Giovanni Battista Donati
Donati, Giovanni Battista
Born Dec. 16, 1826, in Pisa; died Sept. 20, 1873, in Florence. Italian astronomer.
Donati studied at the University of Pisa and obtained the post of assistant at the observatory in Florence. He observed numerous comets and was the first to discover the great comet of 1858, which has been named after him. In 1864 he was appointed director of the observatory. Donati is known for his spectroscopic studies of comets. He founded the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory near Florence in 1872.