Life
Born in Messina, Sicily, Sergi first studied law and then linguistics and philosophy. At the age of 19 he took part in Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily. He later took courses in physics and anatomy, finally specializing in racial anthropology as a student of Cesare Lombroso.
In 1880 he was appointed as professor of anthropology at the University of Bologna. At this time the discipline of anthropology was still associated with the Literature Faculty. In the following years, thanks to the activity of his Laboratory of Anthropology and Psychology, he helped establish the discipline on a more scientific basis. In 1884 he moved to the University of Rome where he developed a program of research into both psychology and anthropology.
In 1893 he founded the Roman Society of Anthropology and the Journal Atti della Società Romana di Antropologia, which later evolved into the Italian Anthropological Institute (Istituto Italiano di Antropologia) and the Journal of Anthropological Sciences. This grew from part of the university. He was initially assigned temporary premises in the School of Application for Engineers in San Pietro in Vincoli and from 1887 the precursor of the Institute operated from the old building of the Roman college, where Sergi also dedicated part of the space to the creation of an Anthropological museum. On 4 June 1893 the new Society was created.
Internationally renowned for his contributions to anthropology, he succeeded in establishing the International Conference of Psychology in Rome, 1905, under his presidency.
He died at Rome in 1936. His son Sergio Sergi (1878–1972), also a noted anthropologist, developed his father's theories.
Read more about this topic: Giuseppe Sergi
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