, was born at Bologna in 1502, of a noble family. Having gone through
, was born at Bologna in 1502,
of a noble family. Having gone through a course of study
at Padua, he applied himself to business, without however entirely quitting literature. He attachedhimself to
cardinal Pole, whom he followed in the legation to Spain,
and was soon appointed himself to those of Venice and
Augsburg, after having assisted at the council of Trent,
and the archbishopric of Ragusa was the reward of his labours. Cosmo I. grand duke of Tuscany, having entrusted him in 1563 with the education of his son, prince
Ferdinand, he gave up his archbishopric, in the hope that
was held out to him of obtaining that of Pisa; but, being
deceived in his expectations, he was obliged to content
himself with the provostship of the cathedral of Prato,
where he ended his days in 1572. His principal works
are: “The life of cardinal Pole,
” in Italian, translated
by Duditius into Latin, and thence by Maucroix into
French; and that of Petrarch, in Italian, more exact than
any that had appeared before. This prelate was in correspondence with almost all the learned, his contemporaries,
Sadolet, Bembo, the Manuciuses, Varchi, &c. It remains
to be noticed that his life of cardinal Pole was published
in 1766, in English, by the Rev. Benjamin Pye, LL. B.
Of this, and other lives of that celebrated cardinal, notice
will be taken in his article.
, the principal event in whose life is the reformation he introduced in the Roman calendar, was born at Bologna in 1502. His name before his promotion was Hugh
, the principal event in whose life is the reformation he introduced in the Roman calendar, was born at Bologna in 1502. His name before his promotion was Hugh Buoncompagno. He was brought up to the study of the civil and canon law, which he taught in his native city with uncommon reputation. He was afterwards appointed judge of the court of commerce at Bologna. From this city he removed to Rome, where, after various preferments, he was on the death of Pius V. in 1572, unanimously elected his successor, and at his consecration he took the name of Gregory XIII. His reformation of the calendar, was according to a method suggested by Lewis Lilio, a Calabrian astronomer, which after his death was presented to the pope by his brother. This method, which was immediately adopted in all catholic countries, but was rejected by the protestants and by the Greeks, was intended to reform the old or Julian year, established by Julius Caesar, which consisted of'365 days 6 hours, or 365 difys and a quarter, that is three years of 365 days each, and the fourth year of 366 days. But as the mean tropical year consists only of 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 57 seconds, the former lost 11 minutes 3 seconds every year, which in the time of pope Gregory had amounted to 10 <lays, and who, by adding these 10 days, brought the account of time to its proper day again, and at the same time appointed that every century after, a day more should be added, thereby making the years of the complete centuries, viz. 1600, 1700, 1800, &c. to be common years of 365 days each, instead of leap-years of 366 days, which makes the mean Gregorian year equal to 365 days 5 hours 45 minutes 36 seconds. This computation was not introduced into the account of time in England, till 1752, when the Julian account had lost 11 days, and therefore the 3d of September, was in that year by act of parliament accounted the 14th, thereby restoring the 11 days which had thus been omitted.