FERRAR, ROBERT, an English prelate, born at Halifax, was prior of the monastery of St. Oswald’s, embraced the Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David’s by Edward VI.; suffered martyrdom under Mary in 1555.
FERRARA, a broadsword bearing the name of Andrea Ferrara, one of an Italian family famous in the 16th and 17th centuries for the quality of their swords.
FERRARA (31), a fortified and walled Italian city, capital of the province of the name, situated on a low and marshy plain between the dividing branches of the Po, 30 m. from the Adriatic; it has many fine ecclesiastical buildings and a university founded in 1264, with a library of 100,000 vols., but now a mere handful of students; a fine old Gothic castle, the residence of the Estes (q. v.), still stands; it was the birthplace of Savonarola, and the sometime dwelling-place of Tasso and Ariosto; once populous and prosperous, it has now fallen into decay.
FERRARI, GAUDENZIO, Italian painter and sculptor, born at Valduggia, in Piedmont; studied at Rome under Raphael; many of his paintings and frescoes are to be found in the Lombard galleries, and principally in Milan; his work is characterised by bold and accurate drawing, inventiveness, and strong colouring, but it somewhat lacks the softer qualities of his art (1484-1550).
FERRARI, PAOLO, Italian dramatist, born at Modena; produced his first play at the age of 25; his numerous works, chiefly comedies, and all marked by a fresh and piquant style, are the finest product of the modern Italian drama; in 1860 he was appointed professor of History at Modena and afterwards at Milan; his dramatic works have been published in 14 vols. (1822-1889).
FERRIER, DAVID, a distinguished medical scientist, born at Woodside, Aberdeen; graduated in arts there; studied at Heidelberg, and coming to Edinburgh graduated in medicine with high distinction in 1868; in 1872 became professor of Forensic Medicine at King’s College, London, and afterwards physician to the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic; his most notable work has been done in connection with the brain, and his many experiments on the brains of living animals have resulted in much valuable information, embodied in his various writings; is editor and co-founder of the periodical Brain; b. 1843.