La correspondance entre Auguste Daubrée et Quintino Sella

Abstract

The article reports the 66 letters that make up the correspondence between A. Daubrée and Q. Sella. The letters written by Daubrée (38) and by Sella (28) are kept at the Fondazione Sella o.n.l.u.s.(Biella) and the library of the Institut de France (Paris), respectively. The topics are mainly related to positions of president, in the order, of the Institut de France (Daubrée) and of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, which Sella reorganized after Rome became the capital of Italy in 1871. In particular, Sella, to enhance the scientific role of Italy, supports Italian candidates worthy of becoming members of the Institut. At the same time Sella, who had to abandon his promising crystallographic research in favour of politics but aspires to be elected member of the Académie des Sciences himself, highlights his relationship with the international mineralogical community and his promotion of the Italian scientific activity.

Keywords

• Academy of Lincei
• Crystallography
• Science in Italy