome by the order of his uncle, a vicar general of Ragusa, Petar Benessa. In Rome and in Bologna he studied philosophy, theology, law and mathematics. His mathematics professor in Rome was Bonaventura Cavalieri and in Bologna his mathematics professor was Benedetto Castelli. He became a priest in 1643, the year he returned home and soon became abbot of the Benedictine abbey of St. Cosmas and Damian on the island of Pašman, canon of cathedral choir in Ragusa and Ragusan deputy Archbishop. After a private trip to Rome he remained there until his death as the official diplomatic representative of the Republic of Ragusa to the Holy See. Since 1682 he was the head of the Vatican Library.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q748526. VIAF identifies the subject as 25401346. The Library of Congress control number is n88132136. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1613, 1683, 1643 and 1682.
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This entry incorporates text from “Stjepan Gradić” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.