BONGHI, RUGGERO (1828-1895), Italian scholar, writer and politician, was born at Naples. He was professor of Greek at Pavia (185g), of Latin literature at Florence (1865), and of ancient history at Rome from 1876 onwards. Elected deputy in 1860 he became celebrated by the biting wit of his speeches, and by the acrimony of his polemical writings. Minister for public instruction in 1873-76, he reformed the Italian educational sys tem, suppressed the privileges of the University of Naples, founded the Vittorio Emanuele library in Rome, and prevented the establishment of a Catholic university in the capital. A bitter critic of King Humbert, both in the Perseveranza and in the Nuova Antologia, he was, in 1893, excluded from court, only securing readmission shortly before his death. In foreign policy a Francophil, he combated the Triple Alliance.