Angelo Genocchi

Angelo Genocchi (5 March 1817 – 7 March 1889) was an Italian mathematician who specialized in number theory. He worked with Giuseppe Peano. The Genocchi numbers are named after him.

Angelo Genocchi was born and grew up and went to school in Piacenza, Italy. Despite his love of mathematics, he studied law at Piacenza University. After practicing law in Piacenza for a number of years, he was invited by the University to become the Chair of Law. He was mostly unsuccessful as a teacher however and disliked by many of his students.

Angelo Genocchi was part of a group who participated in the attempted overthrow of the Austro-Hungarian government in Piacenza. The revolution was unsuccessful.

After the revolution Genocchi moved to Turin, where he took up mathematics as the subject of his research and teaching. He became President of the Academy of Sciences of Turin. It was there that he worked with Giuseppe Peano. His biggest discovery was the Genocchi Numbers, named after him.

After years of ill-health, he died in 1889, aged 72.