1618-1663

Italian Physicist

Francesco Maria Grimaldi was the first scientist to recognize the tendency of light to bend around objects, a phenomenon he named diffraction. He also constructed one of the most detailed maps of the Moon up to his time, and may have initiated the practice of naming lunar features after scientists. Today there is a crater on the Moon named after Grimaldi.

Born in Bologna, Italy, in 1618, Grimaldi came from a wealthy background. His father died when he was young, and at 14 he and his brother entered the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuit order. He studied theology and philosophy until he was 27, and also taught at the College of Santa Lucia, a school operated by the Jesuits, in Bologna. In 1645 he received his bachelor's degree, and an additional two years of study yielded his doctorate.

During his student years in the...