Italian astrophysicist, scientific disseminator, and activist. Margherita Hack was born in Florence. Her father, Roberto Hack, was a Florentine bookkeeper of Protestant Swiss origin, and her mother, Maria Luisa Poggesi, a Catholic from Tuscany, was a graduate of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and a miniaturist at the Uffizi Gallery. Both parents left their religion to join the Italian Theosophical Society. In her youth, Hack was an athlete, winning the long jump and the high jump events during the National University Contests. She attended the Liceo Classico "Galileo Galilei" in Florence, but the outbreak of World War II prevented her from taking her exams1. In 1945, she received a degree in physics from the University of Florence. Her thesis in astrophysics was on Cepheid variables, based on her studies in the Arcetri Observatory. In 1964, Hack became a full professor of Astronomy at the University of Trieste and simultaneously became the director of the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste. She was the first woman in Italy to hold such positions in the field. Hack was known for her anti-religious views and her continual criticism of the Catholic Church and its hierarchy and institutions. She was a vegetarian from childhood and supported animal welfare. She wrote a book explaining this choice entitled "Perché sono vegetariana" (Why I Am A Vegetarian); she also wrote a book entitled "La mia vita in bicicletta" (My life on a bicycle). Margherita Hack died on 29 June 2013 at Cattinara Hospital in Trieste. She had been hospitalized for a week for heart problems, from which she had suffered for about two years. Hack left her personal library, containing 18,000 books on astronomy, to the city of Trieste.
Italian astrophysicist, scientific disseminator, and activist. Margherita Hack was born in Florence. Her father, Roberto Hack, was a Florentine bookkeeper of Protestant Swiss origin, and her mother, Maria Luisa Poggesi, a Catholic from Tuscany, was a graduate of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and a miniaturist at the Uffizi Gallery. Both parents left their religion to join the Italian Theosophical Society. In her youth, Hack was an athlete, winning the long jump and the high jump events during the National University Contests. She attended the Liceo Classico "Galileo Galilei" in Florence, but the outbreak of World War II prevented her from taking her exams1. In 1945, she received a degree in physics from the University of Florence. Her thesis in astrophysics was on Cepheid variables, based on her studies in the Arcetri Observatory. In 1964, Hack became a full professor of Astronomy at the University of Trieste and simultaneously became the director of the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste. She was the first woman in Italy to hold such positions in the field. Hack was known for her anti-religious views and her continual criticism of the Catholic Church and its hierarchy and institutions. She was a vegetarian from childhood and supported animal welfare. She wrote a book explaining this choice entitled "Perché sono vegetariana" (Why I Am A Vegetarian); she also wrote a book entitled "La mia vita in bicicletta" (My life on a bicycle). Margherita Hack died on 29 June 2013 at Cattinara Hospital in Trieste. She had been hospitalized for a week for heart problems, from which she had suffered for about two years. Hack left her personal library, containing 18,000 books on astronomy, to the city of Trieste.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
