PANIZZI, Sir ANTONIO, principal librarian of the British museum from 1856 to 1866, h. Sept. 16, 1797, at Breseello, in the el-decant duchy of Modena. For his education lie was sent first to the public school of Reggio, and afterwards to the university of Padua. where, in 1818, he took the degree of doctor of laws, with a view to practicing at the bar. Early in life his sympathies were enlisted on behalf of the.friends of Italy, as opposed to domestic tyranny and foreign intrusion, and when, in 1821, the popular revolution broke out in Piedmont, the young advocate became one of its leaders. The attempt., however, failed; and Panizzi, who bad been denounced by a pretended friend, was arrested at Cremona. Having by some means contrived to escape, he took refuge in Lugano, and from thence in a short time found his way to Geneva. Meanwhile, dur ing his absence, lie was tried at home per contumaciam, as it is called, and sentenced to death, with confiscation of property. Nor was he allowed to remain at Geneva. The governments of Austria and Sardinia demanded from the Swiss confederation the expul sion of all concerned in the recent outbreak, and among these Panizzi was obliged to depart. Forbidden to pass through France, he reached England by way of Germany and the Netherlands. He now resided for about a month in London, whence he pro. seeded to Liverpool, with an introduction from Ugo Foscolo tolloseoe the historian, who received him with the utmost hospitality. At Liverpool, where he was introduced into the best circles by Mr. Roscoe, he taught Italian, and continued to reside in that town until 1S28, when he came to London again, and was chosen professor of Italian in the university of London, just then opened for students. In 1831, through the instrumen tality of lord Brougham, he was appointed one of the assistant-librarians in the British museum; and upon the retirement of the rev. Mr. Baber, in 1837, from the office of keeper of the printed books, Panizzi was appointed his successor. In the previous year there had been a parliamentary committee on the state of the British museum, before which Panizzi gave valuable evidence, and likewise urged the adoption of meas ures for the improvement and augmentation of the library, which, upon becoming keeper, he was in a still better position to advocate. In 1838 he superintended the
removal of the printed books from the old suite.of rooms in Montague House to the new library • and in the same year, in conjunction with some of his assistants, he drew up the well-known 91 rules for the formation of a new catalogue of the library. These rules were approved by the trustees, and the first volume of a catalogue framed after them was printed and published in 1841. No other volume has been since published, and Panizzi, before a royal commission of inquiry into the museum in 1847, justified the suspension of the printing until the whole catalogue should be finished. In 1845, Panizzi drew up an elaborate report of the deficiencies existing in the library, in conse quence of which the trustees applied to the lords of the treasury for " an annual grant of £10,000 for some years to come, for the purchase of books of all descriptions." This grant having been obtained, the library rapidly increased in numbers, to such a degree that in 1849 the books amounted to 433,000, as compared with 235,000, the ascertained number in 1838. The number of volumes is now estimated at considerably over 1,000, 000. Upon the resignation of sir H. Ellis, in 1856, Panizzi was appointed to the post of principal librarian of the British museum, an office he held ten years. In a literary capacity, Panizzi is known by an edition of the Orlando lnnamorato di Boiardo, and Orlando Furioso di Ariasto: with an Essay on the Romantic Narrative Poetry of the Ital ians, Memoirs and Notes, by A. Panazzi (9 vols. Lond. 1830-34). He has also edited the Sonetti e Canzone of Boiardo (Lond. 1835), and a collection of reprints of the firs four editions of the Platen Commedia, printed at the expense of lord Vernon (Loud. 1S58). He is also the author of a privately printed pamphlet, Chi era Francesco da Bologna, tending to prove the identity of the type-founder employed by Aldus, and the inventor of the well-known Aldine or Italic type, with the painter Francesco Francia. Panizzi is also understood to have written articles for some Of the quarterly reviews. Panizzi retired on a pension in 1866. In 1869, he received the order of K.C.B.