Francesco Redi

Francesco Redi, who lived from 1626 to 1697, was an Italian physician, naturalist, biologist and poet, called the founder of experimental biology and the father of modern parasitology. Born in Arezzo, he took doctorates in medicine and philosophy at the University of Pisa at the age of 21 and settled in Florence in 1648, where he served the Medici court as head physician and superintendent of the ducal apothecary and became a member of the Accademia dei Lincei and, from 1657 to 1667, of the Accademia del Cimento. His Observations on Vipers of 1664 broke prevailing myths and showed that venom is poisonous only when it enters the bloodstream through a bite and is produced in the fangs, not the gallbladder, which marked the beginning of experimental toxinology. His masterpiece, Experiments on the Generation of Insects of 1668, challenged spontaneous generation by showing that maggots come from the eggs of flies, using jars left open and jars covered with gauze, and he possibly originated the use of the control in experimental design. He described about 180 parasites, including Fasciola hepatica and Ascaris lumbricoides, and his poem Bacco in Toscana of 1685 is counted among the finest works of 17th-century Italian poetry. He died in his sleep in Pisa in 1697.