1759-1820

Italian physician who performed landmark research into mental illnesses. One of Chiarugi's major accomplishments was establishing the "law of the insane," which specified proper treatment for the institutionalized insane. He also published a three-volume work on mental illness that was one of the first to try to link mental illness with physical damage to the structure of the brain. In many ways, his approach to these matters was very modern, anticipating several current practices.